General Category > Website Changes/Suggestions
Prepared Ham: Tell us what we need to do to make PH a better place for your amat
KC9TNH:
First, PLEASE do not take the following as a bunch of negatives, but observations or
suggestions, worth what you pay for them on the internet. ;)
I would second the benefit of a site where some less-than-snarky advice can be had (as
long as it's based on solid experience). On the 2 biggest common fora one must often wade
through alot of sarcasm or downright insults until one of the 5% who understands the word
'Elmer' or 'mentor' chimes in. That can be rather disheartening so this forum can be a
positive step.
OBSERVATION: Your direction is fine, although some who are initially drawn to the forum
name may find out that the word 'prepared' doesn't mean precisely what they were looking
for - the old "YMMV" thing. Fuh-ged-about-it. :) Also, some may for very valid reasons of
their own simply be less outgoing. Ditto. Takes a thick skin to run an internet forum.
I agree that summer is simply tough for alot of folks in terms of time commitments; also
that it's common for a larger percentage of folks to "lurk" rather than post. It's common
on the radio as well. There is a well-established upper midwest/Great Lakes 75m ragchew
in the evening with a core group (no, not the usual suspects, these folks are civil &
love solving radio issues). But even when there might be 10-12 stations in that are
known, it's been shown over time that there are probably 100 listening because some of those guys have some really big signals. Again, I wouldn't sweat the post-count vs. member numbers.
Which brings up the next point... You can listen on a 75m ragchew at night but may not
really get there if you want to contact running barefoot. It's the nature of the band
that it's local (and a phenomenal NVIS choice). So if one is going to have a net, one
might want to pick a band that (based on time of day when most folks are free) covers
more distance than a freq on 75m. Very few people are going to have an antenna for that
band that is actually up high enough to work distance on it. (If you've got a 120' tower
from which to hang your resonant Inverted-V my hat is truly off to you.)
The last time I tried to copy the announced net it was on 75m and was, predictably,
unworkable from my neck of the woods. To be fair someone offered to move to find
someplace on 20m but a household responsibility raised its head. I watched the chat just
to get a feel for how folks interacted, let alone what call I might be listening for, and
2 folks decided to setup a 'call' to each other. Then one asked the other for their
callsign. The response was: "I'll PM ya."
C'mon, you need to keep your call just between you & one other station when you've
announced you're going to establish a QSO and on what frequency? Doing that might be seen
by a non-core member as kind of elitist and, to me anyway, made a segue from a radio net
to private internet chat that didn't really need my time that evening.
SUGGESTION: IF you would like to have a net, lay down some concrete net guidelines as
a sticky somewhere that anyone arriving can find, and a net that isn't dependent upon
internet chat. Honestly, even if it's not the zombie apocalypse there may come a time
during a domestic emergency when your HF might work but your internet won't. Com'l
carriers will be both over-taxed in terms of bandwidth and/or priority of bandwidth
assignment may be relegated to those responding. It's physics, it's happened, I've seen both.
Other times it may not work for all even with the best of planning because the station
may have a localized QRN situation going on (or QRM if the guy down the street just won a
plasma Tv...) That's just the way it goes.
I still think the idea of a net, especially for HF, with at least a couple backup freqs
on a band most folks can work is a great idea. If it only lasts a few minutes, take some
check-ins, etc. I'm not a contester but there is often value for me in simply calling a
contest station in a strange location because - not owning a remote helo w/field-strength
meter - I've ended up with a pretty good map of what my antenna does (and where the
obvious nulls are). My hat is off, in advance, to whoever has the time & inclination to
go after having a formalized net. It requires dedication beyond belief & one has pretty
much said that - in most cases - that slot out of their life is now gone for other
things.
ALTERNATE SUGGESTION: An alternative to a formalized net, which has worked in the CW
community for quite awhile, is just either designate an area where people looking for a
QSO can post looking for someone else to have one within a given band or time period or locale.
Maybe they work nights, maybe they need Utah to get a "Worked All States" thing done. An
off-shoot of that could be that folks not on HF may still find those in their area with
whom they can have a regular VHF chat with.
There is some good energy here in terms of exploring what works at other than optimum
times, including field-expedient antennas and alternative power sources. That is a GOOD
thing. And I doubt the typical ham forums would give much POLITE latitude to some of
those things because, after all, sometimes it's just as important to learn what DIDN'T
work and why, without enduring 9 of 10 posts telling you what a dunce you were.
I wouldn't worry about over-promoting the net. I have a feeling that over time the type
of folks you want will be dropping by anyway. Give it time.
73
de KC9TNH . . *
* . . = CW equivalent of :)
Quietus:
I read this yesterday, and like what's seen above. Particularly a comment that it is nice for a newbie to not have his questions answered by snarkiness. I like that about this place, as a newbie. I can ask any question and not have it rammed down my throat.
Seasonal considerations, yeah. Take that into account. Some people do more seasonal work, not only are they now away from the computer to participate on forums such as this, but since they are away from home and take weather precautions for their rig... the radio is not hooked up unless there is done some positive effort to make that so. There's a few folks on this forum in that wheelbarrow.
My take on efforts to make the search engines get people to this site, as a computer dummy: Don't bother. People will find this site due to its name... but whether folks stick to the (as we say in the west) ... Brand... is going to be predicated on who they see riding herd for the brand, and on what those folks are saying.
I like this place. I can ask any question, and know that replies will be informative and polite. But there seems to be a bit of dichotomy between the site's name, and what mostly gets discussed here.
In my mind, the name suggests things that are not often discussed: Real grid down events, personal as involving radio for family and local tribe survivability, and not info on how to be a good green vest/hard hat person working for others.
Instead, what is more often discussed, is higher tech comm than traditional CW and voice which may be a bit (in my little mind) too dependent on computers being viable, that's one thing. People differ on their views of the world as seen currently and about how current capes might go away during bad times. The other thing has to do with posting emphasis on how folks are doing for the Extra license. But the two comments above are just my opinion and not a hit on anybody here
It was real nice of AD to post this solicitation of opinions, and my thanks to IDialM1911 for his work. This site is a good place. For future events, maybe you could start a thread on backpacking/horsepacking/tailgate setups of peoples' Prepared Ham rigs. Maybe see how well people can be talked to on very low wattage, at the mileage the range you want to talk to people in a preparedness situation on HF, with a right antenna to do such, without broadcasting to half the country or to the minions of Janet Napalitano.
winsatara:
--- Quote from: KC9TNH on June 03, 2012, 07:17:47 PM ---
The last time I tried to copy the announced net it was on 75m and was, predictably,
unworkable from my neck of the woods. To be fair someone offered to move to find
someplace on 20m but a household responsibility raised its head. I watched the chat just
to get a feel for how folks interacted, let alone what call I might be listening for, and
2 folks decided to setup a 'call' to each other. Then one asked the other for their
callsign. The response was: "I'll PM ya."
C'mon, you need to keep your call just between you & one other station when you've
announced you're going to establish a QSO and on what frequency? Doing that might be seen
by a non-core member as kind of elitist and, to me anyway, made a segue from a radio net
to private internet chat that didn't really need my time that evening.
--- End quote ---
Not sure if you were referring to when I said those exact words to someone one Wednesday evening...
But I can tell you this. I have been on every Wednesday night at 8pm (except one week). I am NOT net control, nor was it ever planned that I was such. I am on to listen and to check in if/when someone (Idial or whoever) starts it off (ragchew or otherwise). If no one starts it, I offer to anyone in the chatroom an opportunity to try to make a contact with ME (not to do the net); hence, yes, a more one-on-one type conversation. If anyone wanted to try to make a contact with me, all they had to do was ask when I offered. By no means did I intend my offerings each week to seem "kind of elitist". Anyone who knows me, knows that is the farthest from the truth. To keep any confusion down in the future, I WILL make sure to only offer opportunities to try a contact on any band during non-PH net timeframes. My apologies to the group.
Winsatara
KC9TNH:
--- Quote from: winsatara on June 05, 2012, 10:27:41 PM ---Not sure if you were referring to when I said those exact words to someone one Wednesday evening...
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure either which is why I can't attribute the comment; it was just there. No apologies necessary on my account, it was just a little off-putting at the time - no harm. Simple fact is I couldn't tell who the NCS was either. Perhaps the local ragchew is a better thing for many, given geographic & time differences & especially band conditions. It just depends; I've got an afternoon net on 40m 3x week and I can tell you that, in the summer at 2100Z in the upper midwest, 40m is quite often in the tank at that time of day & one learns what happens when the aurora slips down a few degrees of latitude. Sometimes the 4x4 Ham net out in AZ on CW simply doesn't work either for me when they run it. Just the way it is. I'm not saying change what you're doing, just that those kinds of things (time/band/who) may directly affect participation.
Back to thread's purpose, I think Quietus above touched on a couple of good things. Certainly versatility is a good thing, whether one is RON at a campsite or just wants to pull over at a rest area & run some wire to the bushes and then resume scootin' down the road. For example, am blessed in my area to have a few patient fellows who've been able to demonstrate to my ears the results of a good vehicle install vs. one that sounds like a cheap CB; accomplishing that is a different matter so perhaps this can be explored with the expertise of the membership. As Quietus alluded there may come a time when that 2m repeater, donated by an amateur, is down (for whatever reason). What then, when line-of-sight becomes much more important? Just posing possible topics, tossing some ideas out.
It's a good site and does a fine job of welcoming new & aspiring operators.
:)
idial1911:
--- Quote from: winsatara on June 05, 2012, 10:27:41 PM --- If anyone wanted to try to make a contact with me, all they had to do was ask when I offered. By no means did I intend my offerings each week to seem "kind of elitist". Anyone who knows me, knows that is the farthest from the truth.
--- End quote ---
I can attest to this, she is anything but an elitist. Great person to chat with... I think you might have taken her statement wrong.. Thats all no worries.
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