Frequency Change

Back in April and May of 2021 when the Northwest Cache Valley Net came to be, K7ETM and I discussed the frequencies we would use for the net. At that time the Newton EOC radio could only operate on the 2 meter band, limiting our selection of frequencies to the simplex portions of that band.

Another consideration was the frequencies already selected by the County EOC and the other towns and cities with operating EOC's. The 146.400 to 146.580 simplex portion of the band is popular with those other agencies, but I found an open spot I thought we could use and chose 146.550 as the primary net frequency, with 147.420 as an alternate.

A few months later the Newton EOC radio was upgraded and a 70 Centimeter band frequency was added, in large part to give us a cross-band repeat frequency - which we have begun to use.

Last evening during their regular Tuesday net, the BARC training topic revisited the Utah 2 Meter band plan, and from that training I realized we will need to make a change to our primary net frequency. 

While I had consulted the national band plan and the frequencies in use by other agencies, I did not realize that Utah has a frequency allocation layer on top of the national band plan, limiting the simplex frequency selection to even numbered frequencies at least 20 KHz apart.

So, because 146.550 is less than 20 KHz away from other frequencies in use, and it is not an even numbered frequency in the simplex portion of the band, I propose we abandon it altogether and use 147.420 as our primary net requency, with 446.300 as the alternate. I have reviewed the existing Cache County frequency assignments again and this change will put our net operations well away from any other Cache County agency using the upper simplex portion of the band.

As many of our members use handheld radios, I would like to continue using the split channel for our net meetings. I believe it allows the handheld signals to be heard better by all when we use that split channel. The split channel "listening" frequency wll be 147.420, while transmitting on 446.300.

I realize many of you have recently gone through a reprogramming process to accomodate the split channel we have been using for the net, and I do feel bad to ask again. I feel your pain, as this change will require I reprogram the two radios in the EOC, as well as all of my personal radios, but I believe avoiding potential interference during an actual emergency where many agencies are operating will be worth the effort.

If it is helpful I have prepared a CHIRP image file containing the updated Northwest Cache Valley Net frequencies, the Cache County ICS205 frequencies as well as the VARA and packet gateway frequencies in the valley. You can find that file here.

Also, I want to thank each of you for participating! Whether it is through reading the training posts on the blog, or by joining us during the net on a radio, our goal is to help amateur operators in this corner of the county to be better prepared if we need to use our radios in an emergency.

If I can help with programming I would be happy to do so. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out via 435-757-3330 or by email to greg.fabricius@gmail.com.

2 Basic Communication Skills

Announcement:

A one-day technician class will be held at the Sheriff’s Office this coming Saturday, October 22. Class instruction begins at 8:00 AM with a test session at 3:00. If you know someone who is interested in obtaining a license, refer them to barconline.org/licensing/technician to sign up for the class.

Training:

For our training I referenced the ARRL Introduction to Emergency Communications course and will focus on two of the skills discussed in Section 2, Topic 5:

First, Plain Language:

As ham radio operators, we use a great deal of jargon (technical slang) and specialized terminology in our daily conversations. Most of us understand each other when we do, and if we do not on occasion it usually makes little difference. In an emergency, however, the results can be much different. A misunderstood message could be costly.

Not everyone involved in an emergency communication situation will understand our slang and technical jargon. Even terms used by ham radio operators vary from one region to another, and non-hams or new hams will have no knowledge of most of our terminology. Ham radio operators assisting from another region might understand certain jargon very differently from local ones.

For these reasons, all messages and communications during an emergency should be in plain language. “Q” signals (except in CW communication), 10 codes, and similar jargon should be avoided. The one exception to this is the list of standard “prowords” (often called “prosigns”) used in amateur traffic nets, such as “clear,” “say again all after,” and so on.

Avoid words or phrases that carry strong emotions. Most emergency situations are emotionally charged already, and you do not need to add to the problem. For instance, instead of saying, “horrific damage and people torn to bits,” you might say “significant physical damage and serious personal injuries.” And please watch the speed at which you speak. It should be at a normal rate. Many times, emergency operators get too excited and talk very fast, making it hard for receiving stations to understand them. 

The second topic is Phonetics:

In the course of sending and receiving messages, certain words in a message may not be immediately understood. This might be the case with an unusual place name, or an unusual last name. The best way to be sure it is understood correctly is to spell it. The trouble is, if you just spell the word using letters, it might still be misunderstood, because many letters sound alike at the other end of a radio circuit. “Z” and “C” are two good examples. For that reason, radio communicators often use phonetics. These are specific words that begin with the letter being sent. 

To reduce requests to repeat words, use phonetics any time a word has an unusual or difficult

spelling, or may be easily misunderstood. Do not spell common words unless the receiving

station asks you to. In some cases, they may ask for the phonetic spelling of a common word to

clear up confusion over what has been received. Standard practice is to first say the word, say “I

spell,” and then spell the word phonetically. This lets the receiving station know you are about to

spell the word they just heard.

Several different phonetic alphabets are in common use, but most ham radio operators and public safety agencies use the ITU Phonetic Alphabet, and others use military alphabets. Many ham radio operators like to make up their own phonetics, especially as a memory aid for call signs, and often with humorous results. This may not be good practice in emergency communications, as in poor conditions, unusual phonetic words might also be misunderstood. We need to be sure that what we say is always interpreted exactly as intended.

The ITU Phonetic Alphabet:

Winlink Checkin

Beginning October 2022 we will add a Winlink message checkin to the 3rd Sunday net. 

If you would like to participate in the data check in but have not installed Winlink on your computer, here is a link to the Winlink Setup post.

The checkin can be via telnet, or via packet over VHF or HF.

• Please send your message before 19:00 hours on the day of the monthly net. 
• Please send your Winlink message to N7GRF.
• Please use the Winlink Checkin.txt form to submit your check in.

Instructions to find the form are in the text below. Contact me via greg.fabricius@gmail.com if you have questions about the Winlink message check in.

Once you have Winlink installed and have an account setup using your call sign, open the Winlink program on your computer.

Note: Every time you open Winlink it will prompt you to update the software and forms, as well as ask you to license your copy. I encourage you to accept the software and form updates, but you are not required to buy a license to continue.

When open, Winlink looks similar to many email programs. In the menu bar just below the window header, click on "Message" and in the drop down window that appears select "New Message"

When the "Enter a New Message" window appears, in the top menu bar choose "Select Template".  The Template Manager window opens, and you will see a directory of forms. To the left of each category is a plus sign.

Locate "General Forms" in the list and click on the plus sign next to that category. A new level of the directory opens and down towards the bottom of the list you will find the form "Winlink Check In.txt". Click on that form and it will open in a new browser window.

When you register your account Winlink will ask you to enter coordinates for your location. Along with your call sign and other information used to set up your account, the grid coordinates entered at setup will populate in the forms that use location data.

There are a few other fields in the Winlink Check In form that will need manual entry, such as the Date/Time field, Send to field, etc. For our monthly net checkin please enter N7GRF in the "Send To" field. As you review each field in the form make an appropriate entry. In the "Comments" field, a simple comment such as Net Check in is all  you need.

At the bottom of the form you will see a row of buttons. If you want to save the form to your computer to make future checkins go faster, click the "Save Check in Data" button. 

To submit the current form back to the Winlink email client, click the "Submit" button.

After you have submitted the form back to the Winlink email client, the contents of the form appear in the "Enter a New Message" window. After a quick review of the recipient and other fields, if everything is correct use the "Post to Outbox" command in the top menu row.

After posting to the outbox, the enter a new message window closes and you are back at the home screen of Winlink. You should see 1 item in your outbox.

In the top menu row of Winlink, locate the "Open Session" command. In the box next to it you can choose the mode, such as Telnet Winlink, etc. For this example we will select Telnet Winlink to use your internet connection.

With Telnet Winlink selected, click the "Open Session" command. The Telnet Winlink Session window opens. For now the window will be blank. On the menu bar of that new window select the "Start" command. 

In the Telnet Winlink Session window you will see connection and progress messages appear. The process takes longer when using a packet over radio frequency mode, but once the Completed Send of Message comment appears you will know your message has been sent. Click the "Stop" command and the Telnet Winlink Session window will close.

Back at the home window you will see the message indicator by the Outbox is back to (0). You can review the Sent Items folder to verify the message was transmitted.

At this point you can close the program, or if you are actively monitoring Winlink during an exercise or activation for an emergency, you can keep the program open and periodically use the "Open Session" command to send or receive messages.

I would encourage everyone to become familiar with Winlink and practice each month with a Winlink Checkin message as well as your voice checkin to the 3rd Sunday net.

Please let me know if you have questions.

October Net Schedules

The Northwest Cache Valley Net will be held Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 8:00 p.m.  

We invite all amateur operators residing in the Northwest Cache Valley communities of Amalga, Benson, Clarkston, Cornish, Newton and Trenton to join us on the net for a monthly test of your equipment and a training topic we hope will be of value.

If you are able to program a split channel in your radio, please configure a memory location to transmit over 446.300 and receive on 146.550. A PL tone is not needed.

If you cannot use the split channel for check in, continue to join us over 146.550 rx/tx simplex.

Beginning October 2022 I would like to add a Winlink check-in to our monthly net.

The message can be sent by any mode - telnet, packet or VARA.

• Please send your message before 19:00 hours on the day of the monthly net. 
• Please send your Winlink message to N7GRF.
• Please use the Winlink Check In.txt form to submit your check in.

Please review the Winlink Check In post for instructions to find the form.

Other emergency communication themed nets in October 2022:

• October 2, 2022: Logan Storehouse Net at 8:30 p.m over 146.420 simplex.

• October 4, 2022: Cache County ARES Winlink Net from 06:00 - 19:00. Can be ANY mode including Packet, Telnet or HF. Address your check-in message to W7CSO using the "Winlink Check In" template.

• October 4, 2022: Cache County ARES Net at 8:00 p.m. over the BARC Repeater System.

• October 16, 2022: Logan Storehouse Net at 8:30 p.m over 146.420 simplex.