Hi all,  Thought some may enjoy the following article.  It is a well written article by Pat Tice WA0 TDA.  This was taken from last week’s Handiham world.  73.  KB2YAA



In praise of reliability

Today I want to give a shout out to a very special class of people: those in the amateur radio community who provide services for the rest of us to use and who do so consistently and reliably year after year after year. These are the people who operate repeater systems that the rest of us use. Think about it; how many times have you used your mobile radio or handheld radio without much of a thought as to the technology that supports it: the repeater system? That's the reason for the photo of the ICOM IC 706 Mark 2G showing the 145.45 MHz frequency on the display. Don Rice, N0BVE, operates the wide-area N0BVE repeater system on that frequency here in the Twin Cities that is one of our best resources for consistent, reliable VHF communications year in and year out. Don volunteers with us and supports the VoIP connectivity that makes the daily Handiham net possible. More to the point, Don keeps his equipment in good working order so that it does remain in service and is ready to use when any of us pushes that push to talk button on the microphone. That's why I think we need to give Don and repeater owners like him a big thank you. You guys are keeping us connected! 

Of course there are plenty of other people maintaining amateur radio infrastructure. These days, we are talking about the Internet connectivity we enjoy through Echolink, IRLP, WIRES, and other VoIP systems. Often times the effort and resources that go into maintaining such services may go unnoticed and unheralded, simply because their seamless integration into the interconnected repeater systems lies somewhat beneath the surface. Nonetheless, behind all of this stuff there are dedicated amateur radio operators working tirelessly to advance the science and art of Amateur Radio. Be assured that we appreciate and thank all of you! 

Make the best use of your repeater system 

One of the things that we can do to promote best practices in amateur radio is to lead by showing good example. There are few areas of operating that are more public than using our local repeater systems. Anyone who might be listening on frequency will hear us when we key up the repeater, so think about how important it is to operate correctly. These days, with repeater systems interconnected through systems like Echolink and IRLP, that line from Shakespeare, "all the world's a stage", certainly does ring true. When you say something on a local repeater system, you might actually be heard worldwide, thanks to VoIP over the Internet. Doesn't it make sense to be the best operator one can be when you have what is potentially a really big audience? 

I think so. One of the best ways to ensure that when we step onto that world stage of interconnected repeater systems that we put in a good performance is to build good operating habits. If you are a fan of Shakespeare, you know that the phrase "All the world's a stage" comes from the play As You like It, in which the character Jaques is comparing the entire world to a big stage and life itself to a play. He talks about the seven ages in a man's life from infant to old age. I'll bet we could find seven good operating habits to promote so that we are ready when we step out on that world stage of interconnected repeater systems. 

The Seven Good Operating Habits 

  a.. Always listen before talking. 
  b.. Identify your station using your callsign. 
  c.. Allow enough time for stations that might be connected through the Internet to come back to your call. 
  d.. When in conversation on a repeater system, keep transmissions well within the allowed timer limit so that you don't time out the repeater. 
  e.. Pause before keying the transmitter to allow interconnected systems to handshake with each other. 
  f.. If there is a net control station, listen for and follow the instructions you are given. 
  g.. Give up the repeater system immediately if there is an emergency call. 
Of course there are always going to be other good operating practices that we can recommend, but these seven are really pretty basic. If any of them are ignored on an interconnected VoIP repeater system, chaos can result. The thing about good operating practice is that it does take practice. When you do things correctly over and over again you build neural pathways in your brain, commonly referred to as "good habits". When something is a good habit, you can more or less operate on autopilot and still do things correctly. Alas, if you have allowed yourself to develop bad habits associated with sloppy operating technique, it is going to be just as easy to get on the air and mess up a net or make a fool of yourself on the repeater system before you even realize what you have done! 

At first it can be a very deliberate process to operate correctly. The reason for this is that you have not developed habits yet and you have to actually think about what you are doing and whether it is good operating practice or not. The whole idea behind practicing for anything is that we want to build those neural pathways in our brains and train our muscles – which are connected to our brains after all – to respond correctly when we are getting on the air. It is pretty much the same when building any skill. You start out more slowly at first and with practice get better and better and better. Eventually you come to a point where getting on the air and operating correctly, following best practices in virtually every case, is effortless. You really don't have to waste too much time thinking about how to identify your station or leave pauses between transmissions because you have developed good operating skills through practice. 

Have you ever wondered how poor operators got that way? One of the grandmas in our family had a saying about child rearing. She observed that you never had to teach a child to be naughty because that seemed to come naturally! None of us is immune from at least a little bit of selfishness and that can lead to some rather childish behaviors that sometimes mess things up on a repeater system. For example, a childish behavior is to shout out and not want to take turns. All of us have heard this kind of behavior on the air, and we know that it certainly doesn't do anything to improve communication on a repeater system. Just as we learn as children to behave in ways that promote polite conversation and respectful listening, we learn early on in our radio careers that we need to apply the same politeness and respect when getting on the air. If a person does not have good communication skills that include politeness and respect before they get an amateur radio license, it is pretty likely that they will not suddenly develop such skills when getting on the repeater. For them, it will be a learning process. We can lead by giving good example. If you happen to be in the exalted position of being a net control station and having to manage the flow of the net while juggling operators with different skill levels, it may fall to you to patiently explain what is expected. To pull this off effectively you need to have plenty of tact and patience, and since every situation is different you will need to be able to think on your feet. It can be very satisfying to move a newcomer with some poor operating habits into the realm of good, confident, efficient communications by helping them to develop good habits. Keep things simple and straightforward and respectful. Be patient. Always lead by giving good example and developing good operating skills habits yourself.  

Repeater owners everywhere appreciate good operating practices on their systems!  And let me leave you with this final thought on the subject:  In an emergency, things can happen quickly and you can get stressed out trying to figure out what to do.  Good operating habits, drilled into your subconscious so deeply that they come to you without a thought, will carry you through emergency communications.  That is why emergency responders practice so often.  They want to be able to save lives without having to stop and think about what to do when time is short and lives hang in the balance.  As potential emergency communicators ourselves we should also be ready, with good communications habits already wired right into our very beings!

Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Kenny Handiham Coordinator