APRIL ERIN NET TUESDAY APRIL 27, 2021 SOI

[JohnyMac]

Here is the SOI for this coming Tuesday net.

The next ERIN net will be Tuesday April 27, 2021, starting at 1900 hrs. eastern with the digital ERIN net. The PACE for that net is as follows,

1) At 1900 hrs. eastern the digital net will commence.

Primary         7.110 Mhz USB Contestia 4/250 1000 on the Waterfall
Alternate       3.588 Mhz USB Contestia 4/250 1000 on the Waterfall
Contingency  This email thread
Emergency    Text. Do I have your cell phone number?

When the Net Control Station (NCS) calls for check-in's this is the reporting format,

de your call/name/location/emergency traffic/ de your call

Once the NCS has gathered check-in's he/she will post the check-in's for corrections or additional check-in's.

The NCS will then start the reports portion of the digital net. Report format will be,

de your call/name/location/traffic if any/your report for around your AO, Covid, unrest, military movement, etc/weather/de your call

2) At 2000 hrs the voice net will commence.

Primary         7.238 Mhz LSB or higher till clear air
Alternate       3.968 Mhz LSB or higher till clean air
Contingency  This email thread
Emergency    Text. Do I have your cell phone number?

The above SOI will be used at first, if the interwize is taken down through Executive Order -- Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.

73 & God Bless,
Johnymac

[JohnyMac]

The first net of the month we had 3 on digital and 7 on the phone.

As we move more into the spring, hopefully we will get a better turn-out.

I and some others do this net to improve. Improve on their antenna set-up, rig set-up, and communication skills.

One day, probably not soon from today, radio comms will be all that we have for up-to-date news.

73 & God Bless folks,
JohnyMac

[Jackalope]

   Johny, thank you for coordinating the nets.  I tried to check into the digital net and I could hear you and the other stations fine.  The phone net was great, I could hear everyone very well.

[pkveazey]

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit.... I was installing extra lights on my zero turn mower and forgot all about the net.

[JohnyMac]

PKv 

Jackalope 

[Nemo]

It stays plenty light for lawn mowing down here till after 8pm.  Besides you should not be out mowing lawn needing lights that late.  And as time passes (till Equinox) it gets later.  Sunset on 21 June is 2034.  Make the radio meet.

Nemo   

[Jackalope]

  A reminder for some of the older folks who forget things, tonight, Tuesday night to be specific, there are a couple of nets. 

[JohnyMac]

Nemo, the lights are for the gutting of the jacked deer. Even i know that   

[JohnyMac]

@ Jackalope   

[JohnyMac]

A quick 'BUMP' to remind all folks that we have two net's this evening. Digital followed with phone.

See ya' then.

[JohnyMac]

I am having digital problems.
I encourage someone stepping up and jumping in as NCS for ERIN this evening.

JohnyMac

[Jackalope]

    I'm not hearing anyone on either the primary or alternate.  There was a solar flare yesterday.

[jhm]

I'm just seeing AMRRON AIB traffic.  Nothing else seen/heard.

[jhm]

I am having digital problems.
I encourage someone stepping up and jumping in as NCS for ERIN this evening.

JohnyMac

I am willing to do this in the future, but I am sort of clueless as to how to do so. 

I'm just a dumb GI, so someone needs to explain it barney style to me.

[Kevin]

I'd be happy to help out too in the future if needed. If you send me a copy of your net script, I'll have it if the situation arises again.

[JohnyMac]

Okay, my kenwood took a dump.
I am using my backup Icom and going to call CQ for phone.

There are a lot of pops and pings tonight. Might be the solar flare Jackalope speaks to.

[Jackalope]

   I could hear Mike fine.  Brian had a solid signal here on both 40 and 80 meters.  I was copying Johny 30-40% of the time.  I didn't hear anyone else.

[JohnyMac]

Yeah, it was just us four little Indians.

I always go to my shack 30-min before the digital net to make sure all is working. Well nada tonight. My radio would not TX.

Okay, digital is fluky so I switched to phone and no TX there either.

Ran to the Faraday cage, grabbed my IC-735, hooked all up and was able to do phone with no issues.

There was a lot of pops and crackles tonight. Probably due to the solar flare that Jackalope spoke to.

After the phone net I ran my 590s through a bunch of tests including running a patch cable from the radio to a watt meter to a dummy load. Switched to FM and tried to TX...No power coming out of the radio. Moved the coax from the manual tuner to the transceiver and tried to auto tune and it would not tune. I also tried several different antennas but no joy. I even tried to reset back to factory status but the radio would not allow me to do so. Huh?

Sent an email off to Kenwood asking for a RAN (Return Authorization Number) to send back, to be put on the bench, for a checkup.

Thank you all who participated this evening.

@ jhm and Kevin, thanks for your offer for help. I will not be able to do digital next week. Either one of you gents want to be digital NCS? If so PM me and i will fill you in. 
 

[pkveazey]

Ooops.... I had to drive to town and didn't make it back to the house until about 8:20pm. I guess if I'm going to miss a net, this was the one to miss. I did turn the radio on and listened on 40 and 80 but didn't hear anything that sounded like ERIN.

[cooter]

On the 40M net I heard everyone at least 59 despite the noise.

When we finished on 40 and switched to the secondary 80M freq I could hear Net Control and the Mississippi station.  I was using my NVIS  antenna (too lazy to drop the link dipole and change it) and the signals weren't coming in too strong.  I was able to talk with Net Control.  I tried to relay the Mississippi station, but I don't think he could hear us.  I should have made the effort to re-link the inverted V.
Mike

[dgjonesy]

 I heard nothing on the digital net and lots of static on the voice net. I think the solar flare landed in my backyard 

[JohnyMac]

All good stuff gents.

@dgjonesy, yeah no digital joy as my transceiver refused to TX. Then phone no workie either. LOL. Luckily, I had my back-up
    radio for phone.

@cooter, you came in about a 5/7 up here in NE PA - Fully readable. Thx for doing the relay of the MS station. I could get
    about 80% of MS report. Check out your flour shelves in the bakery aisle the next time you are in the store. MS reported
    that we will be seeing flour shortages due to the wheat crop in the south being destroyed by the recent nasty cold snap
    there.

@PKv, no worries Brother. Although we missed your 'classy' Virginia drawl. 

@Jackalope, as usual, I got any where's from 100% down to 30% of your TX. AS you wrote earlier, the solar flare was at
    work this past Tuesday.

I know...I know, some of you will smirk at this next comment but...If communicating every Tuesday was perfect every time then we would not have the opportunity to fix things when a QSO could be life giving. Time to make sure your antennas are working. The gain of your mic is set correctly. Heck, make sure your expensive Kenwood TS-590s is working
and you have a $200- backup ready to go.

Thank you Kevin and jhm for volunteering for next weeks digital net. I will send you both the FLDIGI macro's/script tomorrow. Busier than a one armed paperhanger today. jhm, you can take next Tues April 27th. Then the following week, May 4th, Kevin you can be the NCS for digital. I am sure my radio will not be back from Kenwood by then.

Suggestion, with this past Tuesdays equipment glitch, I would really like to start rotating NCS responsibilities for both digital and phone. This would give all the opportunity to play NCS. This way someone could jump in if they had to. Let's think as the ERIN net as a MAG (Mutual Assistance Group) via the airwaves. Thoughts?

73 & God Bless.

[jhm]

Acknowledged.

I like the Airwave MAG idea.  I'm in AmRRON and have to say - it's easy to get lost in the crowd there.  A smaller group is better sometimes.

FYI, I don't have an expensive TS-590.  I have a thrice used TS-480 though.   

[Jackalope]

Suggestion, with this past Tuesdays equipment glitch, I would really like to start rotating NCS responsibilities for both digital and phone. This would give all the opportunity to play NCS. This way someone could jump in if they had to. Let's think as the ERIN net as a MAG (Mutual Assistance Group) via the airwaves. Thoughts?

     Johny, that's a good idea regarding using the ERIN net as a MAG.  I like the net because of the information from different localities.  For instance, Brian's information regarding flour was helpful.  The differences in the price of fuel is another helpful piece of information.  Before I forget, my wife mentioned that there were many empty food shelves at our local Wally World on Monday. 

      I'd be willing to be NCS once in a while on the voice net. 

      Oh yeah, like jhm I don't have an expensive TS-590 either.  I'm just another poor retired guy.  I'll have to fire up the old TS-180.

[JohnyMac]

TS-180? LOL. You rock Brother.

My backup is an IC-735. Works great but no digital joy.

There is a need or a want factor. I would like a IC-7300 but I do not need a IC-7300.

A member of our club just bought a Flex radio. He pooh-poohed the 7300 at a meeting earlier this evening and suggested I get a Flex or TS-890S. He just purchased a Flex 6400M with additional bells and whistles to go along with it. Probably all in-all $4k worth of radio. OMG! No comment!