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CX2SA > NTS 06.08.24 13:10l 299 Lines 15002 Bytes #162 (0) @ ARRL
BID : NTS062024
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Subj: June 2024 NTS Letter
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<GB7CIP<CX2SA
Sent: 240806/1209Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM #:42625 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:NTS062024
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : NTS@ARRL
====================
June 2024 NTS Letter
====================
-Hamvention 2024
-Treasure Hunt Update
-Radiogram Portal Update
-ARRL Numbered Radiograms
-Field Day and NTS
-From the Field
-Spotlight - W2ZXN
Hamvention 2024
---------------
Your editor was privileged to attend Dayton Hamvention in May in Xenia, OH.
Except for the rain on Friday morning, the weather was beautiful - warm and
sunny. Because this was an ARRL National Convention, there were interesting
and well-attended presentations by ARRL staff. A great emphasis was put on
youth and attracting young people to the hobby. One thing was missing,
however. I had hoped to find some gathering of NTS folks, but alas, I did
not. I saw a few folks I knew, but the most surprising was to find a ham I
hadn't seen for nearly 40 years. Kitty Hevener, W8TDA, was living in the
Boston area at the time until she left to work at ARRL. From there she moved
to different locations, and we lost touch. One day at Hamvention I was
walking past the HandiHam booth, looking for a friend who had been attending
a different forum. I found him there, sitting next to Kitty, whom he did not
know. I recognized her right away and we had a long chat, catching up with
all those years. What are the chances amidst thousands of people? All in
all, it was a great weekend. Thanks to the Dayton Amateur Radio Association
for making it possible.
Treasure Hunt Update
--------------------
Hello, treasure hunters! Twenty stations participated in the May NTS
Treasure Hunt. The following stations successfully completed all three rounds:
05/14/24 20:29 W1LEM Lem
05/14/24 20:30 N1CVO Shawn
05/14/24 20:31 KC1TLF David
05/14/24 20:33 KY2D Jim
05/15/24 19:11 K1IG George
05/23/24 19:04 KC3MAL Stuart
05/24/24 23:23 KC2QVF Chris
The first-place finisher in this, the May Treasure Hunt, as well as in
future Treasure Hunts, will be awarded a specially designed mug courtesy of
the NTS 2.0 Planning Committee. The second- and third-place finishers will
receive a certificate courtesy of the NTS 2.0 Treasure Hunt committee.
Regarding this month's third-round question, Jon, N1ILZ, reports, "It
appears that the third question (mine) proved more challenging than I
expected. Just under half the respondents got it right the first time. Most
got it right on the second try after the hint in my reply,
ROGER THR3 INCORRECT
X CHECK MPG SECTION 2
DOT 1 DOT 1 AND
RESUBMIT 73."
The question was "On NTS voice nets how should 1359 be voiced query." The
answer is, "Figures one tree fife niner."
If you missed the official Treasure Hunt announcement in the December 2023
issue of The NTS Letter, here is a recap: This is a fun, on-air, multi-step
competition in which you will respond to a "judge" with your answer to an
initial clue or question via radiogram. The judge will reply via radiogram
with the identity of the next judge, along with the next question or clue in
the hunt.
We had quite a few responses to our survey, and we will be trying to address
those issues. Thanks for the feedback. One common response was, "I never
received a reply." I would suggest you try using the "HXC" handling
instruction. This will ask the station delivering your message to send you a
message with the date and time they delivered your message to the addressee.
We will take the month of June off, but remember to send 10 radiograms
during Field Day for a 100-point bonus. Also, you'll get an additional
100-point bonus if you send a message to your Section Manager or the Section
Emergency Coordinator.
Check out the July issue of The NTS Letter for the July Treasure Hunt!
If you have any comments or suggestions, please use the survey form or email
Dan Rinaman, AC8NP at ac8np@xxxxx.xxx. - 73, Dan Rinaman, AC8NP
Radiogram Portal Update
-----------------------
The Radiogram Portal is a project of the NTS 2.0 group with two main goals
in mind. The first is to provide a platform to explain to the general public
what Amateur Radio messaging is all about - to give a basic introduction to
this part of our public service capability, and then to provide an easy way
for someone who's not a ham to submit a message for origination. The second
is to try to inject more true third-party traffic into our traffic system.
This project went live in December 2023 and now lists 49 registered
"radiogrammers" who can take a message from the Portal, originate a
radiogram, and enter it into the NTS. These radiogrammers come from around
the country, including from:
Region 1 - 11 Region 2 - 5 Region 3 - 3 Region 4 - 7 Region 5 - 4 Region 6 - 1
Region 7 - 0 Region 8 - 4 Region 9 - 4 Region 10 - 6 Region 11 (Eastern
Canada) - 1
Region 12 - 3
Portal use has been increasing as the word gets out. A total of 13 messages
were handled in April, and a total of 28 have been handled in May as of
Memorial Day.
Messages are listed for radiogrammers according to the Region in which it
was originated. In other words, a message originated in Phoenix, Arizona for
Syracuse, New York would be listed for radiogrammers in Region 12 to pick
up, and not for those in Region 2. A question was raised as to why it would
not be listed for Region 2 stations. The answer relates to the second goal
above. By listing radiograms under the station of origin's Region, it's more
likely that someone in that Region will put the radiograms into the NTS via
RF. If they were listed under the recipient's region, then the system would
lean to shortcutting the NTS, and be more of an internet-based email system.
If a message, however, is not picked up within a reasonable amount of time,
it can be handled by any radiogrammer, but preferably from within a nearby
Region. More information on this will be forthcoming in a future issue.
Another traffic handler was concerned about a "message [that] was being sent
from a ham in [another state] after he had picked it up on the message
portal. The city and state in the header of the message were not the city
and state of the licensed ham sending the message! I found this confusing."
Remember the first goal mentioned previously is to introduce message
handling to the public. It has been some time since we traffic handlers have
seen actual third-party messages, so it is not surprising this could be
confusing. It is important to remember the meaning of "third-party traffic."
While generally these messages are from non-hams, they could be from a
licensed ham but one not familiar with radiogram format or how to enter a
message into the network. The "station of origin," as we know, is the
licensed amateur who formats a message into a radiogram and injects it into
the network. The "place of origin," on the other hand, is the location of
the "third party" whose message has consequently been formatted into a
radiogram and should match the location of the signer of the message. If the
"third party" is a ham, his/her call sign might be included, but is not
necessary.
Yet another question was raised concerning the use of numbered radiogram
texts. It was noted that one had to select one of the numbered texts from a
drop-down menu. This was planned for use by those who don't understand some
of the restrictions of a radiogram. This list could potentially be expanded
at a future time. However, any traffic handlers who are registered on the
Portal website are given the option of creating a "free-form" message.
More information about the Radiogram Portal can be found on the NTS 2.0
website at https://nts2.arrl.org/radiogram-portal-quick-start/.
ARRL Numbered Radiograms
------------------------
A reader asked a question concerning the use of numbered radiograms. As most
traffic handlers know, these are standardized texts that allow for
shortening a text of many words into one of few. The FSD-3 form on the ARRL
website contains a list of numbered radiograms that have been used for many
years. Form FSD-3 remains the same. However, in the past year the NTS 2.0
group has updated this list, keeping the same numbers and texts as the FSD-3
but adding additional ones mostly for welfare use. These numbers and texts
match those on the RRI list so there should be no confusion. The question
asked was, has the new list been implemented, or do we continue to use the
FSD-3 form? We recommend using the new expanded list now, for formatting
radiograms and for translation of radiogram texts for delivery to
recipients. This list can be found at https://nts2.arrl.org/numbered-texts/.
Field Day and NTS
-----------------
ARRL Field Day is coming up in just a few weeks. Traffic handlers can be
active in several ways. If you can get to a Field Day site, help your club
gain points by operating and making contacts. If you're not into big
pileups, you can help with a GOTA (Get On The Air) station. If you are
unable to get out, you can operate from home and give others additional
contact points. Speaking of points, of course you can boost your club's
score by helping to originate radiograms and getting them on the air. If you
operate from home, you can monitor your local traffic nets and receive Field
Day radiograms for relay or delivery. Field Day is a highly publicized
event, and this activity raises an awareness on the part of the public that
amateur radio is still very much active today. In addition to the above, and
perhaps more important, you can have fun supporting and socializing with
your fellow amateurs! See https://nts2.arrl.org/promo/ under "NTS at Field
Day" for more suggestions.
From the Field
--------------
Linda, KF4MXF, Net Manager of the Missouri Traffic Net, reports there are
approximately 22 dedicated hams who check into the Missouri Traffic Net,
which covers the entire state. She reports, "I cover ALL MO (if a radiogram
makes it to our traffic net, I see that it gets handled, one way or another.
I no longer return radiograms, just because of bad phone number or other bad
info)." Thanks, Linda, for all you do for NTS!
South Carolina Section Traffic Manager Dean, N4AJK, reports, "I am sorry if
this is tooting my own horn, but in the February 2024 issue of QST.on page
92 in the Volunteer Monitoring Program Reports that a net operator for the
Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club has run 2,000 nets. That is me, N4AJK."
That is quite an accomplishment Dean. You have earned that "toot." Thanks
for all you do for NTS!
Kentucky Section Traffic Manager Steve, W4NHO, reports he was at Dayton
Hamvention. While I received a message from another ham that Steve was
looking for me, we were unable to meet up. Hopefully future conventions will
allow for traffic handlers to meet one another face to face. It is always
fun to be able to meet and share stories together.
I'm looking for more stories from you traffic handlers. Do you have any
ham-related stories to share, especially those concerning message handling
and net activities? Write to me at kw1u@xxxx.xxx.
Spotlight - W2ZXN
-----------------
This month I am spotlighting Andy Harmon-Kimball, W2ZXN, Assistant Section
Traffic Manager for the Western New York Section. Andy is a recent addition
to the NTS 2.0 teams and is the producer of training videos on the NTS2
website.
Andy first learned about ham radio by listening to an old analog scanner.
While he would listen to people chit-chat here and there, what really drew
his attention were the weather reports sent over the air and activity on a
local traffic net. He received his amateur radio license in 2007 at the
Rochester (NY) Hamfest, and was gifted a handheld radio. He says he
"immediately immersed himself in traffic handling," joining the ranks of his
local traffic net and becoming a net control station. He later became
interested in HF and upgraded to a General-class license, becoming active on
a variety of traffic nets on 80 meters.
In addition to traffic handling, Andy has been active with his local ARES
and RACES groups as well as secretary and repeater trustee for his local club.
When not on ham radio, he works for the Office of Emergency Management in
Madison County, New York. His background includes working in emergency
services as an Emergency Dispatcher and Radio Support Tech. In his spare
time, he installs radios in various vehicles. Most important of all,
however, he says he is a husband and a "cat-dad."
We are grateful for all Andy has done and is doing for NTS. Check out his
QRZ page, as well as the videos he has produced, which are at
https://nts2.arrl.org/training/.
NTS Resources
The National Traffic Systemİ (NTS) is a network of amateur radio operators
who move information during disasters and other emergencies. General
messages offering well wishes also move through the NTS to help test the
system and to help amateur radio operators build traffic handling skills.
While the NTS is primarily set up to serve the United States and Canada, it
is possible to move traffic internationally through the NTS through various
local, regional, area, and international network connections.
NTS 2.0
NTS Manual
NTS Methods and Practices Guidelines Table of Contents
Handling Instructions
Numbered Texts
Form Encoding Rules for Form
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Editor: Marcia Forde, KW1U, Section Traffic Manager - Eastern Massachusetts,
Western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
ARRL Director of Emergency Management: Josh Johnston, KE5MHV
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