[PPRAANet] Thursday Night Net

[Wes Wilson KØHBZ]

Dave, Sharon (Cc:  PPRAA) --

>     You are correct on all accounts. 

I agree that Sharon is 100% correct on all accounts.

> A lot of areas use  the 
> 146.520 as a local simplex frequency so that it is used and 
> so that someone  traveling can find someone on the 
> frequency.

That's where I take exception with Dave's statement.  A lot of areas use the
designated National Call Frequency (146.520) as a local simplex frequency
because they're lazy and changing channels is either too much work or too
challenging a task for their license class.  Now, before anybody bites my
head off for the previous statement, hear me out.  Anybody traveling in a
strange area will turn to the national call frequency for help if they have
an emergency or need directions, etc.  I've done it many times.  

Up here in Woodland Park, we get a lot of travelers from surrounding states
headed either to Cripple Creek for gambling or to the many ski resorts --
most are not familiar with our local repeaters.  For years, I tried to keep
146.520 in my radio's scan list because we have a lot of people have
problems with our mountain roads, or hams Jeeping in the backcountry get
stuck, break down or have a medical emergency (heart attack, etc.).  BUT,
because so many people just sit on their one frequency (146.520) radios and
ratchetjaw all day (both in Colorado Springs, Denver and all along the front
range), I can't even keep my nightstand radio on .52 for emergency calls
overnight because somebody will wake me up when they come on with a
prolonged ratchetjaw.  

> The only ones that I know of that  use 146.580 is 
> the El Paso County RACES when and as needed. 

Actually, PPRAA used to conduct their Thursday night Net on 146.580 until
they moved to the GOG repeater not too long ago.  Dave, you might recall an
EPCRACES frequency test exercise on a Thursday night about three years ago
where we had to wait for the PPRAA Net to conclude before we could continue
the exercise.

There are a bunch of available 2m simplex frequencies -- and any one should
perform equally well with any of the others, that there's no need to hold a
club net on the National Call Frequency -- 146.520.

I do find it interesting that after going to a repeater to increase coverage
the Net is considering moving back to simplex.  Perhaps there was a station
or two who couldn't hit the repeater but could be heard on simplex.  Did
anybody consider using the repeater, but if any stations couldn't get into
the repeater those station only operate simplex on the repeater output
frequency?   Or, alternatively, they can operate on the inverse repeater
pair.  That gives you the best of both worlds, repeater and simplex.

Not observing the National Call Frequency designation of 146.520 is VERY
poor operating practice and can earn people the title of being a "LID."   I
would hope that our PPRAA operators are far smarter and more considerate
than that.

73 Wes KØHBZ