[Elecraft] Re: Too Many ECN Net Control Stations?

[Kevin Rock]

Well put Ron,
    The reason I wound up on another frequency was because the scheduled frequency 
was occupied.  While listening I heard the op on frequency reply to a query ECN ? K 
with a NO.  Immediately I knew they were not attempting to 'hold' the frequency for 
me and moved down to the first open spot.  If they had replied C or YES I'd have stuck 
around to see who was 'holding' the frequency.  This has occurred before.  Someone 
was 'holding' the frequency when I tried starting the net.  So they called the net and I 
called the net on another frequency.  I am not sure why they assume I've died or run 
off the road somewhere but I do show up on time and near the scheduled frequency.  

On the MARS nets we do have a scheduled NCS but if the bands are bad we do have 
alternates.  When the scheduled NCS comes aboard the net control duties are passed 
back to him.  The biggest problem last night was when I had finished calling ECN and 
written the report I found another net on 7045 kHz.  But when I tried checking in I was 
not recognized.  If I had been recognized I would have assumed control as NCS and 
run the net.  But since I was not recognized (nor heard for that matter) I went about 
other tasks in my life.  

I had called CQ ECN for over ten minutes with no response.  I am not sure why no one 
could hear me but lousy propagation appears to be the culprit.  I am unsure why the 
folks in Oregon couldn't hear me on 40 meters but I heard none of them.  So I assumed 
I had my first shutout ever and attributed it to the poor conditions.  I was about to 
check to see if my antennas were still up at one point because of the lack of response.  
But they were up only a few hours earlier to good effect.   Hmmm... I think folks did 
not check around the band enough to find the NCS.  

I am not sure how to prevent multiple nets springing up at any given time.  40 meters 
does appear to be the worst case.  On 20 meters I've never been presented with this 
problem.  I think I will just eliminate 40 meters and simply run 20 meters from now on to 
prevent this problem.  If you know of any other solution I would be glad to listen and 
put your wisdom into effect for the next net.  

Thank you for your input,
     Kevin.   KD5ONS    (putative NCS of ECN)


2/16/2004 7:38:27 AM, "Ron D'Eau Claire" <rondec@easystreet.com> wrote:

>What Mychael and others reported happened to me a few weeks back when I
>listened to someone calling ECN who was NOT the net control. Kevin was
>several kHz up the band looking for people.
>
>A protocol that we always observed in the Army CW nets was that there was
>only ONE net control. No one called the net except by the explicit direction
>of the NCS. 
>
>ON rare occasions when NCS couldn't be heard one might query on the
>frequency with (in this case) ECN? DE AC7AC, but to call CQ ECN when one is
>not the NCS would ensure a few well-directed whacks with the Army equivalent
>of the Wouff Hong (How many potatoes do I have to peel??). 
>
>If a query like ECN? DE AC7AC produced a response, the objective of those
>stations would be to FIND the net, not start a duplicate session and
>certainly not to accept any "check in's". If the "check in" isn't with NCS,
>or with a station relying under the immediate control of the NCS, it isn't a
>check in. 
>
>As long as there is an NCS on the air, someone's gonna hear him or her, and
>for someone else to pre-empt that role is always going to cause mass
>confusion. 
>
>Gee, maybe this sounds like a "rant". Isn't intended that way, but to point
>out that the orchestra can never have more than one conductor. 
>
>Ron AC7AC
>
>
>