My Experience with the Nov 2 2016 NET Simplex Test
Cert Scott
I participated in the Wednesday Nov 2, 2016 NET simplex test and thought I would share my experience and some thoughts about this event.
The technical data for my station:
Transmit Power: 5 watts
Radio Make/Model: Yaesu VX-7R
Antenna: N9TAX brand roll up J-pole at 300 ft elevation, 25 ft above ground level, inside 2nd floor in a vertical position
Location: 46th & Woodstock
I heard only three stations well or pretty well, two of which were a "5" on the scale we were asked to use. There were a couple of other stations I could hear, but only in part. Their transmissions were broken and static-y. I could not hear Net Control.
Thoughts / Observations
> I found it difficult to catch call signs the first time I heard a station. Sometimes the station spoke their call sign quickly and did not spell it phonetically. For a slow poke like me, I think it would help if we speak our call sign phonetically, slowly, and at the end of each transmission.
> Working a simplex net requires the full concentration of the operator because you hear only one side of a conversation and if a station runs through their call sign quickly and not phonetically it is easy to miss.
> Using NET form 6, Communications Log, helped me to keep station call signs documented and provided room for notes related to the scale, etc.
> I can tell that, during a real response using a simplex net, communications are going to be very slow and likely a bit frustrating. It will require the operator to focus solely on the simplex net and it seems unlikely that s/he will be able to monitor/use the team's FRS channel at the same time. I suspect that a NET at the team's Incident Command Post will need to be dedicated to handling the FRS traffic.
> The use of "Q" codes by some stations put me at a disadvantage because I don't use them, do not have them memorized, and did not have a list handy. It seems like using them for NET radio operations is inconsistent with the Incident Command System where "plain language" is the standard.
> It was unclear when the net was secured; I couldn't tell when the test was done. The station that relayed my check-in with Net Control did not relay to me when the net was secured. They may not have been asked to do so.
If stations do not have direct contact with Net Control, how will such stations know, during a real response using a simplex net, when we can secure or when the net is closed?
> Perhaps, after future simplex tests, the participants could "meet" on NET MC6 (147.040 repeater) for a quick debrief / confirmation of the simplex net being closed?
> I was disappointed with the limitations of my equipment. I thought my J-pole would provide greater "reach". I can't expect better result if/when setup at my team's staging area.
I've decided to assemble a more versatile and more powerful station for my NET radio kit using a mobile radio. Perhaps a beam/yagi antenna as well.
> I found this and the previous simplex tests to be very valuable, illuminating, and I don't think we can practice like this enough.