TIME IN THE SADDLE

I didn’t get a lot of time on the bike this past summer.   Though this is not by design, but rather necessity, the amount of time I spend with my butt in the saddle of my motorcycle is taken from what I call my “discretionary time”.   It is the extra time.  It is the time that remains after all the “have-to-get-done” things are done.  I wish it were not so, but that is how it is.  Other things come first… second, and third.  And then somewhere down the list is my “motorcycle” time. 

Oh, I suppose that I could move it up the list a bit, and to be honest, there are times when some pretty important things have been put off to a later time because I could stand it no longer; I had to go for a ride.  Being out on the bike is one of those activities that clears the mind.  This is a contradiction, I know, but it remains a fact. 

One has a lot to consider when riding a motorcycle, if it is to be done safely.  I don’t want to take time here to catalogue everything that has to happen mentally and physically to successfully glide down a stretch of highway at 70 mph without getting killed, but trust me the list is very long indeed.  As odd as it may seem, it is this very fact that makes doing so such a relaxing activity.

However, this fact of motorcycling comes with a very clear danger.  Your see, riding a motorcycle is not a walk in the park.  It is a constant series of alerts and adjustments.  It is hundreds of minute calculations happening with the passing of mere seconds of time.  It is like playing a game of chess in the middle of a freeway.  Anticipating, reading the situation and preparing several moves ahead at all times.  It is living in a constant state of readiness… ready to respond to sudden and unexpected dangers.  All of which is happening at 40… 50… 70mph, or more.  I recall once riding out in the Nevada desert, when I thought I would die from the heat… I decided it was time to get back to civilization.  I watched the needle on the Harley pass 90mph, and I didn’t look at the speedometer again until we rolled into the outskirts of Vegas. 

What then is the very clear danger?  Complacency.  Worse yet, it is complacency coupled with a lack of proficiency which can only come with very regular and repetitive practice.  In simpler terms: with lots of time in the saddle.

What does all of this have to do with Ham Radio?  The fact is that there are a lot of similarities between these two activities.

For the last several months I have found it necessary to severely curtail my time in the Shack.  In a nutshell, life happens.  Regrettably,  stuff happens that demand a shift in priorities.  Sometimes, our discretionary activities take the biggest hit.  I’m not here to suggest that the “stuff” that happens is good or bad.  It is just life.  We adjust the “sails”, catch the prevailing winds, and continue the journey.  It’s just wind.

But here is what I learned about Ham Radio this last week.  If you are not “riding” that chair in your shack on a very frequent and consistent basis, you are going to get “rusty”.  Your skills are going to very quickly be diminished.  Your “HF ears” aren’t going to hear as well.  Your command of q-signs and the phonetic alphabet will begin to waver.  Stuff that you didn’t even have to think about a few months ago, will now require a slight hesitation.  Other stations will “stumble” over your callsign.

Anyone that thinks that they can absent themselves from their radio activities for weeks, months, or even years at a time, and then just sit down and pick up where they left off… that person is sadly mistaken.  It isn’t going to happen.  And herein lies what I believe to be the biggest argument in favor of Traffic Handling.  Traffic Nets happen around the clock, 365 days per year.   I can think of no other Ham Radio activity that can provide the Operator with a predicable, scheduled, disciplined opportunity to practice and maintain their radio proficiency.  And for a VERY busy guy like me, it is this scheduled predictability that may very will be the biggest advantage of all.

ICS-213

This issue continues to intrigue me.  I don’t mean to come across in some weird / brainy / over-thinking-it sort of way but this ICS-213 thing is, I think, going to end up making me a way better Traffic Handler than what I might have otherwise become.  It became very clear to me tonight on the 75 Meter Interstate Sideband Net.

The hard-core reality of what Voice Traffic Handling is all about became all too real tonight.  I realize that the formal structure of the NTS is violated by an Independent Net such as the 75 ISBN, but I also realize that when the schummer hits the fan and I need to get a message to my kids in Missouri, I am going to use whatever Net can get the job done. If that means that an Independent Net can put me within 35 miles of my kids in a single jump, the choice is going to be a very simple one indeed.  However, this is what tonight’s experience confirmed to me once again.

Band conditions started out bad and turned to worse.  As each minute passed it became more and more of a challenge.  I hate to admit it, but I was moments away from QTAing my Florida traffic (something that I am loath to do), when a station in Missouri (I’m in Detroit) suddenly became available between me and Florida.  KC0M turned on his linear and a game changer had come to play!  As conditions worsened a station in Illinois stepped in to help.  We were all running power and everyone was in it to win it.  What we had was what I would call a quad-station relay going on… and it was a blast.  Every word became a challenge.  Every successful fill was a feel-good victory.  We were moving the ball down the field.

What I learned was this:  If I am ever called upon to move emergency traffic (and I don’t care if the sender is my next door neighbor or FEMA or my SEOC), and the message has to get to its destination rapidly and accurately, and I’ve got 6 properly formatted 25 words-or-less Radiograms and a 150 word ICS-213, the winner is going to be the Radiograms.  All other things being equal, (that is to say, message precedence being equal) it is a very easy choice.  Six messages or one; which will I choose?  The answer is obvious.  I’m going to smile and tell the person with the ICS-213 novella, “Thank you very much”, and then I’m quietly going to move them to the bottom of the pile.  

There is probably someone out there that is going to tell me that is not the way the system works, and you my be correct.  But this is where my heart is tonight, so please indulge me.  Thanks….

Those who think that it makes any sense whatsoever, when band conditions are what they were tonight, to move 1 message when I can move 6, they are going to have to be a really good salesman to get me to buy it.  The bottom line is this, and I suspect that Traffic Handlers that long ago became SKs probably knew very well, message brevity is at the very heart of what makes us successful.  

CHAOS

This post comes from a discussion that I was having on an Amateur Radio Yahoo Group that I moderate. I thought there might be some insights contained herein that might be relevant to this Blog. Enjoy.

I am going thru a bit of a "change" here in the world of KD8LZB. This change
has a much larger sphere than just Amateur Radio, but Amateur Radio holds a very
significant place in the bigger picture. I have of course been following with
great interest the various discussions. There is a lot of GREAT going stuff
going on here. But the more I follow the discussions here, the more I am
convinced that I need to get my Shack in order.

When the proverbial crap hits the fan, and I'm convinced that here in SE MI it
is just a matter of time, all of our fancy dancy opinions about modes and
training and promotion won't mean a thing! I need to be completely ready to
receive traffic from my neighbors and figure out a way to get those messages out
of my community and to their destination. My thoughts on this matter are in
part being driven by what is happening… or perhaps better said… what is not
happening in NY. I have to be ready to serve my neighborhood when the Cavalry
doesn't show up. When all of our plans fail… when all of our favorite modes
fail… when the back-up for the back-up fails… I need to be ready.

I wish like everything that there was some way to organize the chaos of what
will certainly be chaos… and we can train and prepare and strategize… but when
it happens… and it most certain is going to… all of our plans won't even begin
to handle the chaos. I am going to have to be ready think… and improvise… and
make do with less resources than what I have. I am going to have to be smart
and innovative. I am going to have to figure out a way to keep my station safe.
I am going to have to improve my people skills. I have to figure out a way to
do what I do when I'm the only guy doing it.

Has anyone ever figured out how to set up a Traffic Net with little more than a
mobile / portable radio in the middle of an Interstate Highway that is nothing
more than a parking lot cluttered with out of fuel cars and trucks that were
trying to evacuate a city that has collapsed into rioting and looting? Has
anyone ever figured out how to set up a Traffic Net that is prepared to handle
medical emergencies when Hospitals are burned to the ground? Has anyone even
begun to consider what it would be like to try to move a message from one point
to another when politicians have declared that only "approved" radio messages
can be sent?

What is my point in bring up these ridiculously absurd questions? It seems to
me that many of our discussions only tend to prove that we can't agree on how to
handle predictable disaster scenarios. How in the world can we then expect to
deal with the ridiculously unpredictable scenarios that may very well be a part
of our future?

Thanks for letting me vent… This is what happens when I'm tired. I'll try to
be more happy and positive, and much less crazy with my next post.

KC
KD8LZB

A FARMER AND AN APPLE: An allegory

The following is an allegory mixed with a bit a fact; all of which is intended to make the reader think. This one is a bit longer, so go get a cup of coffee before you begin. Then set back, relax for a minute and ENJOY!

Years ago I graduated High School with a guy named Devon. Devon's Dad, back in the 1960's, founded a local gun, the Lake Cicott Gun Club. As a young boy, Devon grew up midst the culture of local firearms enthusiasts, while watching his Dad manage the Club activities. He grew up watching as men would come out to the Club to pursue a variety of gun related activities, which included competitive Trap Shooting. He watched as ten's of thousands of clay pigeons were blown to smithereens above the green fields surrounded by trees. Little did anyone know the lessons being learned or the kind of dreams that were being formed in the heart of a little boy.

As a natural result of young Devon's surroundings, one day he was no doubt introduced to the safe and proper use of a firearm. Shortly after those beginning lessons, he would have had the opportunity to shoot his first clay targets. Those moments would have a lasting impact. Devon's life would never be the same.

Detour with me now to a time long before young Devon was even born:

A young farmer sees a wild turkey strutting through the brush; he pulls back the string on his bow and lets the arrow fly. Hard work and much practice had made the young farmer very proficient, yet his skills could not supersede the inherent limitations of wood and leather, and feathers, and flint. Yet, as a result of his efforts this day, his family would eat well for the next few days.

And then… one day, while preparing to once again release his arrow on a large tom, the young farmer hears a sharp crack… a loud noise never heard before. The startled tom turkey flew away… and the young farmer, curious as to the source of this unusual sound, hesitantly walked in direction of the far away noise.

After walking about half a mile, he discovers a fellow farmer, standing at the edge of a small steam holding a strange object in his hand. Upon investigation the young farmer sees his first gun. Instantly his world, indeed the very security and future survival of his family would change. He didn't have to be highly educated to be able to recognize the seriousness of this new tool.

In the months that followed, another young farmer living some distance away wasn't finding any turkeys to shoot. Bored with his lack of luck, the farmer saw an apple hanging from a branch not more than perhaps 40 yards away. Recognizing the life saving importance of maintaining his marksmanship skills, he shouldered his gun, took careful aim and pulled the trigger. When the smoke cleared he discovered that the apple was gone. Smiling to himself, he reloaded, walked over to the apple tree and looked down see about a dozen ripe red apples on the ground, and an idea popped into his head. He picked up an apple, and turning to face the open sky, the farmer threw the apple upward with a strong underhand toss with his left hand, quickly shouldered his gun, he sighted down the top of a hexagonal shaped barrel, and once again pulled the trigger… As he walked home that afternoon an idea occurred to him; he would challenge his neighbor to contest. The winner would take home "bragging rights".

But a problem developed… Other farmers heard about this silly contest and declared it a farce, a waste of time. Why would any sensible farmer use such an important survival tool for such a ridiculous purpose? So, to avoid the public ridicule of the other farmers, the two men took their contest to a secluded field where no one would see. The day arrived for their contest, and when the time arrived for them to test their skills, they noticed another farmer approaching. "Mind if I join?" The group of farmers meeting together for these "illegitimate" contests began to increase in the months that followed. They would even meet every so often in the barn to share a cup of coffee and discuss how they might improve their skills.

When other farmers heard about what was now happening on a regular schedule, they gossiped with each other and bad-mouthed the "recreational" shooters as often as possible. They never missed a chance to berate and belittle the senseless competitions. But that didn't stop the few apple shooters; for, they had found a great deal of happiness in their new pastime and in the friendships made. And… more importantly they intuitively knew that the skills honed in their contests would easily translate to fields filled with real game that would keep their families safe and well fed.

Fast forward back to my friend, Devon:

Devon would grow up and one day work for Federal Premium Ammunition. His job assignments would include travelling all over the United States promoting Federal Premium Ammunition to competitive sport shooters. However, this ammunition salesman never forgot the dreams of a little boy. He continued pursuing his passion of shooting clays. Thousands, and tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands of plain, ordinary, boring, identical clay targets passed before the business end of his Perazzi shotgun. You can read his story here…
http://pharostribune.com/sports/x2137443283/Harris-hits-100-000-trapshooting-tar\
get

Little could that farmer who was shooting apples realize that one day a man would put his own children through college with winnings from a contest not unlike the one he created when he tossed that first apple into the sky. Without a doubt, just like the farmer, Devon heard the naysayers. He heard from those who made fun of such a waste of valuable ammunition. But thankfully, he didn't let those curmudgeons deter him from his goal. Attending to a sport as old as time… as old as the first two hunters who picked up rocks and hurled them into the air to see who could throw the farthest… my friend Devon, became a Champion.

Some guys buy guns, in which they will never chamber the first round, to put upon display in a gun shrine in their home. Some gun owners learn enough to be able to talk the talk at the Gun Club meetings, but when it comes to being able to walk the walk and hit what they're aiming at… well, that's another story. And then there are those who use their guns solely for the purpose of sport game hunting. Although they are getting closer to the "real" intended purpose for possessing a firearm, that of providing food and protection for their families, their survival really doesn't fully depend upon their skills. Finally, there are those who, like my friend, find great pleasure in using guns in competitive trap shooting… busting routine clay and collecting points.

However… and here is my point. How many gun owners have ever been faced with having to shoot to keep their family from starvation? Out of the four types of gun owners mentioned above, which one's family do you suppose would eat the best if their lives depended upon the skills of their provider?

There is, however, one last group of gun owners that I reluctantly would like to mention. They are the ones who spend all of their time "bitching" about everyone else because no one is using their guns for the purposes for which they were created… and yet, they themselves buy all their meat from Krogers.

When the day comes that lives depend upon the skills of Amateur Radio operators, which group do you think will have the best chance of success?

I JUST SEND 'EM LIKE I RECEIVE 'EM

Recently I was relaying a "service back" Radiogram. The station receiving the relay from me determined, based on the "content" of the Radiogram that the delivering station didn't "do it right". He then told me that I should advise the station of the "error".

I had a very quick and happy response: "I just send 'em like I receive 'em! KD8LZB back to Net Control." END OF STORY.

I didn't entertain a coversation about how I felt about what the content of the Radiogram revealed. I am a Relay Station; not a content judge... NTS instructor... advisor... etc. And I most certainly didn't think that "during the Net" was the appropriate time to discuss it. SO.... I basically ignored the comment. If someone wants to discuss Radiogram Philosophy, there are probably Internet Groups and Rag Chew Nets in which one can participate. BUT A TRAFFIC NET IN PROGRESS IS NOT THE PLACE! I'm gettin' a little tense... Coffffeeeeeeee... There. That's better.

I feel very strongly that once I agree to take a piece of traffic, and I confirm that it is "legal" traffic... THE CONTENT IS NONE OF MY BUSINESS. I do believe that there is a time and place for learning how to do what we all do night after night, but when I am wearing my Official Relay Station hat, my ONLY job is to move traffic.

For those that are further interested in my opinions on this matter you might enjoy my video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyG-FJyi6BY If you watch the video, please leave your comments on Youtube for the benefit of those who watch the video that do not follow my Blog.

NTS - MPG

Have you ever considered the NTS – Methods, Practices and Guidelines? I do not mean, have you read it. You may have never had a suitable occasion in which it was necessary to read the seemingly endless and always tedious verbiage known as the MPG. Page after page after page of mind-numbing jargon… I can fully understand if you have never read the MPG. Reading the NTS – MPG could be likened to reading a dictionary: boring! What I want to know is have you considered it? Not its specific content, but the whole.

One night as I was traveling across northern Ohio with my family, I was monitoring the 2 meter band for activity, hoping to hear my favorite Traffic Net. Sadly, what I (and my XYL!) heard were a couple of guys discussing a recent visit to their neighborhood strip bar. Needless to say, all my past efforts to convince my wife that Amateur Radio was a "decent" hobby were now in vain. I suppose to be fair I should report that these Hams probably didn't violate any of the FCC rules concerning what can and cannot be said on the air. I could tell that they were being very careful about the use of specific words. However, there was no mistaking the meaning of their "legal" communication. That night, what I wished had existed was a Rag Chewing – Methods, Practices and Guidelines.

I've done a bit of DX chasing, and I will admit that it has been fun to get a QSL card from the Madeira Islands. But, when I try and try and try to get through the cacophony of a DX pileup with my barefoot HF rig, it is then that I wish there was a DX – Methods, Practices and Guidelines.

When I hear some Nut (and I don't mean a Ham who is a nut – a mean a Nut who happens to have an Amateur Radio license) hog a frequency for hours, droning on and on and on and on all by himself… I wish there was a People Who Are in Love with the Sound of Their Own Voice – Methods, Practices and Guidelines.

Have you ever wondered why there is a MPG for Radiogram Traffic Handling, but not for other facets of the Amateur Radio? Could it be that Traffic Handlers are unruly and undisciplined? Perhaps Traffic Handlers are trouble makers and rabble rousers that need controlled. Or… Traffic Handlers are rude and inconsiderate, and thus must be given guidelines on courteous behavior. I can say with confidence that I don't believe any of the reasons above are the reasons for the existence of the NTS – MPG. What then could it be?

I would suggest that the reason for the NTS – MPG is this: In all of world of Amateur Radio, originating, relaying, and delivering Radiogram traffic is at the very heart of what Amateur Radio is all about. Though presently it would seem that some consider Traffic Handling to be the red-headed stepchild of Ham Radio… some sort of illegitimate child that doesn't really belong to the family… the one that all the "real" children tolerate just because Mom and Dad say they have to… I would suggest that the very existence of the NTS – MPG bears witness to the legitimacy of Radiogram Traffic Handling.

Traffic Handlers are the ones who put the Relay in the Amateur Radio Relay League. I haven't been around this game very long, but I have learned one thing. The reason that the FCC gives us the privilege to use the frequency spectrum is because they recognize our ability to serve the good of the general public when all else fails. In short: Public Service. The current FEMA Director, Craig Fugate, a fan of Amateur Radio, has publicly said as much. They tolerate our Rag Chewing and our DXing. However, it is Traffic Handlers that are daily defending the spectrum, proving with the relay of each and every Radiogram that Amateur Radio deserves the frequency allocations we all presently enjoy. It is the NTS that in a very significant way justifies Amateur Radio's reason-for-being before the gods of government. Every day of the year… day after day… night after night… NTS Traffic Handlers train for the day When All Else Fails.

Please understand that in giving emphasis to the NTS I am in no way trying to diminish the role that ARES and RACES and SATERN members play in the big picture that is the ARRL response to a disaster. Each group plays a part in serving the public during times of need. We certainly need each and every part if the job is going to be done well. When All Else Fails, and each of these parts engage their disciplines, the Pubic is served. The random, unwritten courtesies that loosely guide the Amateur Radio Hobby, are superseded when Amateur Radio Public Service becomes necessary.

Radiogram Traffic Handling does not happen in some hap-hazard illogical manner. While it is true that Traffic Handlers routinely have fun passing Birthday Greetings and Congratulatory Best Wishes, Traffic Handling is at its soul, serious business. While some do not understand the passing of repetitive and common Radiogram messages, the reality is that when the day comes, and it most certainly will, that emergency communication becomes necessary, it will be those who logged the most time passing trivia traffic, and grid square requests that will be at the forefront of insuring that vital, life saving "emergency communication" messages get to their destination with accuracy and speed. When All Else Fails… when an ARL TWENTY SIX is the message that needs to be sent, it will be those who passed the most ARL FORTY SIX messages that will get the job done.

There is a reason for the National Traffic System – Methods, Practices and Guidelines… a very good reason. Indeed it may very well be the heart-beat itself of Amateur Radio.

FISHING LICENSES AND RADIOGRAMS

Many years ago I read, I've long since forgotten where, an article about the subject of animal conservation. Without a doubt, this is a subject that certainly generates a lot of passion. There would seem at first glance to be two disparate sides to this issue. On one side are the hunters and fishermen, and on the other animal rights activists. However, I would suggest that these two sides are not nearly as polarized as the avid proponents of each might believe.

The proposition was laid forth in the article that if someone really wanted save the animals… if someone wanted to do the most possible good toward true and effective animal conservation… the one activity that would be the most beneficial would be to purchase a hunting / fishing license. The facts seem to indicate that revenue from fish and game licensing accomplishes more toward animal conservation than anything else. Buy a license and then throw it away if you really want to save the animals.

Sounds ridiculous, yes? Indeed, this sounds contradictory. And yet, sometimes the very thing that we think absurd at least, and abhorrent at worst, is in fact the very thing that does the most to protect that which we love the most. As incomprehensible and repugnant as it may seem, if you are one of those individuals that think the ideal vacation would be volunteering for a week of service on the Whale Wars ship Gojira, your money might be better spent buying fishing licenses for you and all your friends. As you will see in just a moment, so it is with traffic handling in the field of Amateur Radio.

Much to my surprise I have learned that there is no accurate record being kept by the League of the thousands of operator hours devoted to the origination, relay and delivery of Radiogram traffic. I believe that if that number were ever to be calculated, it would result in a fundamental shift in the perceptions that many have toward the work of the NTS.

As of September 27, 2011 there were 742,879 licensed Amateurs in the United States. Out of that number, only a few hundred reported qualifying points for inclusion on the Public Service Honor Roll. If we are going to "Save the Whales" (read: Save the Spectrum), we must do better than that. If you want to do the most possible good in protecting Amateur Radio from extinction, SEND A RADIOGRAM.

If we do not fight to keep our fishing grounds open, we may one day discover that the ocean we have so taken for granted has been reduced to a pond. We are not the keeper of the Sea and the Sea is for sale. If and when the FCC determines that we are no longer earning the frequency we use, know that they will give it to someone else that they determine would like to use it and is willing to pay for it.

The single easiest way for you as a licensed Amateur to prove that we deserve the frequency we all enjoy is to send a Radiogram. That single act, the moment that it is listed on a Traffic Net, is counted. Though it appears that presently the League does not keep a record of those "points", if it ever wanted to prove to the FCC that Amateur Radio Operators invest thousands of volunteer hours each and every day, it has a ready means to do so. A Public Service value could and should be assigned to the time it takes to list, and relay that Radiogram to its destination. An invisible price tag can and should be attached.

The unpleasant economic truth is that the value of Amateur Radio's Public Service usage of the radio frequency spectrum is being compared to the fees that others are willing to pay for the use of the same. The even more unpleasant truth is that the comparison is being made by some Washington bureaucrat that has absolutely no interest whatsoever in Amateur Radio. This is why it is imperative that the ARRL not exclude NTS hours from its arsenal used in defense of the frequency allocations.

What does that me to you and me? It means that the friendly QSO you enjoy tomorrow may very well depend upon the Radiogram you send today. The QSL card you receive next month from that distant South Pacific island may only be made possible because you took the time to send an ARL FORTY SIX Radiogram to a friend.

To be fair, there are other activities in which you can participate that are recognized by the FCC as valuable Public Service activities. However, I would suggest that nothing could be easier or more regularly done at your convenience than the simple act of sending a Radiogram. You don't have to wait for a disaster to befall your community. That is the beauty of a daily Traffic Net; you don't have to wait for a tornado or earthquake to participate. There is probably a Traffic Net happening while you are reading this article. Turn on your radio and send a Radiogram.

As much as I hesitate to do so, it is important that we take moment to be honest about what seems to be a dark-side of traffic handling. As a Traffic Handler I have been on the receiving end of the "on air" snide and condescending remarks made toward my participation in the NTS. I've even heard stations refuse to take Radiograms if they are from "certain" stations, or if they judge the content of a Radiogram to be "unworthy". That, my friend, is the same thing as an Animal Rights Activist refusing to purchase a Hunting / Fishing license. You may not want to do it, but you are only hurting your own cause by refusing to do so. These Hams clearly demonstrate their lack of understanding of how the Amateur Radio game is played.

If ever there were a rule established stipulating an activity in order to gain membership in the Sierra Club, nothing would make more sense that to require the purchase of a hunting / fishing / trapping license. Throw it away and never take advantage of the privileges granted to the license holder if you wish, but you must make the purchase.

If ever there were a rule established stipulating an activity in order to maintain Amateur Radio licensee privileges, there is not one activity, from a Public Service perspective, that would make more sense than handling Radiogram traffic. Never fully enjoy the fun and camaraderie of a Traffic Net, if you must. Ignore the friendships that are possible among Traffic Handlers, if you wish. But… you must originate, list, relay, or deliver a Radiogram in order to enjoy all of the rest of the privileges granted to a licensed Amateur Radio Operator.