Hello IPRC members and friends!
We had a great club net on the AirLink repeater last night. Thank you to Matt (KDØPYK) for hosting. After the net, Scott (WØSJE), Jerry (KEØMWC), and I had a really good QSO on 146.550 MHz, 2 meter simplex. It’s always good to know which stations, locations, and fellow hams we can contact with no repeaters or other gear in between us – just radio to radio, as Nikola Tesla and the RF gods intended!
I am in the process of creating a “matrix” document to record that capability now. This information is invaluable during emergencies and times of crisis. It lets us know what our options are to stay in touch with one another, and to relay critical information to people in different areas of the affected community.
As you make these simplex contacts going forward, I would ask that you please comment on this blog entry, or drop me a quick email letting me know the stations and equipment involved, how much power was being used by each, and the overall quality of the QSO, according to the scale below. I will assimilate that information into the matrix document, which will live on the club shared drive.
If you have any of this data now – either in your memory, logged in a contact on your QRZ page, etc., please send it to me as well.
Simplex QSO Readability Scale:
1 – Very Poor (broke squelch, but nothing heard)
2 – Poor (unintelligible audio heard)
3 – Fair (dropping some words)
4 – Okay(scratchy but mostly readable)
5 – Usable (fully readable, but significant static)
6 – QSO Quality (white noise, but not affecting QSO)
7 – Good Enough (fully readable, good audio)
8 – Good (minor hiss with carrier, strong audio)
9 – Very Good (full quieting, very slight static)
10 – Excellent (full quieting, no static)
Thank you for your help with this, and 73!
Charley
K4NYN
