The ESS Bulletin

February totals: QNI 320, per session 11.4 (Jan 10.5 ); QSP 42, per session 1.5 (Jan 1.4). Another good month, although the net roster has shrunk somewhat. Apologies for getting this out late; I enjoyed a muchneeded visit with our daughter in North Carolina (who's recovering from January knee surgery) after burying our beloved gelding Socks, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on February 21st. That was unexpected, but the big guy would've been 33 (very old for a horse) on April 3rd. It never rains; it pours—I'm nursing a fractured tibia (fall on the ice) which hopefully won't require surgery, and get the thunbs-up/thumbs-down from the surgeon in a few days. On a happier note, I'm grateful to N2PEZ for maintaining the ESS website (and hope, one of these days, to learn enough HTML to upload old Bulletins) and forwarding the monthly NTS Letter; congratulations to Freddie, AA2QL, for completing all five rounds of the January NTS Treasure Hunt (THR followed by a number, the first word of a Treasure Hunt radiogram, means "Treasure Hunt Round [number]"). Answers to each Treasure Hunt round question go to a different person, specified in the text. South Texas assistant STM Bill, KA9IKK, reminds us that a service message (a notification of non-delivery or an ARL FORTY SEVEN delivery notification, for example) is sent to the station of origin rather than to whoever is on the signature line. Mike, W8MAL, emphasizes the importance of observing handling instructions (when provided; they're not required) on all traffic, including what are not-so-affectionately known as spamgrams—the bulk welcome-to-amateurradio/ congrats-on-your-upgrade messages which make up an increasing proportion of our generally-shrinking workload. Although the word "EmComm" harks back to my Navy-Marine Corps MARS days, we need to remain a credible communications network to deal with whatever life hands us. Birthdays: March—K2EAG 1, WB2GTG 11 and KA2GJV 25. April—KT2D 4 and N2TQT 8. Additions and corrections, preferably by radiogram, are always welcome!

The calendar (not the thermometer, God knows) is telling us that spring is on the way, a good time to take stock and make tweaks (or embark on an overhaul) as needed. Since ESS is a training net, a few observations and suggestions follow.

Participation is a key factor in the success or failure of any traffic net. Checking in is the minimum, and checkins should be expected to be available throughout a net session to relay or deliver traffic to their neck of the woods. Relaying traffic is particularly useful, since it provides valuable experience on other nets; although traffic-handling is built on a foundation of "ground rules", each net tends to havea unique vibe. It's puzzling when a station checks in frequently, only to disappear when there's a message listed that they can handle. Traffic-handling has a learning curve, but it certainly isn't steep; like many other endeavors, the best way to learn is by doing.

ESS, alas, seems to have more than its share of "goose-egg" (no-traffic) sessions. Birthdays are listed on page one of the Bulletin for a reason, and W2XS compiled the original list (when qrz.com listed full dates of birth, before the era of identity theft) to bump up the traffic count a bit. I really appreciate WA3JXW's regular origination of hi-how-ya-doin' traffic and Dud and WB2GTG's faithful observation of birthdays. Although I wouldn't like to see a nominal half-hour net like ESS overwhelmed with mass-origination traffic (especially with the Michigan QMN net beginning on 3563 kHz at 6:30 pm), more traffic than we currently handle--a Goldilocks level, so to speak—would lessen our collective ennui.

So originating traffic is great. When composing a message, though, keep your recipient in mind. Many traffic-handlers with a longish place of origin abbreviate it to some degree, as I did when we lived in WDHVN (Woodhaven, Queens), such abbreviations are less appropriate--or comprehensible--in the preamble of a service message to NX9K or another less-familiar recipient. KB2QO gets this; Bill originates his 2RN/745 net reports to KA2GJV from LH, and his Transcontinental Corps (TCC) reports to KW1U from LAKE HOPATCONG NJ. Signatures, also, should have a full callsign and/or some resemblance to one's name (given or nickname).

Other issues in a message preamble are handling instructions and time filed; contrary to popular belief, not every message needs them. If you feel the need to include a filing time, specify whether it's UTC (Zulu) or local (EST or EDT). The February 3rd issue of the ARRL's NTS Letter (kindly forwarded to me by N2PEZ), however, reports from KM2I that the NTS 2.0 Performance and Standards Team implemented a new HXT handling instruction on January 23rd. If you receive a radiogram with an HXT 10 handling instruction (I haven't yet), its text will direct everyone who handles the message—as an originator, addressee, relayer, or deliverer—to https://nts2.arrl.org/test/. The website has a link to https://nts2.arrl.org/test-traffic-reporting/, which has prompts for the reporter's callsign, the number following HXT, and a request to retain HXT traffic for 60 days for possible follow-up. According to Michelle, clicking "Look up" produces a drop-down list of message numbers and the callsign of each originator. Assuming no errors in transmission, your radiogram will be on the list; click on it, enter the requested information, and you're done with the test.

W2WSS and I used to debate message length. I fondly remembered the 25-words-or-less format which was popular for postcard-contest entries; Pete noted that Western Union charged by the word (with a discounted "night letter" rate, inspiring the term for an overly long radiogram), and over time I learned that he was right. With pardonable pride, he once mentioned that his shortest message text (in response to a survey of how traffic was copied) had a check of 1: "PEN".

The ARRL and Radio Relay International have the new (and much longer) list of ARL numbered radiograms available for download on their respective websites. It's one-size-fits-all, and many of the new texts will see little or no use on a traffic net. ARL FORTY EIGHT (condensed here to "Your message number ___ to ___ not delivered. Telephone ___ ___ ___ inoperative") is a specific substitute in many cases for the multipurpose ARL SIXTY SEVEN; keep in mind that a phone number is three word groups, not one (area code, exchange and "last 4").

Uncleared traffic is an admission of failure. Many net members also check into other nets where traffic for Texas, say, can be brought if there's no outlet on ESS.