NTS Letter for October 1, 2024 undefined

National Traffic System®

 

 

 

Editor: - October 1, 2024

 

 

 

From the Editor:

Have you been unable to find current and back issues of The NTS Letter? If you are an ARRL® member, you can subscribe to have the current issue delivered to your email box each month. You can find instructions on subscribing as well as an archive of all issues since the first one from October 2023. Go to the website https://nts2.arrl.org/nts-letter for helpful information. Please spread the word.

 

Since the generally takes place in October, I am including in this issue articles from several sections where NTS and ARES groups have been working together toward emergency preparedness. See articles from Section Traffic Managers in Alabama, Eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia as well as one from New Mexico on the re-energizing of NTS activity in that section.

 

"Happy 75th, NTS®!" (Part 2)

Bud Hippisley W2RU

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the commencement of National Traffic System® operations. This is Part 2 of my anniversary article about some of the challenges encountered and overcome during the early years of NTS® operation.

 

In the original NTS® structure, westbound inter-area traffic was supposed to be carried from each area net to those to the west of it by direct representation. That meant that by the time PAN met each evening it was supposed to host separate reps from EAN, CAN, and MAN. But messages — especially from CAN and EAN — were not consistently getting to PAN via the official plan. Propagation vagaries, required power levels, and the 3-hour time difference between the coasts conspired to make this a highly unreliable linkage — especially in the early '50s. At one point, PAN's manager reported to W1NJM that the only EAN signal his net controls could reliably hear was that of Clara Reger, W2RUF, near Buffalo, NY, who was known to be one of the few EAN reps with a kilowatt amplifier — and who also had Lake Erie a few miles to her west!

 

But alternative routings, such as relaying the PAN traffic via CAN or the trunk lines, had their own shortcomings. From his review of long-haul relays with the various managers and other traffic handlers, W1NJM saw that what worked most reliably for westbound traffic was a combination of direct area net-to-area net representation when the two nets were in adjacent time zones, but individual station-to-station out-of-net skeds when the area nets were separated by one or two time zones and for eastbound traffic. By the spring of 1952, George was finalizing plans for a new TransContinental Corps (TCC), which began operations that fall. As we all know today, TCC has served NTS admirably for both westbound and eastbound traffic ever since. In fact, a key advantage of the integration of a parallel daytime cycle of nets in the mid- and late-'70s was the expansion of TCC functions to "cross-connect" the daytime and evening cycles — an expansion instrumental in speeding up the delivery of messages in both directions!

 

Yet another challenge to NTS® in the early years was the dual matter of weekend and summer operation. Seventy-five years ago, most nets operated only five nights a week, and many section nets discontinued operations completely each summer. But traffic didn't just disappear then. W6CE and other west coast operators apprised W1NJM that PAN usually had eastbound traffic to clear on weekends. Also, fairs, hobby shows, and other short-duration events throughout the country generated quantities of weekend traffic that collectively couldn't be ignored. So, during the first few years of NTS® operation, managers of the new area and region nets experimented with a variety of ways to keep traffic moving during the weekends and summer months.

 

Generally, members of a typical NTS® net were split between those who resisted formal weekend and summer operations and those who enjoyed activating their net "informally" in order to keep the traffic flowing. But gradually, cracks in the opposition to formal sessions grew — fanned by net participants themselves, many of whom did not like to see messages sitting "on the hook" and getting stale. And although many managers did not keep detailed records of their nets' summer operations in these early years, their members kept the system running through the hot months — even if not "on all cylinders." For instance, 1RN operated M-W-F during the summer of 1950. But by the mid-'50s, much of the System was formally conducting operations six days a week and many active traffic handlers were pressuring net managers at all levels of NTS® to formally expand operations and — most importantly — volunteering to staff and run those new sessions themselves! As a result, by 1958, Communications Manager Ed Handy, W1BDI, was able to report to the ARRL Board that NTS® was now officially operating 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

 

Happy 75th, NTS®!

 

Treasure Hunt Update

Hello, Treasure Hunters! Twenty stations participated in the September NTS Treasure Hunt. The following stations successfully completed all three rounds as of September 23rd:

 

1st: W1LEM Lem

2nd: VE1IJ Glenn

3rd: N1CVO Shawn

4th: N3KRX Jerry

5th: W4BZM Mike

 

The first-place finisher in this, the September 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 other finishers will receive a certificate courtesy of the NTS 2.0 Treasure Hunt committee.

 

About this past hunt:

The NTS Treasure Hunt for September round #1 (THR1) asked, ‘What Radiogram information is essential for transmission on the Digital Traffic Network?’ A lot of people had some trouble with this question. The answer we were looking for was “State and Zip Code”. For a digital station to input a radiogram into the DTN we must address it to NTS:zip@NTSxx format.

 

The THR2 question was ‘The Benton Harbor Lunch Box was Query’. This trivia question is about the 1950s era Heathkit radios. Some of the radiograms lost their meaning when they lost a word or two in transit, SO, if you miss, add and/or change a word it will completely change the message. This is something traffic handlers need to keep in mind.

 

THR3 asked what does handling instruction HXR mean query. This is a new handling instruction which can be found on the NTS2 website . The answer is “Please confirm actual receipt by addressee and notify the originator.”

 

The Radiogram Portal is a new tool you may use to send your Radiograms, BUT I missed that free text is not an option unless you are registered on the portal website. (Click for details how to register.) Otherwise, this tool allows the use of some of the more common numbered text messages. You may want to set up a computer at hamfests or community exhibits and introduce people to NTS® messages.

 

Would you like to be a judge for the Treasure Hunt? You need to be available to receive NTS traffic on a regular basis and insert NTS traffic back into the system. Please contact Dan if you are interested.

 

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.

 

There will be no Treasure Hunt in October. See the November issue of The NTS Letter for November’s Round One Question!

 

If you have any comments or suggestions, please use the or email Dan Rinaman, AC8NP, at . 73.

 

Training via Zoom – October 14, 2024

Once fellow amateur radio operators have been introduced to traffic handling and the NTS, it is important to help them develop the necessary skills needed to participate in traffic nets and handle third party messages. While training is generally done during traffic nets, here in New England, Western Massachusetts Section Manager Ray Lajoie, AA1SE, has organized a which will take place on Monday, October 14, 2024, at 7:00 PM EDT. You don’t have to be in Massachusetts. Due to the wonders of technology, anyone with an interest in learning more about message handling and NTS is welcome to join in this call. See details below.

 

Interested in NTS and traffic handling? and receive training. Hosted by Ray, AA1SE, the WMA SM, and joined by Marcia, KW1U, the EMA, WMA and RI STM, Bob, KC1KVY and Shawn, N1CVO, we will provide training on the basics of proper handling of NTS® traffic as well as participating in a net. This will be a combination of videos and open discussion to get started in this aspect of the hobby that’s been around for over 100 years. This is an important skill for anyone considering emergency communications. It is rewarding and it is fun! All ham operators are invited to join, whether you are experienced or not. To receive a link to this training, contact Ray, AA1SE (), or Marcia, KW1U (). We hope to see you on Zoom.

 

Coordination between NTS® and ARES®

With SET exercises coming up in October and into the fall, I was interested in how NTS and ARES groups are working together toward emergency preparedness. Here are a few examples from Alabama, Eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Mexico:

 

From Otto Arnoscht, N4UZZ, STM Alabama

We have established a new local VHF net for Montgomery County (Alabama) ARES®. We use it for training and keeping ARES® members up to date.

 

We have an exciting new STEM project. We will be launching two balloons and tracking them via APRS. The first launch is a rehearsal, the second launch is with the Elmore County School District, and STEM-oriented students will be heavily involved in all the details, such as calculations of atmospheric pressure, balloon inflation, ascension rate, burst altitude, understanding of APRS, learning mapping and coordinates, and tracking down the payload and (hopefully) recovery. We are developing a program to offer these balloon launches as STEM hands-on educational activities to schools in the area to promote science and amateur radio.

 

We are planning to pass many ICS213 messages by VHF digital during the upcoming Simulated Emergency Test Oct 5 which will be a joint Montgomery and Elmore County effort, using NBEMS, the Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System, with FLDIGI, FLMSG and MT63-2000. Other traffic will be passed by FM voice on local area repeaters.

 

73 de Otto, N4UZZ

 

From Tom Inman, KC8T, STM Eastern Pennsylvania

In October, the Eastern Pennsylvania section of the NTS will be assisting the Eastern Pennsylvania ARES in the latter organization’s fall Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Jay King, W2AFE, and Tom Inman, KC8T, worked together to include participation in the NTS®.

 

King put together a scoring system for the SET which includes points for such things as dictating a radiogram by phone to a NTS participant, checking in to an NTS affiliated net, sending a radiogram via radio, and sending a radiogram or ICS-213 via Winlink.

 

A significant number of ARES® participants are not familiar with NTS® procedures, frequencies used, or network times. King and Inman hope this exercise will not only provide important training, but also boost NTS® participation.

 

In preparation for the event, Jay worked with NTS managers to develop a comprehensive instruction sheet and met with local Emergency Coordinators to discuss the exercise instructions.

 

The following networks are part of the NTS® EPA section:

 

  • Eastern PA Emergency Phone and Traffic Net
    • 3918 kHz 5:00 PM Eastern time, Daily.
  • Pennsylvania Traffic Net (CW statewide)
    • 3585 kHz 7:00 PM Eastern Time, Daily.
  • Luzerne County ARES Traffic and Training Net
    • 146.61 Megahertz repeater with a tone of 82.5 Hertz and a negative offset of 0.6 megahertz every Monday at 8:00 PM local time.
    • The last LCARES Net of the month will be on the N3FCK UHF Linked - The last LCARES Net of the month will be on the N3FCK UHF Link system (see frequencies below).
  • Lackawanna County ARES Traffic & Training Net
    • First & second Wednesday evening, 8:00 PM: 146.715, -0.6 MHz, tone 136.5
    • Fourth Wed.146.94, -0.6 MHz, tone 127.3
    • Fifth Wednesday: N3FCK UHF Link system, 442.55, 443.60, 444.50, and 441.15; all +5.0 MHz, tone 100
  • The RF Hill ARC Southeastern Pennsylvania Practice and Traffic Net,
    • W3AI repeater at 145.310 MHz (-600) with a PL tone of 131.8. (Sundays and Wednesdays at 8:00 PM local time.

Note: Are you aware of, or participate in, a local Eastern PA net which handles traffic? If the answer is yes, and your net is not listed here, then please contact Tom Inman at . We would like to document all traffic handling nets and give operators credit for participating.

 

From Dan Rinaman, AC8NP, STM Ohio

On ARES® and NTS®: Here in Seneca County. Ohio our NTS® and ARES® groups work well together due to the relationships built between the groups over the years. Many of the ARES® members are also members of the Ohio Single Side Band Net (OSSBN), which meets three times daily to pass traffic within the Ohio Section and with liaison to many local nets and to the 8th Region Net. Some of these members are also Net Control Stations on both the OSSBN and the county ARES® net. We are also fortunate to have as our ARES® EC Dan, KC8PBU, who retired from the EMA director position a few years back. Dan helped bring amateur radio into the plan for emergencies within our county. Our county emergency operations center has a radio dispatch center in a room just off the main operations room. This dispatch center, which is a backup for any county dispatch center, is 911 ready so if the county sheriff or any of the city dispatch centers go down, this dispatch center can be activated. This dispatch center also is equipped with amateur radio. We have a VHF/UHF control station and an HF station. The VHF/UHF station has multiple radios tuned to the county amateur repeaters and simplex frequencies. The HF station can be used in voice and digital modes. If needed, we can move messages during an emergency from our EOC to the NTS and have personnel trained to do so. It all starts locally. You need to develop relationships with the people needed for when the time comes.

 

From Frank Hobbs, KN4QJ, STM Georgia

I am Frank Hobbs, KN4QJ, and recently had the idea of passing radiogram traffic on the Walton County Repeater Group (WC4RG) ARES® nets. This is nothing new, however these radiograms will be addressed to ex-members of the club and ARES® group who no longer participate. The reasoning for this is that it helps the person taking the traffic to become more knowledgeable and comfortable in receiving and delivering radiogram messages. I am also hoping that it will get some of the "old" members to regain interest in net and meeting participation as well as other activities.

 

This past Monday, I originated and passed a radiogram message on the Walton County ARES® Net that was addressed to an individual ham operator who has been inactive in our nets and meetings for a couple of years. The message stated that we would like for this individual to return to the weekly ARES® nets and monthly club and ARES® meetings. A net participant took the traffic and delivered it to the recipient. The recipient thanked the deliverer and said he would try his best to attend again. My intentions are to originate a radiogram of this type for a different individual each Monday night.

 

If they do not return, at least they will know that we are still active as a club and ARES® group and might decide to participate at some time in the future and if they do return, they will be welcomed back. Either way, we consider it a win for the person taking and delivering the radiogram and the recipient as well as our club and ARES® group participation.

 

Spotlight – Gerry Jurrens, N2GJ

Gerry Jurrens, N2GJ

Gerry Jurrens, N2GJ, has been active in amateur radio for 60 years. Gerry tells a funny story about how he was introduced to amateur radio. As a typical teenager, Gerry became interested in a girl. When he went to her family’s home to visit her, he noticed her brother talking to someone in another part of the world and thought, “how cool was that!” The brother was a licensed amateur radio operator, and they began talking. We don’t know about the girl, but from then on, Gerry was hooked on amateur radio. He obtained his own license at the age of 16. In college, he began studying electrical engineering, following in his dad’s footsteps, but soon decided it was not for him. He switched to a major in English which set the stage for his career path. He became a teacher, which also led him to a variety of experiences including teaching Boy Scouts about ham radio, teaching English as a second language to Hispanic people in his neighboring New Jersey communities, and ultimately working for Oracle, where he became a certified technical trainer and taught customers about a variety of Oracle software products.

 

Gerry has long been interested in public service and has been active in traffic nets and emergency communications, serving at one time as Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator in both the Northern and Southern New Jersey sections. He was interviewed by Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, on his well-known ‘QSO Today’ podcasts (see . Gerry has also been involved in various ham radio clubs, including service in leadership roles. After losing his wife, Connie, N2ATJ (SK), to cancer after 43 years of marriage, Gerry met his current wife, Susanne, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he now resides. He discovered there was very little activity involving NTS and traffic handling at the time and in January 2024 he was appointed as Section Traffic Manager. Gerry, along with Tom Russell, N5ATR, have since been very active in promoting NTS, traffic handling and emergency preparedness.

 

Editor’s note:

I was so impressed with some of their activities and accomplishments that I asked Gerry to report on some of the things they have accomplished in the few months since the beginning of this year. His article follows.

 

Re-energizing NTS Activity in New Mexico

Bill Mader K8TE, the New Mexico (NM) Section Manager (SM), appointed me (Gerry ‘with a G’ Jurrens, N2GJ) to the position of Section Traffic Manager in January 2024, based upon my many years of service to the National Traffic System. Since becoming the NM STM, I have built a great relationship with Tom Russell, N5ATR, a recently retired airline pilot and avid ham radio resource. Together we have begun to generate more and more interest in traffic handling in our section. Some of our accomplishments since January include the following:

 

I immediately began soliciting and collecting reports from managers of all nets, NTS affiliated or not, requesting numbers of sessions, check-ins, messages handled (formal and informal) and total time of operation each month. I send these monthly reports to the Section Manager, Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator as well as to , ARRL Field Organization Supervisor.

 

With Steve Ewald’s help, we have been able to gain access to and update our section website at .

 

Tom, N5ATR, has worked closely with Pete ,NM5PB, our regional technical guru, to establish a packet BBS (ABQBBS) on 145.010 MHz, allowing local hams to send and retrieve radiograms for delivery. We also now have a new VARA digipeater built by the Caravan Radio Club, which operates on the Sandia Crest on 145.050 MHz and which will be used for Winlink traffic.

 

Tom and I have met with members of the New Mexico Roadrunner Traffic Net, our only official NTS® net, which meets on 3.939 MHz daily at 0100Z, to try to build interest in getting members to originate, send, receive and deliver third party radiogram traffic. Progress has been slow, but we are trying to overcome decades of disuse of the NTS® program.

 

To encourage members to send radiograms to each other as well as to friends and relatives, Ed, KC2LM, has created a “Packet Pals” group on Winlink. Ed, a retired schoolteacher, is also active in building websites for organizations. He serves as a net control operator on the ARES® nets and has encouraged others to use the new ICS-213 form on the NTS® 2.0 website.

 

Tom, N5ATR, has given briefings to several community groups, providing information about traffic handling as well as general ARES® capabilities. These briefings have been very well received. He has also created a Google group to facilitate communications among interested parties.

 

I have given briefings to several central NM ham clubs concerning NTS®, past, present and future, as well as to a recent NM ARRL Convention, where I spoke with Maryann, NS7X, a veteran CW traffic handler and one-time Iowa Section Traffic Manager, about the possibility of creating a NM slow speed CW training and traffic net. We believe that handling traffic can be a terrific aid to learning Morse Code.

 

One area yet to be addressed is the New Mexico relationship with the 12th Region Net. The 12th Region SSB Net meets on 3.9235 MHz daily at 7:00 AM Mountain Time, but currently there is no coordination of liaison stations. Also, on my to-do list is to follow up on any activity with the CW 12RN. I think we have accomplished a lot in a few months’ time, and I am optimistic there will be more to come.

 

73 de N2GJ, Gerry (with a G) Jurrens

 

 

NTS® Resources

The National Traffic System® (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.

 

 

 

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Editor: , Section Traffic Manager -- Eastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island

 

ARRL Director of Emergency Management:

 

 

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