W6IFA
Newbie
The recent disaster in Nepal has drawn attention to the region and has some folks wondering about the conflicting messages coming from the 9N1 Amateur community. Let me provide some insight.
Amateur Radio came to Nepal in 1951 with Father Marshall D. Moran; he operated in Nepal until his death in 1992. Father Moran, the king and a few others were the only licensed amateurs in Nepal. In 1993 there was an Amateur License Test sitting and a few new hams were licensed. This raised the numbers but there were still less than 25 licensed operators. The country fell into Civil War from 1996 to 2006 and the kingdom was abolished in 2008.
In November of 2011, 45 potential new hams sat for the first licensing exam in years. The Institute of Engineering at Tribhuvan University in Nepal made attaining an Amateur Radio license a goal for their Electrical Engineering students. The plan was to have 100 new licensed operators on the air by the next September to support a simulated disaster response and to build a 5 site linked system ringing the Kathmandu valley with an Internet connected node and an HF station at the RF Engineering building of the university.
I joined the design team for the repeater network In April of 2012.
Imagine a country where Amateur Radio was in its infancy. No frequency congestion, no repeaters, few operators and enthusiastic young hams anxious to support to serve the community. Some of those original operators were not as anxious to see things change. A small group has had virtually total control of the airwaves for over 20 years. They have thrown up a number of obstacles including:
Mandating a Morse requirement for all classes of license
Making the entry level license HF only and adding VHF/UHF as a higher class
Manipulating the UHF/VHF spectrum outside of the ITU standards
Controlling the type of equipment that would be allowed in the country
Promoting a license fee equivalent to $155 USD
Before the earthquake, this was all just the frustrating politics of a well-connected group of old-guard hams trying to maintain control. For the good of the people of Nepal, it is time to stop the games.
I urge the entire Nepali Amateur community to embrace the offers of the international community to help on the ground in Nepal. This is not the time to tell others you won’t let them operate.
I further urge the entire Amateur community to apply pressure to release the complete repeater that CAN-USA shipped to Tribhuvan University for Radio-Mala over three months ago. Instead of being on the air weeks ago, it has been locked up in customs – a pawn in the game.
Lastly, I urge all of you who want to help to read the forums, listen to the nets and understand where you can send your support to do the most good for the people of Nepal.
Rick Santina
W6IFA
Amateur Radio came to Nepal in 1951 with Father Marshall D. Moran; he operated in Nepal until his death in 1992. Father Moran, the king and a few others were the only licensed amateurs in Nepal. In 1993 there was an Amateur License Test sitting and a few new hams were licensed. This raised the numbers but there were still less than 25 licensed operators. The country fell into Civil War from 1996 to 2006 and the kingdom was abolished in 2008.
In November of 2011, 45 potential new hams sat for the first licensing exam in years. The Institute of Engineering at Tribhuvan University in Nepal made attaining an Amateur Radio license a goal for their Electrical Engineering students. The plan was to have 100 new licensed operators on the air by the next September to support a simulated disaster response and to build a 5 site linked system ringing the Kathmandu valley with an Internet connected node and an HF station at the RF Engineering building of the university.
I joined the design team for the repeater network In April of 2012.
Imagine a country where Amateur Radio was in its infancy. No frequency congestion, no repeaters, few operators and enthusiastic young hams anxious to support to serve the community. Some of those original operators were not as anxious to see things change. A small group has had virtually total control of the airwaves for over 20 years. They have thrown up a number of obstacles including:
Mandating a Morse requirement for all classes of license
Making the entry level license HF only and adding VHF/UHF as a higher class
Manipulating the UHF/VHF spectrum outside of the ITU standards
Controlling the type of equipment that would be allowed in the country
Promoting a license fee equivalent to $155 USD
Before the earthquake, this was all just the frustrating politics of a well-connected group of old-guard hams trying to maintain control. For the good of the people of Nepal, it is time to stop the games.
I urge the entire Nepali Amateur community to embrace the offers of the international community to help on the ground in Nepal. This is not the time to tell others you won’t let them operate.
I further urge the entire Amateur community to apply pressure to release the complete repeater that CAN-USA shipped to Tribhuvan University for Radio-Mala over three months ago. Instead of being on the air weeks ago, it has been locked up in customs – a pawn in the game.
Lastly, I urge all of you who want to help to read the forums, listen to the nets and understand where you can send your support to do the most good for the people of Nepal.
Rick Santina
W6IFA
