Student Success with DMR Project In India

Exactly one year ago, ham radio stations were established in 20 residential schools in disadvantaged areas of one state in southwest India. One year later, teachers and their students have become a small, thriving amateur radio community thanks to these small digital mobile radios, or DMR.

The challenge of teaching science and communication to disadvantaged students in the Indian state of Karnataka [CAR-NUH-TOCK-AH] got a big boost one year ago when the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society turned 20 of its schools into hamshacks. Some of the teachers became hams and, in turn, guided their young students in grades 6 through 12 along the way. Forty students became hams and were soon using the DMR hand-held radios, participating in the daily net and connecting to the world.

More broadly, with the installation of DMR base stations by the Indian Institute of Hams, the schools themselves became communication hubs that could be used when natural disasters knocked out conventional means of contact in their remote rural communities.

“...a wonderful hobby, fun in a hands-on way.”

— Shirin, VU3DBO

The past year has been one of challenge and innovation for Shirin, VU3DBO, one of the 20 teachers in the school system who received her ham radio certificate from the Ministry of Communication. The science teacher wove the radio curriculum into the classes where she also taught about energy, technology, the environment and space.

ARDC Launches 44Net Connect

ARDC has launched 44Net Connect, a new portal designed to make it easier for ham radio operators to gain access to and experiment with subnets of the 44.0.0.0/8 IP address space. Through the portal, hams can apply for VPN access to 44Net, which comes with a dedicated 44Net IP address. Tunnel services are provided through WireGuard with options to add IP networks and autonomous system numbers. Proof of a ham radio license is required.

More Information - https://connect.44net.cloud/

International Reply Coupons (IRCs) to End

Although International Reply Coupons, or IRCs, are still being used by some DX-chasing hams in their requests for QSL cards, that option is set to end by this time next year. Countries belonging to the Universal Postal Union have voted to discontinue their use effective 31 December 2026. The vote was taken in September at the 28th Universal Postal Congress held in Dubai. There are a number of IRCs already in circulation that bear the expiration date of 31 December 2025, and they are expected to be honoured for another year.

In an era marked by a migration toward confirmations on digital platforms and in digital QSOs, the move brings an already disappearing amateur radio practice to its conclusion. A statement from the Universal Postal Union said the sunset of the IRC, first put into practice in 1907, was “a natural progression within the broader transformation of international postal services in alignment with the digital practices and modern outlook of their customers.”