Friday Night HAM Radio NET

[TerryD]

Topic suggestion: Vanity call signs.
If you have one what does it mean, if anything?
If you don't have one, any particular reason why not?

Good one! I added it to the list!

 

[Prerunner1982]

I know we have Field Day on the list of topics but perhaps we could do a pre and post FD topics.
See what everyone's plans/expectations are and then check back the following week and see how it went and what was learned.
Unless you have the perfect setup, something should always be learned.

 

[whiskey7backroads]

Topic suggestion: Vanity call signs.
If you have one what does it mean, if anything?
If you don't have one, any particular reason why not?

I like it. I will add to the list

Thanks Brent

 

[TerryD]

Thanks everyone for checking in tonight! We had 19 check-ins this evening. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Date: April 19, 2019
Net Control: Terry KT4OZ
Topic: Vanity Callsigns

Emergency Traffic: None

Announcements: Glad everyone could take time to check in. Lost topic list, going with Vanity Calls this week and open topic next week and resurrecting topic list and posting as calendar on forum so folks can plan on joining in on topics that interest them. Asks Jon to do Skywarn net.

Check-ins:

KV4UO/M Joe Kingsport, Tn : In motel. Had good weather and good time. Nice to check in with net. Been workiing and nice to hear from everyone. Topic is pretty interesting. KG4AOS was old call, had since 98 and got KK4WPZ but wanted a shorter call. Resubmitted for shorter call and got KV4UO.

W8SUN/M Wayne Roanoke, Va : Heard a few nets. Has vanity call and wanted a good call for CW. In 4 land and has had 4 calls but started as WN8PWM. Has had Skywarn net on K1GG 745 repeater today. Bad weather bypassed Roanoke. First time checking in, didn't know net existed. On way home and thought he'd check in. About vanity calls, Looking for 1x2 or 2x1 but not much left available. Decided to look at other combos and found current call.

KN4YTZ/M Sarah Salem, Va : Just wanted to say hellow. First time checking in. Been working and hanging out. Headed to NC for hamfest. Does have Vanity call. Changed call shortly after being licensened. Chose it because she liked it phonetically and is happy with it.

KJ7BHN Brent Olympia, Wa : Interested in changing call and wondering what reasons people have chosen to change them.

KJ7EXK Dana Alta, Wy : Mentioned a few weeks back that wanted to get on digital modes so not worried about vanity call. Sounds like it would make it easier as current call is a bit of a tongue twister. Unsure what he would go with. Hoping everyone is having a good night.

KS4KLM Kevin Roanoke, Va : Weather in Roanoke, raining hard. Has vanity. Hard to remember with QMK in suffix and goes by Kevin Scott on radio. Real initials are KLM so KS4KLM so came natural. Enjoys the net on Fridays, thanks and 73.

N7PHY Ed Edmonds, Wa : Has original callsign. Difficut on SSB, has issues with P and Y. Has had it so long, it's part of his life now. Not much more to add. Has Amateur Radio plates on truck. No radio specific plates in Washington. Nice to have fellow hams come talk to you because of it.

KI7RAM Bill Reno, Nv : On Vanity Calls, decided to keep original call signs because only 1 letter from wifes KI7RAL. Considered putting call on license plate. Appreciate net tonight and had fun.

WX5SKY Jon Oklahoma City, Ok : Caught break and decided to sneak. KF5WUF originally but WU was hard so changed it after 5 years. Thought it would be shorter when he got it and got tired of waiting on a friend so took WX5SKY. Active in Skywarn and interested in weather pictures so thought it was fitting for him. Not much else to add. Sorry sent weather our way, already had first tornado out there.

W8ILL Will Mi : Windy day today and cold. 43*F and rainy. Nothing much going on. Still working on antenna. Has gotten rope back up with fishing pole and sinker weight.

KJ4ZYB/M Dale Roanoke, Va : 1st time checking in, listening in while coming back from grocery store. Likes to contest but folks butcher it. Looking for a simpler call to change soon. For Skywarn, some tornado warnings locally and one touch down not far from Roanoke. Lots of wind and rain.

W7BSB Issac Portland, Or : New PC, had to install echolink. Had vanity call planned before taking tech/general tests. After passing in January assigned KJ7DMY and didn't want DUMMY in call. Applied asap but gov't shutdown caused issues. Enjoys fishing and cigars as hobbies. Homage to John Lee Hooker and George Thorogood. 1 bourbon, 1 scotch 1 beer. PNW brown sugar bourbon reference.

VK2DY Robert Northern Sydney Aus : Beautiful autum day. 72*F getting close to 80s. Bright blue skies. Yesterday was Good Friday and restricted trading day so most places except restaurants were closed and no food in the house so they went to the beach. Had a great day out there enjoying the warm weather. Callsigns, everyone picks calls there so you have to "nominate" your call. Different classes require different call signs so as you upgrade, you have to get a new license. Ended up with 2x2 through ballot process and was randomly drawn for it. Went through 6 ballots.

W6FMF Skyler San Diego, Ca : New member to OB and first check in. KM6ZAW but didn't like it so changed it.

NB9D Neil Paris, Me : Running on satelite from camp. Good to hear everyone in here. Likes AB4A callsign. Fell in love with call and embraced it. Put 10 on the list and luck of the draw. Great to hear everyone in there. Hope everyone has a good Easter weekend.

AB4A Ron Roanoke, Va : Wanted vanity call. Has Shave and a hair cut rhythm on CW. Had 3-4" of water in Bonsack earlier and Skywarn net saved him from being stuck. Wanted to comment on vanity call. Wasn't in love with 2x3 so applied for new call and AB4QT and got nick named Cutie so changed to AB4A. Weather has been back two weekends in a row but hopefully it'll be better.

N0YNN Larry Emporia, Ks : Question for net with certain vehicle. 2008 Chevrolet Aveo. WX5SKY Use smaller coax and try to mount antenna on hood or rear hatch. Would recommend roof mounting with through hole.

KF4YLM Josh Craig Co, Va : Bath early today, not even Saturday. It would cost too much to reembroider all his clothes with new call so keeping with original call.

Thanks to everyone who checked in tonight and look forward to next weeks net!

73,
Terry KT4OZ

 

[ru108]

Sorry I missed the net tonight, guys. At work and, of all things, part of a movie (yes, as in feature film type movie) is being filmed in my office tonight, so there's a whole lotta "SHHH" going on tonight at REALLY inconvenient times that forced me to miss it. Lucky for them, we haven't really been all that busy....so far. Occupational hazard of working in a Coroner's Office I guess is having parts of suspense movies filmed where you work. Unfortunately, they didn't ask us to be in it, so no high $$ career change appears to be in my future, lol.

Anyway, I wanted to chime in on the topic real quick. I went for a vanity because my original call, KI5BRW, was a mouthful that I couldn't wait to shorten up and it was the first thing I did after I got licensed. Got rid of the "I" and changed the suffix to the first three letters of my last name. Managed to shorten the CW score from 74 to 50 with that, so that should be helpful when/if I ever finish learning code. It also flows better on phone, especially phonetically. If it would have flowed better, I'd have kept the original.

Hope everyone has a great Easter and week to come. 73!

 

[whiskey7backroads]

Sorry I missed the net tonight, guys. At work and, of all things, part of a movie (yes, as in feature film type movie) is being filmed in my office tonight, so there's a whole lotta "SHHH" going on tonight at REALLY inconvenient times that forced me to miss it. Lucky for them, we haven't really been all that busy....so far. Occupational hazard of working in a Coroner's Office I guess is having parts of suspense movies filmed where you work. Unfortunately, they didn't ask us to be in it, so no high $$ career change appears to be in my future, lol.

Anyway, I wanted to chime in on the topic real quick. I went for a vanity because my original call, KI5BRW, was a mouthful that I couldn't wait to shorten up and it was the first thing I did after I got licensed. Got rid of the "I" and changed the suffix to the first three letters of my last name. Managed to shorten the CW score from 74 to 50 with that, so that should be helpful when/if I ever finish learning code. It also flows better on phone, especially phonetically. If it would have flowed better, I'd have kept the original.

Hope everyone has a great Easter and week to come. 73!

Forget the call sign....what movie???

 

[ru108]

Forget the call sign....what movie???

I was told, but forgot already so prolly low budget, lol. I’ll ask again later when/if they wrap up SOMETIME tonight and let you know. I don’t recognize any of the actors.

Here are a couple of pics of the security cameras from my desk. We’re trapped in the Squad Room for the most part but I’ve had a couple of arguments with the crew about them trying to restrict our movement. Sorry folks, but I gotta job to do.

 

[whiskey7backroads]

I was told, but forgot already so prolly low budget, lol. I’ll ask again later when/if they wrap up SOMETIME tonight and let you know. I don’t recognize any of the actors.

Here are a couple of pics of the security cameras from my desk. We’re trapped in the Squad Room for the most part but I’ve had a couple of arguments with the crew about them trying to restrict our movement. Sorry folks, but I gotta job to do.

View attachment 94446View attachment 94447

I thought not might be ncis new Orleans

 

[12poundtest]

I thought not might be ncis new Orleans

No walk on opportunity?

 

[ru108]

According to one of the crew, its called The Samaritan, at least right now. She's not sure if its going to be theatre release or Netflix, so I guess I'll have to keep an eye out later in the year. Supposed to be a suspense thing along the lines of Jigsaw.

@12poundtest , they'd have to pay me enough that I could take SEVERAL months off and still be able to pay the bills, lol. I've been on the local news enough in the past few years while I'm working that I've seriously considered asking them to throw a few bones my way in order to use my likeness. Unfortunately the whole "public servant in a public place in the performance of their duties" thing legally puts the brakes on that.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Sorry I missed the net tonight, guys. At work and, of all things, part of a movie (yes, as in feature film type movie) is being filmed in my office tonight, so there's a whole lotta "SHHH" going on tonight at REALLY inconvenient times that forced me to miss it. Lucky for them, we haven't really been all that busy....so far. Occupational hazard of working in a Coroner's Office I guess is having parts of suspense movies filmed where you work. Unfortunately, they didn't ask us to be in it, so no high $$ career change appears to be in my future, lol.

Anyway, I wanted to chime in on the topic real quick. I went for a vanity because my original call, KI5BRW, was a mouthful that I couldn't wait to shorten up and it was the first thing I did after I got licensed. Got rid of the "I" and changed the suffix to the first three letters of my last name. Managed to shorten the CW score from 74 to 50 with that, so that should be helpful when/if I ever finish learning code. It also flows better on phone, especially phonetically. If it would have flowed better, I'd have kept the original.

Hope everyone has a great Easter and week to come. 73!

How long did it take for you to get your vanity call sign, from request to issuance?

 

[ru108]

How long did it take for you to get your vanity call sign, from request to issuance?

23 days counting weekends. There is an automatic hold placed on the requests when they’re submitted. Supposedly to give time for anyone sending a request by snail mail to have a shot at possibly the same one. If you do happen to end up having competition for the call, it becomes a blind lottery drawing between you and everyone else that requested it.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

23 days counting weekends. There is an automatic hold placed on the requests when they’re submitted. Supposedly to give time for anyone sending a request by snail mail to have a shot at possibly the same one. If you do happen to end up having competition for the call, it becomes a blind lottery drawing between you and everyone else that requested it.

Gotcha. And did they send you something letting you know that you got it or did you just have to keep checking to see if it showed up in their database?

 

[Prerunner1982]

I can't remember if I got an email or letter or not. Wouldn't have mattered, I knew it took 18 business days so I was all over checking the database on the 18th day.
If you don't get it I believe they will send you a letter.

 

[Prerunner1982]

As mentioned in the net here is a website to look up available calls or when a call may become available, if you are wanting a vanity.

RadioQTH - Available Calls

www.radioqth.net

 

[ru108]

Good evening everyone! Be sure to join us tomorrow night (4/26/2019) on the Overland Bound Echolink Amateur Radio Net! It's another Open Topic night so bring your questions, know-how or BS as we enjoy another hour passing the mic around the table.

73, Shane K5TIN

Net Details:
Time : 1730 hours PDT/2030 hours EDT

Where : Echolink Node 591550 (USA-GNG) known also as Grits N Gravy, DMR TG 1137550 and Allstar 41130

Anyone can listen only here www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/29437/web

As always, if you have any ideas for net topics or wish to take a turn as net control one evening, please let one of our net controllers know and we'll gladly get you set-up. We could use the help with the spring coming on strong when we all start travelling and getting outdoors more.

 

[Ubiety]

Hope the net is a good one tonight! Having my folks over for dinner so I won't be there.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

Does anyone know how to connect to the net from a Yaesu FTM-400? I can't find anything in the manual about connecting to EchoLink Nodes and I can't find anything on the Googles.

 

[whiskey7backroads]

You can either connect thru a computer, a phone running the app or thru a repeater that has echolink and permission from the repeater owner to connect. In the case of the repeater, you enter the dtmf codes that control turning on echolink and then the node number.

 

[Jeffrey Dill]

You can either connect thru a computer, a phone running the app or thru a repeater that has echolink and permission from the repeater owner to connect. In the case of the repeater, you enter the dtmf codes that control turning on echolink and then the node number.

Thank you! Looking up local EchoLink repeaters now.