[WARC] 144.240 SSB net *ON* tonight 7:15-7:30pm

[Todd Sprinkmann]

Good morning

The Wed. night 2 meter SSB net announcement is up on the website.
Click here for a basic overview : http://kc9bqa.com/?p=577

This QST goes out to about 13 different groups within a few hundred
miles. Probably catches the eye of at least 1000-1500 different hams,
if they choose to pay attention.

The La Crosse and Winona areas have lost interest in the nets now
for some months.  There was great LSE interest in 144 SSB last
fall and winter, and now I hear from very few.  I don't even get email
suggesting why the interest fell off, so I have nothing to go on.  I 
miss
you guys, but more importantly, I don't want you giving up on
VHF/UHF.

I suspect that a stronger, more local signal would do the trick.

There are at least a dozen or more of you reading this who have an
interest in SSB ops, plus the equipment to enjoy it now.  Some vertical
antennas, some horizontal, but there's plenty of interest.  Not every
area has that interest, so don't take it for granted.

It does not take a genius to run a net -- trust me, LOL.  You also do
not have to "market" it as rabidly as I do.   It can be casual, and a
few ops can share the responsibility.  You can shape it however you
want, but it does work best if you are consistent and enthusiastic.

If someone or a few of you took the lead on this, and at least talked
it up within a 50-100 mile radius, I bet you'd average 6-10 check-ins
each week.   A local net would also allow vertical polarization stations
to hear some of the activity.

Finally, I will share this food for thought with the list.

*** Consider doing a net from a portable location ***
Have net control drive up to a blufftop/ridgetop location and call a net
for an hour or so.   You'd get huge coverage and it would be a novelty.
Things like that really get hams to come out of the woodwork and get
involved.

The weather will be nice into Sept./ Oct., so there'd be plenty of time
to get this up and running.

73,
Todd KC9BQA EN63ao 40 N of Milwaukee
50 thru 2304
http://www.kc9bqa.com