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The Brass Pounders Quarterly
is an Electronic Newsletter of the ARRL National Traffic
System
Richard Webb, NF5B, editor
PUBLISHED BY TRAFFIC HANDLERS FOR TRAFFIC HANDLERS
Volume I Issue 2
Copyright 2007 by The ARRL National Traffic System
Contents:
Editor's Corner
NTS News Briefs
General articles: An Interesting ARES Exercise
NTS Training: Creative Error Signals
Handling Instructions: Misused and Misunderstood
NTS Outreach: National Traffic System Let's Use It!
How to Submit an Article
Where to get BPQ
This electronic newsletter is free to all who may wish to receive it. You may
upload it to bulletin board systems; ftp sites etc. so long as no fees are
charged for access to it. Individual articles retain the copyright of the
author.
Editor's Corner
They still do that?
I'm always looking for an opportunity to tell other hams not involved about
opportunities to be of service to one's fellow human via ham radio. The
same goes for the general public. I tell them about the phone patch I ran
for the missionary in Central America; my work at University Hospital in New
Orleans during Katrina; and handling a medical emergency on a sailing vessel off
the coast of Panama. Many stand there with mouth agape listening, and pose the
question that is the title of this article. The next sentence goes something
like this:
"I thought in these days of satellite and internet communications there wouldn't
be a need for guys like you anymore." I smile and list a few common problems
that might be encountered by such "modern" systems, then the incredulity turns
to the bobbing head and then a statement of "It's sure good there are folks like
you hams out there still practicing the old techniques."
Most folks who aren't really clued in when it comes to the workings behind the
technology they use think that the satellite terminal and the cellular device
are everywhere. They grow accustomed to pulling out their little pocket
cell phone and getting a connection to a nearby cell site. They think in terms
of just point the dish at the bird and presto, instant comms. They don't
think about the clouds that might hinder the radio waves from traveling to and
from their little dish to the satellite. They don't think about what the snow
will do to that satellite connection. They're not even used to thinking in
terms of uhf propagation characteristics while using their cell phones. After
all, when their phone loses one cell site another will pick up their call.
Last year a proposal was on the table to discontinue all U.S. coast guard high
seas weather broadcasts on HF. This includes SSB, teletype, and facsimile.
I've talked to a couple of skippers who run commercial fishing rigs and they
tell me that though the cost of such systems is coming down HF radio is still
more reliable, especially when the weather gets rough. It's difficult to
keep that little dish pointed at the bird when your craft is fighting wind and
waves. With the HF broadcast one can pick a frequency where propagation
favors one's part of the world and still receive the weather information that
must be acquired to make intelligent decisions.
Now consider the missionary who might deploy to a place where infrastructure
isn't available. Yes the group he deploys with might have a sat phone (for
official communications with headquarters only) but it isn't available for him
to talk to mom or his brother. even if it is our missionary's camp might not
afford his little satellite communications system a good line of sight to the
needed bird.
To make matters even worse many out there aren't conversant with proper care and
feeding of rechargeable batteries. I hammered and hammered on the folks at
University Hospital New Orleans about improper care of battery packs for
security radio system portables. When needed most the security officers
couldn't depend on their handheld portables. even if they could get through on
the overloaded trunked system often they couldn't keep batteries going reliably.
More than one brought me a radio to put on a charger. when the little light
turned green four hours later I issued it again, and two hours later the same
officer was back asking for another radio. Having spare packs available for
these radios and a different protocol for handling them would have saved these
folks a lot of grief during Katrina.
On the other hand, we hams are well versed in the care and feeding of all sorts
of alternate power systems. We learn to manage gas, diesel, and propane
generators effectively and safely. We understand the difference between a deep
cycle battery and the regular automotive type available at the corner auto parts
store. We even understand that in the world of emergency communications
the old throw away alkaline battery has merit and include it in our jump kits.
I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know here, so let's cut to the
chase. I put fingers to keyboard with this editorial piece to give you some more
ammunition when you're told that the folks handling radiograms and running the
phone patches are rendered obsolete and irrelevant. Far from it! When the rest
of the infrastructure isn't available we can bring comfort to the person
stationed at that lonely outpost. We can help aunt Susie to help herself and her
neighbors by getting a message to her loved ones across the continent advising
them that she's quite safe though displaced from her home.
So why should you care? Let me tell you folks, what we do is already seen
as superfluous and unnecessary by many. For an example let's take a close
look at the last California wild fire season. For the most part, infrastructure
for public safety comms was robust enough to keep on going. The mountaintop
repeaters are battery and generator backed up. At some of the big shelters
cellular providers brought in quick deploy cell sites. As the old adage
goes, these folks planned their work, and worked their plan successfully.
It can still happen, and Joe average guy is going to be the fellow left out
without comms. Quickly deploy temporary cell sites won't be deployed for a
period of days possibly. The regular landline system is out for even
longer. If your neighbors know about your activities they're going to be
very glad you're there for them.
In a not too distant future Joe Average citizen is going to be the guy we serve
directly. The agencies are going to grow accustomed to quick deploy
emergency backup comms that actually work 99% of the time. There's that other
one percent though, and they won't know about us when that one percent reaches
out to bite them, unless we keep doing what we do and educate them..
In this space next issue I'll be talking about ways to show what we do to better
advantage at the annual field day. I strongly believe that public
education has to be a much larger part of what we do in NTS. No other
facet of amateur radio can do it better. Also, no other facet of amateur radio
activity depends on it so much if it is to remain viable.
In return for our redoubled efforts in public education we'll see an increase in
high quality third party traffic which enables us to offer better training to
newcomers and old hands alike.
73 de NF5B
NTS News Briefs
received from K6YR via W4ZJY: The primary frequency for Pacific Area
Net, Cycle 4 moves back to 3552 with the return to standard time for those zones
now on Daylight Time (Sunday, November 4). Net control stations retain option to
use the secondary frequency of 7052 due to prevailing conditions. The
above item should remind us all to be aware of the secondary frequencies for our
region and area nets. Those who mainly operate cw should know the regular
phone frequencies, and vice versa.
---
Another site now has some info on NTS which newcomers and experienced operators
might find useful. Find it at http://www.emergency-radio.org/
---
You'll note two articles in the training section this month. Your editor
hopes you find them useful and informative. One was written by the
C.H.O.P. and we hope the chop will contribute more good articles to this
fledgling publication.
---
Coming next issue:
Traffic handling and field day.
Improve your station's audio, part 1.
---
An Interesting ARES Exercise
By Richard Webb, NF5B
If you're like me you're always looking for an opportunity to do some real
training with your ARES group that will help leadership assess the readiness of
its members. Along with this you'd like to see how well your group's
membership handles formal written traffic.
A little over a year ago the Shelby County Tennessee ARES group did such an
exercise. Here's how it worked.
The participants were divided into three person teams. One member of each
team would deploy to a prearranged location, one would remain somewhere near the
center of Memphis, Tennessee.
The scenario: For this exercise it was assumed that someone would need to
hike that "last mile" to the emergency operation location. The location of the
operational area was inaccessible by vehicle, so the operator deploying was
limited to fifty pounds which included radio, antenna, and any antenna support.
It was assumed for purposes of this game that disabled vehicles nearby would
provide plenty of 12 volt DC power.
For this exercise no repeaters could be used. This is why the third person
was so important. Each team was expected to deploy somebody somewhere to
facilitate the relaying of messages back to the city center.
Each three person team began with 100 points. At the arranged start time, the
teams should be ready to operate. The objective, transmit three formal
radiograms each direction, i.e. three from the remote location inbound and three
return messages. For each 15 minutes that the mission was not complete
deduct five points from the team score.
Then came the fun part, the written copy of the radiograms as received would be
graded for accuracy in formatting as well as spelling. If I recall
correctly ten points were deducted for misspellings and five points for errors
in formatting. Of course, the expected format is the standard radiogram
format we all know.
My lady and I got the honor of grading the radiograms. We had the
boilerplate text of each team's assigned messages available to us. This
would allow us to check for proper spellings of names of places and persons.
When we finished grading the exercise radiograms one team had a score of -15,
that's right folks, minus fifteen points. Other teams were in positive
numbers, but not by much.
Needless to say, since then our group has stepped up the level of training in
traffic handling.
Try it with your group. You'll find it beneficial in many ways, and a lot of
fun.
WHAT I LEARNED ON THE WAY FROM TRAFFIC NETS ...
by the "C.H.O.P."
Creative Error Signals
"Variety is the spice of life," so the saying goes. And for many of us
working the CW traffic airwaves, it seems we have come up with some creative
ways of transmitting an error signal. Some may not be very effective.
The CHOP has heard the question mark (?), and dits numbering four (ugh!), and,
seemingly, a couple of dozen -- just to vent apparent operator frustration!
The proper prosign is, of course, eight-dits for an error. Certainly the
question mark should be suspect. The question mark is supposed to be
punctuation. But in traffic work it can be used when the sender wants to
repeat a word, number or callsign for emphasis or clarification, not as an
error prosign. Using "..--.." leaves the receiving station guessing
whether 1) the sender means message text punctuation (Never! Send the word
"query."), 2) a repeat is coming, or 3) an error has been made.
You may have noticed several of the old Navy operators, or their protégés, using
a pair of two dits (.. ..), particularly when an error has been made by a NCS or
sent in a message text. One would have to go way back in the USN
Radiotelegraphy Procedures Manual to find even a hint of this practice, but its
still out there, and I frankly think it works fine. For one practical
reason: when sent, it does not break the rhythm or flow of the transmission like
five (or more) dits, if properly sent.
Right after the error, pause briefly (for a possible QSK Break signal from the
receiving station who may have spotted the error), then send ".. ..", and
another brief pause, and pick up with the word or number fumbled over.
The CHOP is pretty keen on proper operating practices and will sound off over
departures from such practices. But its not a science, and if it is
effective .
73, the CHOP
Handling Instructions: Misused and Misunderstood.
By Richard Webb, NF5B
Now, before we go any further let me suggest that you have your reference card
with a list of these ready to hand. Get yours from its usual resting place, then
read on.
Anyone who has handled formal written traffic at all has encountered these in a
message. Those little three character wide fields in the message preamble
after the precedence. Yet few have taken the time to understand what they
actually mean and either misuse them or don't bother to comply with said
instructions. Some are so badly misused and misconstrued as to be rendered
meaningless.
Let's first address the default handling instruction which often doesn't require
being placed in that field. This is HXG which indicates that the message
does not require mailing or the incurring of any expense by the op attempting to
deliver it. I've seen this one filled in even on net reports that were
sent directly to the recipient on the air.
Most folks don't have any problems with the HXF handling instruction. It
is usually followed by the number of the date that should be considered the
start of the window of time for delivery. This is often used on birthday
greetings, etc. Old hands usually explain this adequately to the
uninitiated.
Some have commented to me about the handling instruction HXE and related it to
the ARRL numbered radiogram ARL SEVEN. I've been asked why two forms
of requesting a reply be sent. HXE is a requirement that a reply be
generated, even if that reply is the delivering op saying that the recipient had
no reply. The ARL SEVEN in the text is an option. The ARL SEVEN indicates
that it is suggested the delivering operator offer a chance to the recipient to
reply. Barring any other handling instruction no more is required if the
recipient chooses not to.
Now folks it's time to turn our attention to the misused and misunderstood HXC.
Its widespread use by bulk originators is one cause of the misconceptions and
ignorance regarding its use and meaning. As we know, or can read on our
reference card, HXC indicates that delivering station should indicate time and
date of delivery to the originating station. The bulk originators seem to
like to use this one in hopes of generating more traffic for the system, but
results are mixed. Some operators will only comply if the recipient wanted
to originate a message back, or if the message could not be delivered at all.
Many just don't know what it means and therefore don't bother.
Others have the same complaints about the returns as with the bulk message texts
themselves.
This folks brings me to the one I like to use when sending holiday greetings or
just a hello to a friend or relative, HXD. As we all know, HXD asks each
station in the relay chain to send a message to the originator indicating the
following:
-
The station from whom he
received the message
-
The time and date received
-
The station to whom he sent the
message along with time and date sent
-
If delivered, time and date of
delivery.
Most operators totally ignore
this one it seems. There are two main causes of this. The first is
lack of understanding of it. The second will have to be addressed by
developers of software used
by packet and pactor BBS stations.
Many operators forwarding traffic don't pay attention to the HXD handling
instruction at all. When I've mentioned this digital ops tell me that they
often don't see individual messages passing through their system, or don't have
time to review and process each one manually to comply with it. However, it
seems to me that this could easily be implemented to be automatically handled by
the software. After all the work that goes into the look and feel of the
user interface I'd think this one would be just as easily implemented.
I've done some database
programming over the years and am still a fan of the ubiquitous batch file that
can run under any flavor of Microsoft Windows. Though I'm not fluent in C
or Pascal and know nothing of visual basic at all, I'm sure it could be
implemented easily enough. For voice and CW ops, however, it's a matter of
education. The software problem is an entirely different rant and will not
be discussed further in this article. However, NTS ops using voice and cw
should endeavor to comply with the HXD instruction when it appears. If it
cannot be easily complied with on NTSD, then possibly such traffic should not be
routed via NTSD. Major NTSD hubs and other high volume traffic movers
might wish to put a bug in the ears of software developers regarding this issue.
One never sees handling instructions HXA or HXB anymore. HXA followed by a
number that indicates collect landline calls to deliver are authorized with the
mileage indicated by the number. If no number, authorization unlimited.
However, these days often a transcontinental phone call to deliver a message
will cost less than the stamp one would need to mail it.
Finally, in our review of handling instructions we come to HXB. This
instruction followed by a number indicates that if a message is not delivered
within that number of hours it should be cancelled and a service message
generated to the originator. I might use this one for priority or other
traffic, especially during a disaster.
Finally in our look at handling instructions we should visit one which never
quite came into common use, though some attempted to achieve this goal. This was
the handling instruction "I" for an Internet email delivery or send at the first
possible opportunity. HXI was usually followed by the email address of the
recipient. This was under some discussion nearly five years ago I seem to
recall, but never quite became commonplace. Unlike ARL FORTY SEVEN which
was adopted system wide rather rapidly, this one never caught on.
Those of us responsible for training newcomers should spend a bit more time on
how these should be utilized and what they mean.. Again, the cure is the same
for most other ills currently plaguing the system. We need more high
quality third party traffic, and originators to utilize these handling
instructions so as to help educate and train the newcomers properly.
This field of the preamble along with the check field are the two most
misunderstood parts of the standard radiogram preamble. It also follows that
they are the two that are not given enough attention when training newcomers in
a classroom setting.
National Traffic System Let's
Use It!
Jerry VerDuft ADD8A, Director
TCC Pacific Cycle 4, NTS
Newsletter editors: Here's some content for your next newsletter!
I couldn't help but notice the lack of third party messages during the recent
holidays and thought what a shame it is that we are not using our established
National Traffic System for sending messages to our friends and loved ones these
days. NTS has an established corps of operators who have committed
themselves to weekly (and some daily) schedules for sending and receiving formal
message traffic. These are some of the best and most dedicated operators we have
in amateur radio and we ought to be using their talents I know some of you
maintain that NTS is no longer needed with the advent of digital modes, cell
phones, and e-mail. Well, I disagree. I personally know how happy one
feels when I deliver them a holiday greetings message, or a "happy birthday"
greeting. They feel good! And I feel good about being able to communicate such a
greeting to them. Yes, many of the recipients have e-mail and cell phone
capability, but they still enjoy that "personal message" sent via ham radio. And
it's a great opportunity to introduce them to the wonderful world of amateur
radio. NTS is always ready to serve in times of disaster and emergency
communications needs. Let's reinforce that readiness by using the system
for some happy-grams. NTS operators are dedicated and anxious to serve.
Let's use 'em!
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Thanks for reading and 73
Richard Webb, NF5B
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BRASS POUNDERS' QUARTERLY
Published by traffic handlers for traffic handlers
Copyright ARRL National Traffic System, electronic distribution encouraged.
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