GAARES-P2P NET SUMMARY FOR MAR 9, 2025 (a pdf is attached to the posting at gaares.groups.io)
Thanks to Murdock W4JNR for being our operator for WG4PTP today. On a sad note, our thoughts and prayers go out to our NCS Kory – W4RZ, who lost his 27 year old daughter on Friday, Mar 8th. She leaves a daughter, age 7. Kory, know that we are all thinking of you and your family and we all offer whatever assistance you need.
NET SUMMARY:
It was great to see many of you at the GA ARES Annual Training Meetings yesterday! I enjoyed teaching the Winlink P2P Sessions there. Hopefully, those in attendance got something out of the classes. Soon, I hope to get some Zoom training sessions going for the Net.
In the map, click on your station to see how your check-in message and location rated. If you would like to get feedback on specifics of your message, just email me directly to [email protected] and I’ll be happy to provide details for your message(s) in a private email.
If you are not on the map, you used a Grid Square location source, contrary to net instructions.
New check-ins are mapped, even if they used Grid Square. There is a lot to learn about P2P ops and that will be a secondary goal for them.
MAR 9 NET STATISTICS:
Callsigns checking in today: 44
Check-in msgs – 80m: 27
Check-in msgs – 40m: 37
Total Check-in msgs: 64
Message Analysis:
Callsigns that submitted a completely correct message: 42 of 44 (95.5% – FANTASTIC
Callsigns using wrong report type: None
Callsigns with message dated before current day: 1 < (2 Msgs). Message must be dated the day of activity, in this case, our net.
Callsigns using Grid Square: 3 (One was a first time check-in and is mapped. The other two are not mapped as this is contrary to instructions.
MSGs addressed to WG4PTP, rather than the correct GAARES-P2P: none!
Callsigns with Lat/Lon errors: 1 (Lon did not have a decimal ie 8415374W, not 84.15374W)
AARES-P2P NET MAP LINK for 2025-03-09:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1jnGg23IF_jU_nVdXZYLOdeGXQJGUiMA&usp=sharing
ORANGE SQUARE ICONS – 80M CKINS
PURPLE DIAMOND ICONS – 40M CKINS
RED STAR – 40M NCS WG4PTP (MURDOCK W4JNR)
This week’s map has both 80m and 40m check-ins combined.
To FILTER to one layer (40 or 80), UNCHECK the box for the band you don’t want.
To find your info, click on the down caret left of “All Items” in each of the 80m & 40m map layers at left side of map for a dropdown of each station. Click on your callsign for each band to see how you did on location and check-in message.
FUN QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Choose the true statement below:
A. The Vara HF TNC does not have filters built into it
B. You must enter your Vara Registration Key in the Vara TNC settings for higher speeds
C. Vara HF in 500 Hz Bandwidth is the same speed as 2300 Hz bandwidth
D. In Vara P2P, only one of the two stations needs a Vara license to get full speed
ANSWERS:
A. Incorrect – The Vara HF TNC does have very sophisticated filters built into it, specific to the selected bandwidth. Vara recommends operators set their rig bandpass filters wide.
B. Correct – If must put your Vara Registration key into the TNC settings area for your callsign or there will be no advantage to having the license.
C. Incorrect – 500 Hz Bandwidth is slower than 2300 Hz for the same conditions. See the Vara HF Speed Chart, which is located under the Help tab on the Vara HF TNC Window.
D. Incorrect – For P2P operations, both stations must have a licensed copy in order to get faster speeds. For RMS, this is not the case. The developer of VARA allows all RMS stations to use the licensed speed without having to pay for the key.
QUIZ RESULTS:
Answers reported in check-in messages today are below. If you sent more than one check-in message, we counted your answer only once. If you submitted messages with different answers, we took the answer in your final message.
A 0
B 38 (88.4% – Outstanding!)
C 0
D 4
E 1 (There was no choice E, even though the example subject line showed E)
Total callsigns that gave an answer: 43
Callsigns that did not give an answer: 1
Thanks to EVERYONE for participating. If you have any questions about P2P, please send them to me. I may be able to incorporate them into a weekly training session.
73,
David – ND1J
GAARES P2P Net Manager