Some additions, & slight changes

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The uncut video that was done at the meeting, is up and working. to get to it, head to the members section, then scroll down the drop down list to the bottom, click on the link “RT Systems Video”.

Also, there is a forum area in the members area, that also needs to be logged into to use. More to come soon as I can get things done.

This section is an open “members discussion” area, This is a general members open topic area

Also, I have added a switch type in the space of the coming events on the left. to reflect the conformation of the TrunkFest. so, it will change 1 day to the coming event, then the next the ad for the TrunkFest. doing this because I think those who come here already know where things are. So, I can do more things in the place of the up-coming events.

Also, I made a Detailed Events List, on the top bar next to the calendar link. which gives a full list style of the coming events, Sort of makes it easier to see what is coming up.

Request a signal report before starting

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It doesn’t help a whole lot if you attempt to get on the air, and nobody hears you. Even if I have the very best equipment that money can buy, including a great antenna, and even though I feel certain everybody this side of Richland county can hear me, it’s still possible that they can’t. If you’re talking on simplex, your antenna could be oriented incorrectly, you might have a loose or corroded connection, you might not be speaking close enough to the microphone, or your battery is on its last breath.

If you’re trying to talk through a repeater, maybe your tone or offset isn’t set, maybe you are too far from the repeater to hold it open for proper communication, or maybe you have bumped the button, and you’re a little off-frequency, or maybe you just need to get out of the basement.

When you need to get on the air, especially in a hurry, it seems there are a number of obstacles that could hinder your otherwise perfect transmission. For that reason, one of the first things you should do before a net or a drill is to request a signal report. Maybe say:

This is W8ABC. Could I please get a signal report? and you’ll likely find one or more listening hams who’ll be happy to help you out by telling you how you sound.

You’re typically looking for three things as feedback to your transmission:

  • The quality of your sound
  • Your loudness
  • And whether your audio is accompanied by any hiss or other noise.

A responding operator who can report these three sound properties is probably the most helpful. By the same token, you can offer the most help by reporting these same three qualities to people who are asking for a report.

On the other hand, those who say, “You sound fine” mean well, but might be just a bit too brief, and don’t give you a lot to go on, although it’s still kind of them to try and give you some sort of feedback. The brief exception is when a ham operator simply reports, “You’re coming in perfectly!” which, in a nutshell, means crystal clear audio, loud audio, and no perceptible background noise.

Once you do this, you’re relatively confident that the rest of your transmissions could easily be heard by those who need to hear them. Even after that, your signal or audio could still become less-than-perfect if you’re moving around, changing your antenna direction, or your battery starts failing. But, at least you’ve taken that initial step to ensure a smoothly running net or drill.