Regional Comm Test this Saturday

Post date: Apr 16, 2012 2:17:38 PM

The Portland Storehouse of the LDS church is leading an emergency-preparedness communication exercise, including a VHF simplex net, for radio amateurs in the region on the morning of Saturday, April 21^st. We'll be participating in that, and adding our own activity that morning to get you out of bed a few minutes earlier! Everyone's encouraged to join in the fun.

Timeline

08:45 - 70cm simplex check-in net on (445.840 MHz)

09:00 - 2m simplex net (146.500 MHz)

09:25 - 2m LDS building simplex net

10:15 - 80/40/20m SSB net (3.937 MHz, etc.)

All morning - Digital (Packet/WinLink) message passing

Details

When participating as an individual in these voice nets, please identify yourself by you call sign and first name. During check-in, please report your location (especially if you're not at home!), and the subjective quality of the signal you receive from Net Control using one of these terms:

• • Loud

  • Good

  • Weak

Additionally, I will welcome any signal reports that you want to compile and send me via email.

At the bottom of this post you will find an attached "fillable" PDF form that you may possibly find handy for recording stations that you hear. The file is a bit big, but it does the job.

70cm Net (8:45-9:00)

MMSH ERC Net will be conducting this net on 445.84 MHz, and all licensed amateurs are invited to participate. The 70cm band is not generally considered too useful in much of Cowlitz county because of the rugged terrain, but that just makes it more fun! If you can't hear Net Control, or it appears that NC doesn't hear someone else, please jump in and request/provide a relay. The 70cm band can be particularly handy when you add cross-band repeat into the mix; we won't be doing that during this exercise, but the propagation data provided could be useful in choosing cross-band link locations.

in addition to reporting your reception of the Net Control operator, feel free to share any thoughts regarding how you've heard other stations so far on the net.

2m simplex net (9:00-9:25)

This net will be conducted on 146.5 MHz from the LDS meetinghouse on 11th Ave. in Longview, and all licensed amateurs are invited to participate. Signal reports shall be given as described above.

LDS Building Net (9:25-10:15)

Radio operators at each church-owned property will be checking in and passing short 3rd party messages. The Longview, WA stake will be using the same frequency as the previous net. For extra entertainment, browse other 2m and 70cm simplex frequencies, and see how many other stakes in the region you can catch talking!

SSB Net (10:15-11:00)

This net will be conducted under thw W7ERC call sign on the following frequencies:

• • 3.937 MHz (LSB)

  • 7.195 MHz (LSB)

  • 14.289 MHz (USB)

All general-class and higher licensees are invited to check in. (Techs: find a radio and listen in!) Operators at LDS buildings will be checking in as well. Hopefully there will be someone listening on all 3 frequencies -- try 'em -- but I won't guarantee anything except 80m.

Digital Messages (send anytime!)

Messages are being accepted via the following modes/addresses:

WinLink 2000: ke7awr@winlink.org (please CC w7erc.mail@gmail.com)

"Classic" Packet: ke7awr@ke7awr.or.usa.noam

Packet node "BHS" (KE7AWR-1) listens on 145.020 MHz (1200 bps)

You are encouraged to send separate messages using all modes (WL2k/Packet) and bands (HF/VHF/UHF) that you can.

If you can't find an RMS gateway or packet route for your message, try contacting AD7UF (or, failing that, just broadcast your msg) on 145.02 MHz from 10:15-11:30, and I'll manually relay your message. (If anyone is able to talk directly to BSH and wants to provide a node/digipeater for us to use, now's the time to volunteer!)

Also, if you are unable to reach anyone via RF, you can email the WinLink address via whatever Internet connection you have available. Also, try talking to the BHS packet node via telnet -- details at:

http://www.cascadeamateurradio.net/Packet_Page.html

Digital Message Format

Winlink messages should have a subject line containing your call sign, location, and band, formatted like this:

//WL2K AD7UF Stake-Longview VHF

(If you don't know the name of the LDS stake in which you reside, list your city & state.)

In the body of your message, indicate any useful information such as your location, how you are passing the message, what equipment you are using, etc. A sample report is shown in the info packet available in the next section.

More Details

The official information packet for the church-sponsored event can be found here:

http://www.cascadeamateurradio.net/Bulletins/Portland%20ERC%20Deployment%20Plan%20for%20April%2021%202012%20Exercise.pdf

Also, you can email Charles (address at the bottom of the "About MMSHERC Net" page) if you have questions.

"See" you on the air!