VECTOR July 11 Simplex Relay: VHF in the City without a repeater?

Posted in events; tagged with activity, event, exercise, game, practice

Let’s have fun together on air Saturday, July 11, playing with radiograms and VHF frequency hopping for a couple of hours sharing trivia questions. Catch you there at 11 am (RSVP)?

How would you send a radio message from one side of the city to the other without repeaters?

Know a trivia question? On Simplex Relay Day, that’s the only message you need. Send it to another station for an answer. The challenge: you may only send messages over simplex VHF.

Join from home. We’ll welcome all certified amateur radio operators into the event on VE7RVF. Hop over to the calling frequency to find your relay person. Use the quick reference list to agree on an exchange frequency. Hop over and zap, you’re on your way.

Questions? Download a relay operator package through this link. Read it. Print what you need.

Check-in on net at 11 am on Saturday, July 11, on VE7RVF (output 145.450 offset -0.600 tone 100 Hz). Finish and check out at 2 pm. Can you make it? (RSVP)

How simplex day works

All radio amateurs are welcome to participate in any of our nets.

Updated above text and package on 2020-07-05 from 2020-06-28.

Simplex Relay Day Overview

When all else fails, amateur radio still works… but what if all repeaters fail too? Amateur radio still works.

We want as many amateur radio operators as we can muster to join us. Our event will take place on Saturday, July 11, 2020, 11:00-14:00 PDT​ using VHF FM simplex. It’s easy:

  • use the repeater (for exercise check-in, help, and check-out),
  • contact a willing station on the simplex Exercise Calling Frequency,
  • move to a Simplex Message Transfer Frequency to pass your radiogram or to relay a radiogram.

Objectives

  1. Discover whom you can and whom you can’t contact on simplex from your location. We will use this information after the exercise to build a simplex network map.
  2. Relay messages, which is how amateur radio still works on HF and so we’re trying it locally on VHF.
  3. Use radiograms to send and receive messages from as many other unique participants as you can.

Frequencies

  • Channels designated by colours are repeaters. We’ll also use Zoom by request. They are used to facilitate the exercise, but are outside of the scenario. Message destination stations will be provided by the exercise net control from a list of stations that have checked in.
  • Channels designated by ITU phonetic letters are simplex and are inside the scenario. The Exercise Calling Frequency (not the real National Calling Frequency) is used to first find another participating station. The Simplex Message Transfer Frequencies are used for signal reports and to pass traffic (i.e. radiograms). Use your radio’s VFO (as you would if working with other amateur radio groups that may be using frequencies not on VECTOR’s frequency list).
  • Keep conversations off of the calling frequency. Immediately refer any enquiries about this event to a repeater.

Scoring

  • One point per completed row in the log. ​ Log only for the radiograms that are passed​ (on simplex).
  • Be ready to ​ give your score to the exercise net control​ ​ when you check-out ​ (on a repeater).

Message Format

  • Use a radiogram to compose a trivia question to send to each call sign given to you by the exercise net control, e.g. “What is the full name of the person Hastings Street is named after QUERY" — The pro-word, QUERY, must be the last word of your radiogram message question.
  • Answer​ radiograms in the same format, but ​ without​ “QUERY” at the end, e.g. “Hastings Street is named for Vice-Admiral George Fowler Hastings.”

Sign-up

Organizing things is tough. It is easier to plan knowing how many folks are going to take part. Let us know that you are planning to join us by e-mailing ​ [email protected]​ with your call sign and the subject “VECTOR Simplex Relay Day.” Non-VECTOR members are very much welcomed to participate. VECTOR members can record their volunteer hours in BetterImpact.

Simplex Relay Day: 2020-07-11 at 11:00

Sign up now. Send your call sign to [email protected] or use our brief form. Further details in Better Impact.

4 Net Control spots. Want to be Control Operator on the repeater? You’ll get a chance to prepare together before the event. The message-handling work happens on simplex frequencies, so you can focus on coordinating and helping people. Sign up in Better Impact. Plan for a dry run on 2020-06-20.

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“VECTOR Simplex Relay Day” Planning Huddle on Thursdays at 19:45

City-wide simplex message-relay event? You ask a question from one part of the city and get the answer from beyond your 2 m simplex range. Relay messages between others. Perhaps you can reach more people than you expect. Perhaps you help a relay between surprising parts of the city. Let’s find out if you have a simplex contact who can relay for you in a pinch.

Dave VE7CNV, Ernst VA7WAC, Erland VE7EFK, Nick VE7NTX, Melinda VE7OLO, Richard VE7PNP.