DAREN of WV News January 10, 2010 (.913)
Kenneth Harris WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 wa8llm@yahoo.com
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
P.O. BOX 3328, PARKERSBURG, WV 26103
http://www.wc8ec.org
DAREN News, are articles and information about the Digital Amateur Radio "Emergency" Network of WV, which operates on 145.69 MHz. Anyone having any information about DAREN, or Amateur Radio in general, and would like to share it with others, may send it to WA8LLM @ PKBGWV on 145.69 MHz, or to my E-Mail: wa8llm@yahoo.com. A State Wide DAREN NET is operated every Saturday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and lately, before and after those hours. The DAREN Net Announcement, showing the MAIN NCS, ALTERNATE NCS, NODEs accessible to both, and the previous week's check-ins, are posted by Thursday on most of the Main county DAREN PBBS'. The DAREN News can also be found on the wc8ec.org website.
Nothing much happening, and nothing much to report so I'll go over a few things that might help you on Packet. When posting a message on one of the DAREN PBBSs, use the letters "ST" instead of "S" or "SP". If you use the "S" or "SP" you are sending a message so that only the person you are sending it to is the only one who can read and delete it. Message that are sent on Packet Radio are not private. Anyone who is monitoring the channel can see the message being posted and read. The reason I suggest messages be posted with "ST" is simple. If you post a message with and "S" or "SP", and you put in the wrong callsign, the person you are sending it to will not see the message when he connects to the PBBS. Over the years I've had messages sent to me, some posted with an "S", some with and "SP", and some with an "ST". The ones that I see right off are the ones that are posted with an "ST". Over the years I've had messages that were going to me but the callsign was wrong. I've got messages with the callsigns of "WA8LLN, WB8LLM, W8LLM, KA8LLM, and maybe few others. The only ones that I could see right off the bat were the ones that were posted with the "ST". The messages with the wrong callsign and posted with an "S" or "ST" might not be found for a few days. As the SYSOP for several DAREN NODE/PBBSs, I can use the pass word and see what messages are posted, even it they are posted as "Private". I don't use the SYSOP privilege on the PBBSs as often as I should, so when there's a message to me that has the wrong callsign, and posted with an "S" or "SP", I won't see the message until I happen to use the SYSOP privilege and view the PBBS. If I happen to see a message that is going to someone else That has been posted with an "S' or "SP", and the callsign is wrong, I've correct the callsign and leave it posted as I find it.
Another item that I run into once in awhile is the posting of the weekly State Wide DAREN Net Announcement. As I've said many times in the past, Packet Radio "IS NOT" error free, although it does it best. When I post the net announcement, sometime the message is a little garbled. The message may drop a letter of two from a callsign, such as "A8LLM" or "8LLM". When it left my station, the whole callsign was there. If you see a callsign that looks like it might be yours, there a good chance that it is. The best thing to do is go to another PBBS and look at the message. You may find that the callsign was just garbled on the other PBBS.
If a message is important enough that you don't want it mistaken, send it twice, there's a good chance that it won't be garbled in the same place.
There were 66 check-ins again to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. As soon as I get my monthly reports done, I'm going to start getting the certificates printed up for those operators who have been waiting for them.