Spectrum congestion isn't just an amateur radio problem — it's now a public safety one, according to two of the United Nations' leading technical agencies.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have called on governments to introduce tougher protections against radio spectrum interference, warning that the same frequencies used to monitor climate, forecast weather, and deliver early warning messages are increasingly being crowded out by satellite and wireless systems.

Every POTA or SOTA activator knows a session can throw up surprises. Few, though, turn into a genuine emergency response.

Michael Miller, KH6ML, had just logged his 11th QSO during a POTA/SOTA activation on 16th September at Hawaii's Diamond Head when his 12th contact of the day happened right there on the summit — not over the air, but in person. A visitor approached him for help: a woman had collapsed inside the summit's observation bunker after hiking the trail.

Good manners on the air never go out of style, and now there's a net dedicated to making sure they don't. Time to brush up on your on-air etiquette — and your general manners — because a new net has launched with exactly that in mind.

The Sunflower GAPT Net does a bit of both things its name promises. Launched by the Sunflower Linked System, the net lives up to its title: Good Amateur Practice and Trivia — GAPT for short. Net control duties fall to Daryl Stout, NK5LA.