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Handiham Nets

Handiham Net Schedule, Effective March 15, 2010

Join our worldwide EchoLink net every day but Sunday. All licensed operators are welcome. The net is controlled but informal, and there is no need to be a Handiham member to participate. Sometimes the net control station will throw out a discussion topic to liven things up! Listen in a few times if you are shy, and then take the plunge and throw out your callsign.

Days: Monday through Saturday, and Sunday if anyone wants to take an informal session.

Times: 11:00 hours United States Central Time M-S and a second Wednesday session at 19:30 Central Time.

Frequency in the local Minnesota repeater coverage zone: 145.45 FM, negative offset with no tone in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota.

EchoLink nodes:

KA0PQW-R, node 267582
N0BVE-R, node 89680
HANDIHAM conference server Node 494492 (Our preferred high-capacity node.)

Other ways to connect:

IRLP node 9008 (Vancouver BC reflector)

WIRES system number 1427

The Wednesday evening EchoLink net is at 19:30 United States Central Standard time, which translates to +5 hours, or 00:30 GMT Thursday morning during North American Daylight Time. In the winter, the GMT schedule is +6 hours. Connect from any Internet-enabled computer in the world, and come out on Twin Cities repeater N0BVE on 145.450.

On the second Sunday of March in the United States, we move to Central Daylight Time, at least in most places. That means that hours for our daily nets are adjusted accordingly, beginning with the midday EchoLink net, which is on at 11:00 Minnesota time. Since the local time has shifted ahead one hour, you will now find the daily net at 11 + 5 = 16:00 GMT Monday through Saturday.

A question we get every year at this time is, "Why do you change the net times to follow Daylight Saving Time? Wouldn't it be easier to just stick with GMT and not change the times?"

The answer is that we have tried staying with GMT in the past, but received complaints from net members who liked staying on their local time schedules. Also, we ran up against other nets using the same frequencies unless we maintained the "local" times.

Here are some other nets and times:

1.902 MHz SSB, 20:00 United States Central Time nightly except Tuesdays &
Thursdays: The Stillwater Amateur Radio Association (SARA/Handiham) top band informal net. The band should be open “long" for good communications across North America during evening hours. The stations on this net talk a long time, so be patient and they will let you in!

Friday CW Net:

7.112 MHz CW, 09:00 - 12:00 ET, plus whatever time is needed to wrap up the last contact: This is the Handiham Informal slow speed CW Net. Look for Paul, W8IRT. You may e-mail Paul at w8irt@aol.com with your ideas and signal reports, or to find out about schedule changes for the CW net. Paul advises us that the net remains true to local time, which means a one hour shift when changing to or from Daylight time in the Spring and Autumn.

Learn how to be a better amateur radio operator!

You can check into the regular Wednesday night handiham EchoLink net, because the first Wednesday of each month the theme of the net is one of learning and training. Although the primary focus is on how to be a good, even great, net control station, most of the same operating techniques that make a good net control will also apply to normal, day-to-day amateur radio communications. Please join us and check in or simply listen in, as you see fit:

Everyone is welcome. You do not need to be a member, and the net is relaxed, friendly, and informal.

If you have a correction in any part of the net schedule, please e-mail wa0tda@arrl.net.