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
