FreeDV 40Meter Activity Net - How Stations are "Checked-in"

[Fred Larrick]

In response to several inquiries, here is a description of how I check-in people for the FreeDV Tuesday Night 40 Meter Activity net. This net now meets at 9 PM EST Tuesday night (Wednesday at 0200Z)  on 7182 kHz +/- QRM.

As suggested early on by multiple people, I use the program Netlogger to manage the net. This program greatly simplifies the logging of stations and the check-in / check-out process. Prior to the start of the net, I enter stations as "checked-in" based on who is on the net frequency in FreeDV Reporter and the stations that request a check-in using Netlogger (installed on their computers). I typically open up the net on Netlogger around 30 minutes in advance of the start time and begin entering stations based on these two sources.  By the time the net starts, I may have 30 or more stations already checked-in! As the net progresses, I add new stations as I see them on FreeDV Reporter and Netlogger. 

At the beginning of the net, I read out the list of stations in the order that I have entered them into Netlogger, occasionally stating who is what number so that stations can figure out where they are on the list. Unfortunately, this method does not necessarily get everyone entered in the temporal order that they showed up in either FreeDV Reporter or Netlogger. There is no easy way for me to figure out who showed up when since the list on FreeDV Reporter is constantly jumping around due to people activating/deactivating their software or changing frequency. Netlogger check-ins are sometimes delayed due to me focusing on the FreeDV Reporter screen. 

During the net, I keep announcing new stations as I see them and, occasionally, pausing for over-the-air check-ins. With participants numbering the 50's, a significant amount of time would be lost if I took all of the check-ins over the air (e.g., at 30 secs per check-in, net control confirmation, and netlogger entry, that would add about 25 minutes to a 60+ minute net).  I believe this to be the best way to keep the net moving quickly but I am open to suggestions.

From my perspective, the preferred way to check-in is to use Netlogger. You can check into the net in temporal order (or close to it) and also see the entire list of stations checked-in. You can then gauge when you will be called or see if you were called and missed. Netlogger is available on the web and there are tutorial videos on YouTube as well. I was skeptical about this software at first, but it is great for managing the net. If everyone used it, my life would be much easier. Trying to pull check-ins off of FreeDV is extremely difficult. It is not designed for this purpose and should not be in my opinion.

This net provides a great opportunity for stations new to FreeDV to test out their stations. It also provides a good snapshot of how well this mode performs. Let's keep spreading the word and continue to promote the outstanding work of the  FreeDV designers/developers and test team.

73,

Fred

N3FL

[Art Botterell]

Thanks, Fred… this was the context I was missing!

73,

Art KD6O

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