OK. Time for my comments on a Ten Tec net.
I'm the one that started the 20m Ten Tec net over 4 years ago. I thought it
was a great idea and I feel it was quite successful to the very end, thanks
to Will/K5BMW. Every other niche group had a net, so why not promote Ten Tec
and their fine products?
One day I decided I was just gonna do it, threw it out to this group, told
them where, when, and what, period. I knew I wouldn't be able to satisfy
everyone with time and freq., but hey, that's life. People were always making
comments like "move it here, move it there, change the time, I have to eat
dinner then, I have church then, I'm painting my wife's toenails then." Like
I said, you can't please everyone. Does church take 2.5 hours? Does dinner
take 2.5 hours? Does painting her toenails take 2.5 hours? Well, maybe on the
painting. Every week the net operated for at least 2-2.5 hours. That should
be sufficient time for anyone to check in to any net if they really really
wanted to.
Unfortunately, I was many times limited to 100W due to the close spacing of
houses in southern California. And unfortunately, Will lost his big presence
when he lost his amplifier. It takes presence to be a net control. Will and I
did the best we could. How does the Collins net maintain their presence? With
power and consistency. We had consistency. Unfortunately, not many people
have the power of the Collins net controllers.
I chose 20 meters because it provides the best conditions world wide, day
after day. Plus you don't need a big antenna for 20, not like you need on 40.
Yes, there are people that don't have room for a 40 mtr dipole but could
manage a 20 mtr dipole, if they really wanted to. I also chose a part of the
band where the lowest license class with HF privileges could operate.
How do a lot of these nets keep their same freq week after week? How do some
of these stations with so called skeds keep their freq? Because they don't
care who is previously on the freq when they appear and they run power, in
most cases. Will and I didn't do that. If we had to move, we would move and
try to let everyone know that. We tired to move only a few kc to a clear freq
so the late check ins would have a good chance of finding us. I think that
you could probably count the number of times during that 4+years that we did
not have a net on 2 fingers.
So, what it takes is for someone to make a commitment and just do it.
Remember, you can't please everyone. Good luck to the 40 meter group. I
personally thing you have more of an up hill challenge on that band than you
would on 20. Plus, more people would be able to participate on 20 just based
on propagation.
If I didn't have other commitments, I'd probably still be doing the net. It
had nothing to do with ego. It had everything to do with enjoying the hobby
and getting together with others that enjoy Ten Tec like I do. I'm
disappointed that not a single person picked up the 20 meter net and kept it
going. It was already established with many check ins every week. We had a
presence. Oh well.
So, if someone decides to try a net on 20 again, just set your boundaries.
You need to decide what you are willing to accept to take on the
responsibility. I personally wouldn't do it again unless I had some sort of
loose commitment from at least 3 others. It's just too much for 1 or 2
persons.
In closing, thanks to all who made the "old" net a success. Even Stan! I miss
talking to everyone and finding out what everyone is up to with their Ten Tec
stuff. As for Will, I used to thank the radio gods for Will's fortitude every
week. I think we were a pretty good team.
ciao for now,
KM6VX
Torrance, Ca.
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