Good Evening,
I received the following critique this morning and thought it may be
well to answer it publically. This will also help those who have not
followed the history of ECN from its inception on June 7th, 2003. I have
elided the author's name and callsign to protect his privacy. However, I
do wish for input such as this from any of you. Since we started the nets
we have evolved our methods a great deal. What you hear now is due to a
great number of emails between a number of us. Go to ecn.visionseer.com
for some of the notes I've developed over the years. There is an archive
of the Elecraft Reflector which can be used to find ECN announcements or
reports. Ms. Pat showed me results of a Google search she performed one
day. She put in KD5ONS and then checked the box to allow for similiar
pages to be displayed. This will allow you to find all of the ECN email
listings too.
When I started ECN I was also involved with three NTS traffic nets. As
some of you know I have taken traffic during or following the net if I am
situated such that I am the strongest station the traffic passing op can
hear. One reason we use some of our procedures is because of this traffic
net experience. We also use QN codes to help limit some of the
exchanges. Since moving from the back room radio shack to a place nearer
the woodstove I have not moved all of my cheat sheets. The Q and QN code
sheet is one which has not yet made the trip. I will do so now ... done!
We have tried having folks use 'hail' signs and some of you still do
so. It is much appreciated since I can copy them more quickly than I can
a series of overlapping callsigns. Another technique we tried, a few
years ago when the bands were stronger, was to call for QNI by area. i.
e. 1, 2, and 3 calls come first. That way we could work east to west to
optimize propagation conditions as they changed across the continent.
That worked well until propagation worsened due to the deepening sunspot
cycle. Now that we have changed the times earlier to allow for folks out
east to work ECN we may reinstitute this system.
I have worked stations as they check in because I often receive private
email from folks mentioning they do not tune in until 20 or 30 minutes
after the hour. Many of you do not copy all of the exchanges awaiting a
chance to check in. Since ECN is not a strict traffic net, nor a DX
contest, nor even your standard net we work a little differently. I
modeled ECN on a net I was familiar with while going to graduate school in
New Mexico. This net (Rusty's Raiders Net if you wish provenance) would
run from 9 AM until noon on the extensive 2 meter repeater system in New
Mexico. It is also like the Noon Time Net. We take check ins as they
call and work them in that order. I have worked three in a row but
rarely. Often I get two and then work them before I call for the next
set. If the net runs for an hour or longer I think I have done a very
good job.
Usually I work strongest to weakest stations because it helps me hear
the weaker stations if the louder ones are no longer present. I have
asked many times for relays or for another operator to act as NCS. Tom,
N0SS, is not the sole relay station involved. Many others have been asked
and then acted as NCS. If you are strong to me and are in another
geographic area I will ask you to run the net. Then you send your check
ins and their information back to me. Tom simply lives in a good location
to call the folks near where I live (Oregon) whom I cannot work directly.
He also is located such that he can work folks east of me better (at
times) than I can. I have received help from folks in NM, AZ, CA, TN, CO,
and CT to round out the NCS slot. Thank you to all of those operators who
assisted us.
Yes, we do get chatty. I repeat myself occasionally because I know
some of you do not hear what I've sent to other operators. If I can
develop a method of getting your callsign (or better yet a hail sign) the
first time things will run more rapidly. There were many times this last
Sunday where all I heard was one steady tone; much like a key held down
for four or five seconds. I need to break those up into shorter patterns
which I can call in sequence. If Tom is running the net and I hear
someone who he cannot I break him with a single O (the first character of
the suffix of my call). Others of you do send 'hail' signs which are
quite helpful. Some of you have such distinctive calls I only need to
hear the last two characters to know who you are (AR, YD, SS, BK, etc.)
Please remember: we try to run the net so accomplished operators and
novice CW ops can work in the same venue. I keep my keyer set to a
maximum of 20 words per minute and increase inter-character spacing if
necessary. Tom does increase speed to work faster stations. I normally
do not but copy them at their speed. The reason I don't speed things up
is so we do not scare off anyone by running so far over their head that
they are intimidated. That is NOT what ECN is all about. If it takes
longer to work a slower operator so be it; there is always next week.
Being friendly, calling folks by name, these are hallmarks of our net. I
shall not change that.
I welcome debate on our procedures. We've evolved to this point I have
no problem with ongoing change to make ECN better for us all. Please
email me privately with your comments or critiques so we do not deluge the
Reflector with our comments. Eric suffers our presence gladly; I would
like to stay on his good side by keeping our traffic to a minimum :)
73,
Kevin. KD5ONS (Net Control Operator in Training)
On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 05:57:54 -0800, xxxxx wrote:
Kevin,
You asked for some help on how to be a net control station.
Caviet: it has been over 20 years since I was manager of a cw traffic
net (NTX, north texas cw traffic net and frequent checking on TEX and
RN5[region 5]). Things have changed a bit since then. I never got good
enough to be RN5<-->CAN [central area net]or to run with the TCC boys
(they relay between EAN[eastern area net], CAN and PAN[pacific area net]
{or did then}).
I suggest that you listen to some real cw traffic nets and model your
operation after those.
A good NCS(net control station) will listen for a single character from
a station and repeat it back. That station then sends their full call
sign and QTC list or QRU.
NCS acknowledges and waits. Someone else sends a single character.
REPEAT above proceedure.
Perhaps some stations saying 'QRZ' (someone else is calling you). You
would say QRZ? QSP? (who is calling me, can someone relay).
After everyone checks in, you can get 'chatty' and ask stations
questions about their weather, etc.
Note: it is unnecessary to tell each station about YOUR weather, etc.,
as most stations have copied everything you have sent to anyone!
You only need to say something ONCE unless someone asks you (because
they missed something).
It should NOT take an hour to call the net.
Remember also, band conditions change rapidly. It is very frustrating
for a station to wait an hour to try to check in and have the band
change so that they can no longer hear the net!!!
You might try something like this:
QST QST QST Elecraft cw net ECN QND QNZ vvv vvv vvv de KD5ONS
*QNC chk in by sending last letter from ur call. Send ur call when I
*echo what you send =
*QNA stns wid suffix starting wid A de KD5ONS K
*....
ECN QNA B thru D de KD5ONS K
....
etc.
If you set forth the procedure you intend to use on the redirector, then
it is NOT necessary to repeat it on the air. You skip the * lines in the
suggested net start up.
73 de xxxx
these may help
---------------------------------
QNA Answer in prearranged order
QNB Act as relay between ...... and ......
QNC All net stations copy
QND Net is directed
QNE Entire net please stand by
QNF Net is free
QNG Take over as Net Control Station (NCS)
QNH Your net frequency is high
QNI Report into net -or- I report into net
QNJ Can you copy ......?
QNK Transmit message(s) (for ......) to ......
QNL Your net frequency is low
QNM You are QRMing ...... Please stand by
QNN Who is net control station? -or- Net control station is ......
QNO Going out of net
QNP Unable to copy you or ......
QNQ Move frequency to ...... and wait for ...... to finish
handling traffic. Then
send him traffic for ......
QNR Answer ..... and relay (or receive) traffic
QNS Following stations in net ... ... ...
QNT Leaving net temporarily (or for ... minutes) -or- I request
to leave net
temporarily, etc.
QNU ...... has traffic for you: await instructions
QNV Establish contact with ...... on this frequency. If
successful, move to .....kHz
and send him traffic for ......
QNW Through whom shall I relay message for ......
QNX You are excused from the net -or- I request to be excused
from the net
QNY Please shift to another frequency (or to ....kHz) to prevent
QRMing other net
stations (or to clear traffic with ......)
QNZ Zero beat your signal with mine
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