January VHF Sweepstakes is on now!

The January VHF Sweepstakes is on right now.  WU5E Sends the following information.

FREQ’s   2m 70cm, 6m and UP to 1.3 gzh

FM only simplex …not on 146.52.
SSB 2m
FM 70cm  not on 446.00
70cm SSB
6m  SSB or FM but not on 52.525

More info at http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2010/jan-vhf-ss.html

K4ORE Repeater usage Guidelines

Repeater courtesy is very important. Since many of us enjoy the use of  the C.O.R.E. repeater daily courtesy is a must to insure all have equal access. Probably the most courteous thing to do is to wait until a conversation that is currently on the repeater is over before making a call. Unless you have an answer to a question someone is pondering, you have an emergency, or you’ve waited for several minutes and you must call someone immediately, don’t interrupt the conversation.  Obviously, if you know the individuals in the conversation, it is commonly accepted to join in the conversation.  Otherwise, it is very courteous to break in, make your call, and then move off the repeater as soon as possible. If you are in simplex range, try not to tie up the repeater; use simplex. But, by all means if you have an emergency, don’t hesitate to break in. The Amateur Service is designed for emergency communications. Anytime life or property is in danger, don’t be afraid to break in!!

Another very courteous thing to do it to wait until the courtesy tone sounds before talking. People who are “quick on the trigger” may not leave enough room for someone to break in, and also do not allow the repeater timer to reset. Being “quick on the trigger can also cut of the first syllable or more of your first word.  Always key down, pause a second, then begin talking.
Below are some DOs and DON’Ts  for the C.O.R.E  Group 146.925 repeater. While these are not laws, they are wonderful aids to keeping people on repeaters as friends. They are also good practices in general for use on any repeater.
DOs:

•  Speak clearly. Give your radio a second to come on after you key your mike as well as a second to turn off. You may cut yourself off by not waiting for your radio to respond.
• If you hear a jammer, IGNORE HIM! Comments toward jammers simply add fuel to the fire. Just try to bear with it and keep on talking as if you couldn’t even hear the jammer.
• Be sure to identify every ten minutes! This is not a courtesy, but an FCC rule. It is a courtesy, however, to not overidentify. Don’t ID every time you key the mike.
• Ask for a signal report when you are hand-held or a long distance away from the repeater. If you’re weak, you may want to wait until you’re closer to a repeater receiver. On a repeater, a signal report of “S5” or “S9” is meaningless, as the signal reflected on your S meter is that of the repeater, not the other station’s actual radio.  Instead, if the other station is clear with no popping, crackling or white noise, then they are “full quieting” and anything less than that moves down the scale more or less as follows:  “Copiable,” “Noisy,” “Barely Copiable,” “Uncopiable.”
• Always be friendly and courteous! Always remember that there are other hams (and non-hams) listening!
• When in a group discussion, it is courteous to list the callsigns currently in the conversation before you ID. The person to talk next is always listed first. For example, you are finishing your transmission and it is N9ZZZ’s turn to talk, and K9XXX just talked before you did. So, you would say, “N9ZZZ and K9XXX, this is AA9ZZ.” For larger groups, “N9ZZZ and the group” will work. By listing the people in the conversation, others will be reminded not to forget the other people waiting to add something to the conversation. This also keeps the person who’s been waiting for several minutes to talk happy because he knows he’s not forgotten.
• DO say “clear” after you are done calling someone that was not on frequency or when you are finished with a conversation. This informs others waiting to use the repeater that you’re done!
•  Do keep the mic a couple of inches from your mouth and talk “across” the mic, not directly into it.  This will reduce sibilant hiss and make your transmissions more easily understood.
•  Do modulate your voice and speak up enough to be clearly heard

DON’Ts

• Don’t use radio jargon. Q signals and the like are seldom used on VHF and UHF. Simply talk as if you were using the telephone. The best way to realize this is to listen to experienced hams.
• Do not use foul, obscene, inflammatory or objectionable language.  Conversations will be kept civil and friendly.  If a controversy develops, take it off the air immediately.
• Don’t break into a QSO unless you have emergency or priority traffic or something valuable to add to the conversation.
•  Use simplex when possible. If you do get into a long conversation with a distant station, be sure to leave room for people who also need the use of the repeater. Even in a long conversation, it is best to keep individual transmissions short.
• Don’t use excessive mic gain. Distorted audio is very annoying.
• Do not use the repeater for any business or business related activity.  If in doubt, don’t.
• Don’t give your call and then say “for ID.”  This marks you as a lid.  The only reason you give your call is for identification purposes.
• Avoid using  “we” for “I.”  If you are the one doing or saying something, etc.,  then say, for example, “I am heading over to the meeting now and I will be there in ten minutes.”  Unless someone else is riding or walking with you and going to the same place or doing the same thing, don’t use “We.”
• Don’t say “73’s”   adding the the “s” is redundant because “73” already means  “Best Wishes.”
• Do not use CB jargon such as  “10-4” or “Good buddy”  or  “My first personal is….”
•  DO NOT “kerchunk” the repeater.  Doing so violates FCC  Part 97 rules.  If you transmit, you must identify per Part 97 rules.

EMERGENCY USE
            Emergency traffic takes precedence over all other traffic, at all times.  If you have emergency traffic and there is an ongoing conversation, as soon as a transmission ends, key your mic and say “break” or “break break.”  All other stations should cease their transmissions and give the station with emergency traffic full use of the repeater for as long as the emergency lasts.