Fellow Hams/Indians
Over the past several weeks we have debated this issue, there are several pertinent points raised and there has of course been some action from various groups over the past 60 years to talk to the Ministry/WPC/IB etc. which is all very nice. However, in a country such as India nothing moves unless there is some gain(financial) to be had from making the decision. The buck-passing is of course the best way to delay a decision and take no action, extremely useful by the ministers.
We have only a one point agenda which is the mis(use) of the hobby for disasters, and that's about it. There is so much more to talk about and achieve but many think that Ham Radio will come to the rescue during disasters. We have no storyboard!!
Licensing issues will persist in our country, and since the laws and regulations are so convoluted that making sense of them is a nightmare. The touts will charge a tidy amount for getting you the material legally in the country. I am no authority on the Indian Customs rules and regulations, and there have been a number of attempts by others to explain the regulations albeit in their own way. At least it is heartening ot note that there is good knowledge abd experts on the topic and some hams have also volunteered to assist with the import based on correct paperwork. Politicians do not care about the hobby and we all know why, so even trying to involve them is a useless venture and we can keep emailing them and writing to the Ministry etc., but will achieve nothing. Inviting them for events are also a waste of time. No technocrat ministers are there who would understand the value of an advanced hobby such as Ham Radio, Ministers do not even understand sports (besides cricket).
Of the interested ham population there are many who have imported rigs on their own and these do not count. In these VU2 e-groups ARSICOM- 749 members, CQ-VU- 642 members, Hambrewers - 308 members, vuhams - 922. This means that there are about 1500 hams on these e-groups. Of which 90% have good rigs and are not interested in importing anything more or building anything, which leaves us with 150 hams who are keen to get their hands on a kit and actually build it/use it. So these groups have been active in the last few weeks about doing something, but we are happy if someone else does it for us, I have asked for volunteers for a kit build in SDR (that's the future) but from 1500 active hams (online), I just got 6 people of which just 2 of us are doing some active thinking and we are NOT making a huge publicity and slowly but surely getting something done. Our target (sub INR 5000 RXTX), I will not mention who and how this is being achieved but I think by 20-12-2012 we will have made an entry. Maybe others will be spurred on by seeing a target :D
There was a mail earlier about PUMPING some money into making a kit, but NO-ONE came forward to say, well here is Rs. 1000 as a contribution go ahead lets make something happen. We love stories on how great INDIA was 5000 years ago and we love stories on how we achieved independence 60 years ago (that was because the British were broken due to the Second World War, that they decided to consolidate), but when there is a call to ACTION, there is no one. Oh yes, and we love the story of how our former President contributed in building missiles in the face of opposition from the United States, but, what have you done for the hobby? Parliament is ruled by factionalism and so are we.. Let's admit it.. we cannot get one proper rig out for use, despite our IITs, RECs, our so-called brains, India shining etc., and how VU2RG was a great ham, and another minister loved the hobby in his town.
Questions still open
1. How much activity is happening in all the alloted bands? Can we set up an automated reporting system to monitor the bands in the country? With reporting on the web so we can all see the activity?
2. Are we willing to contribute time and energy to get a kit ready in VU land?
3. Will the rich/settled/well-to-do hams make a donation to a club/ham/college who will then use the funding to get a kit out? I'm sure that if each of us contributes Rs. 500 (assuming 1500 hams)at the minimum we can create a corpus of INR750,000 enough to build a sophisticated rig. I'm sure we all spend a significant amount on other things :-)
4. How many hams will actually build a kit and use it? Do we need a poll on this?
Ratan Tata made the NANO, we achieved freedom, let's make things happen!!
73
Ravi
PS: If there are any brickbats, please write directly and I shall be happy to defend the views above, if you want to contribute constructively please do so.
Believe each human being has the potential to change, to transform one's own attitude, no matter how difficult the situation." - Dalai Lama
Fr
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