The ESS Bulletin

October totals: QNI 352, per session 11.4 (Sep 11.4); QSP 37, per session 1.2 (Sep 1.4). Hope we get more traffic with the holiday season approaching and our move back to 80 meters; propagation will be somewhat weaker until we reach the solstice, but the murderous digital/SSB QRM (definitely a one-two punch) should be less. We'll need to reacquaint ourselves with the "lay of the band" after our long absence; although the digital subband--noted more in the breach than the observance, alas--begins at 3570 kHz, sliding up the band a bit (instead of down) gives you a better chance of being heard. Open your filter as much as possible when looking for a net or a traffic partner; when you've found them, you can knock out the QRM to your heart's content after you've zero-beat them. NCSs, please ask at least one other station (preferably south of you) to call the net each session; not all stations were able to make the summer move to 40 meters, apparently, and it would be wonderful to hear K2TV with 10 watts on 80 from Virginia. It's time to hang up the Help Wanted sign again; after almost two years of faithful service as our Sunday net control, the peripatetic W2ITT is embarking on a six-month (minimum) hiatus after November 9th for work reasons. I'm grateful for Rob's help here and on 2RN/745 (and on EAN!), but he's no longer able to commit to NCS or liaison work at the moment. So if you want to try your hand at net controlling (not exactly rocket science), now's your chance! It's always a great pleasure to award WA2YOW a net certificate; C. J. has been our Monday net control for many years, persevering long after a move to an HOA QTH in spite of obstacles which would drive anyone who loved radio less off the air. To avoid duplication, Radio Relay International has replaced its RRC (indicating a standard, numbered radiogram text) with ARL. Birthdays: November—None, as far as I know. December—K1SEI 29. Additions and corrections, preferably by radiogram, are always welcome!

I was recently asked to clarify the difference between QSP ("Will you relay to ___?") and QNB ("Act as relay between ___ and ___"). They seem interchangeable at face value, but their meaning and usage are slightly different. On a traffic net, QSP usually (not always) refers to a place: QSP ELMA? It's also sometimes used to refer to a fellow ham: QSP VE3MVM? and is an international Q signal. QNB, like the other QN signals, is used only on amateur CW nets; the QN signals with which we're familiar have different meanings in other radio services. Three stations are required for a QNB—a sending station, a receiving station (who are unable to copy each other), and a relay station as an intermediary between them. If a net control asks you QNB WI2G ES N2TQT (unlike with Q signals, question marks are optional with QN-signal questions), they want to know if you can copy both stations. Answer C if you can, and N if you can't; if you can, the NCS will probably send you off frequency to relay traffic between both stations. A full relay counts as two messages—one from WI2G to you, and a second (identical) message from you to Colin. Sometimes a full relay isn't necessary; according to Fanelli's Law, signal strength increases by at least 3 dB when another station is copying along. For bookkeeping purposes, let the NCS know when you return if all Colin required was FILLS ONLY. Relays can be great for a net's traffic count, but honesty is always the best policy.

Another QN signal which is frequently misunderstood (or ignored) is QNV ("Establish contact with ___ on this frequency. If successful, move to ___ and send them traffic for ___"). In poor conditions (which is when QNV is needed), a station can be so intent on catching a callsign, frequency and traffic that they just move off frequency without ensuring first that they can copy their traffic partner; this can throw a monkey wrench into a net when stations move off and then discover that they can't copy each other. The NCS might send K2TV QNV K1SEI DWN 3 CT 1—Bob calls Tage first on the net frequency to see if Tage can copy him. Tage replies with the destination frequency (D 3), and they both send GG to indicate that they're leaving. If conditions are rotten, Tage replies QNP ("Unable to copy you") and the NCS arranges a QNB.

In addition to providing yeoman service as the ESS webmaster (the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I keep promising Reiner that I'll learn HTML), N2PEZ kindly forwards me the ARRL's NTS Letter. The October issue has a wealth of useful information, and a nice picture of WV1X and a four-hoofed friend. HOA (homeowners' association) antenna restrictions have been a thorn in the side of amateurs for decades, and the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act was introduced in both houses of Congress in February of this year (H.R 1094 in the House, and S. 459 in the Senate). Send-a-letter.org/hoa is an online tool which can generate letters to both of your senators and your member of Congress with just a couple of clicks. The House seems to be on vacation as I type this, unfortunately, but I continue to receive replies from my senators about other matters and things can change quickly. You may not be affected by antenna restrictions now, but none of us knows the future; speak up for your fellow hams! Thursday net control Jay, NK2Y, wrote an informative article about the NTS Treasure Hunt and included https://www.echolink.org/faq.htm.

I recently received traffic without a phone number--just an email address. This may be heretical to some, but I email traffic when I can; there's no suspense about whether a voice mailbox is correct (since many folks now let calls from unfamiliar numbers go to voicemail with a noncommittal greeting), and I usually get a prompt thanks in reply. Many of us are familiar with the usual CW format for email addresses (AFWI2G ATSIGN GMAIL DOT COM), although I use AT for @ for brevity. I try to confirm email addresses on qrz.com to avoid bounces, and this address had an underscore (_) which was missing from the original message; I'm untutored in these things, and maybe it would have gone through without the underscore. Typing it is easy, of course, and the NTS Letter taught me my New Thing For the Day—that similar to the handling of punctuation such as QUERY in a radiogram text, symbols and what-not (such as UNDERSCORE) are spelled out. More information is in the NTS Letter and Chapter 1 (1.3.2) of the NTS Methods and Practices Guidelines, available at https://www.arrl.org/files/file/MPG1V14A.pdf. The MPG (slightly shorter than the Bible) is daunting to those of us who cut our teeth on the old Public Service Communications Manual, but is very comprehensive if you can find what you're looking for.