From: fms@sw.stratus.com (Faith Senie)
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: Feedback to Operating Practices
Date: 29 Sep 92 23:06:27 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

In article <1992Sep29.200126.16371@convex.com>, tonyp@convex.com (honey bunny) writes:
> [...]
> One new feller sent me the following set of questions. I answered 'em all,
> correctly of course [ahem!], but asked his permission to post it to the
> group so he could get some well rounded feedback too.
> 
> ---
> 

To the 'feller' who sent "honey bunny" the mail: Welcome to the hobby!  And
you're absolutely right -- it's really scary to get into a conversation on
2M repeaters sometimes, especially if you're a newcomer.  But there are
folks out there (and I like to think I'm one of them) who will welcome
your arrival.  You're in luck -- the "nice folks" outnumber the idiots.
(though unfortunately, one idiot can ruin your whole day...)

>	[...]
> 
>         1) Everybody on 2m seems to know each other already.  How do I get
>            involved?
> 

Believe it or not, once upon a time, we were all strangers.  But one
by one, we got up the courage to put our callsigns out on the repeater 
every now and again, and eventually one of the "locals" noticed us and 
struck up a conversation.  Eventually they got used to us, remembered our
callsign and the name associated with it, and even got to be friends.

The best way to get involved is to pick up that HT, screw up your courage,
and say "N1xxx listening" (or probably KA1xxx in your case, since you
started as a novice).  

Perhaps nobody will answer.  That's entirely possible.  But that probably
means that either nobody's listening to the repeater now, or else whoever
is listening isn't in the mood for chitchat with a stranger just yet.  This
happens.  But don't let it discourage you!  Keep it up!  That's not to say
you should put out your call every minute or so -- that's a bit much.  But
every couple of hours (to take advantage of different people's listening
hours) or every day at the same time (to get people "used to you", as it
were) would be great.  Eventually, SOMEBODY will come back to you.  With
any luck, it will be somebody who recognizes that your call is relatively
new, and will say "welcome to the hobby!".  Voila -- a QSO is born!
Introduce yourself, say you're new, maybe even say you're a bit shy
about this stuff.  It gets easier, trust me...

Another way to get involved is to check into 2m traffic nets.  As a general
rule of thumb, you should listen in on several nets before checking in, just
so you know how the net works.  Then on the day you figure you're ready,
wait for the Net Control Station (NCS) to open up checkins to stations with
or without traffic, and then follow the given check-in procedure (generally
say "here is", then unkey for a second to see if anybody else was saying
"here is" at the same time; if it sounds clear, continue on with "KA1xxx,
no traffic".  Emergency nets will also want to know your power source,
either commercial or battery).  If the NCS doesn't recognize your call,
you may be asked to give your name and location for the net's records.
If you check in often enough, the regular NCS's will get to know you,
as will all of the regular folks on the net, and starting up conversations
with folks who think they know you is lots easier after that.  And who knows --
maybe you'll find traffic handling fun, too!

>         2) There seem to be MANY repeaters in my area.   If I use them,  I
>            should support them, right?   but I can't pay dues to ALL those
>            clubs.    Are  regular vistors welcome on open repeaters?   How
>            does this work?
> 

Well, the definition of an "open" repeater is one that anybody is welcome
to talk on, whether they "belong" or not.  And not all repeaters are operated
by clubs, either.  The one in my town (146.655 Clinton, MA) is owned by the
local Civil Defense agency, and is open to use by anyone in the area at any
time (with the caveat that, should there be some civil defense emergency
that requires repeater use, all other users will stand by until such time as
the repeater is opened for general use again.  But that's mighty rare in these
parts).  There are no "dues"; we who are involved in the Civil Defense
agency take care of the repeater, but we don't have to pay to join up...

And as far as clubs themselves are concerned, that's a good way to meet
people, too.  Just about all the clubs I know about welcome newcomers to
sit in on a few meetings of the club before joining, just to give you a
chance to see if the "atmosphere" of the club suits you.  If you like it --
great, maybe you'll join!  And if not, well, at least you got a chance to
meet some of the local hams face-to-face, so when you hear them on the
local repeater, you can say "thought I'd say hello, we met at the last 
club meeting".  There's no rule that says you have to join every club
you visit (heck, there's no rule saying you have to visit every club
you join, either -- I have a friend who joined our local club last
spring just because he liked the folks who hung out on the repeater!)

And, failing any of the above, if you happen to see somebody here on the
net whose address looks local to you, drop them a note, introduce yourself,
and set up a schedule on the local repeater for later... :-)


73, and if you're in the Clinton neighborhood, give me a shout on 146.655!
Faith N1JIT

-- 
Faith M. Senie            InterNet: fms@vos.stratus.com
Stratus Computer, Inc.    InterNet: fms@hoop.sw.stratus.com
55 Fairbanks Blvd.       Pkt Radio: n1jit@ka1srd.ma.usa.na
Marlboro, MA 01752           Phone: (508)460-2632

"I'm afraid I don't know very much about Romulan Disruptor settings" --Spock