Greetings to all traffic handlers and would-be traffic handlers. The STM traffic report for April, which can be found below, will show how the traffic nets and the digital traffic system have been busy relaying messages, in part due to the previously described Boston Cape Cod Traffic Jam. This radiogram exchange, conceived by Peter, KC1HHO has drawn the attention of newly licensed amateur operators as they exchange information about each’s local area in the form of radiograms, getting practice in the skills of generating and passing these radiograms on the traffic nets while having fun and gaining new knowledge.
ORS Appointments and Trainees:
Four new appointments as Official Relay Station (ORS) have been recommended by net managers over the past few months. These include Neil, N1HAN; Jack, KC1SJK; Matt, KC1VXV; and Scott, AC1TR. Congrats and thanks to these guys who have put in the effort to advance their skills in traffic handling and net operation. Also near to earning the ORS appointment is Jim KM1TWL. Additional new trainees include Verma, KC1URV. Mike, W1VEG and Andrew KC1WPC. We look forward to their participation on the traffic nets as well.
BPL – Brass Pounders League – Bob Sparkes, KC1KVY
A special congratulations to Bob Sparkes, KC1KVY for making BPL (Brass Pounders League) for a monthly station activity report with over 500 total message points! A most noteworthy achievement!
Annual Traffic Handlers Picnic
To all the newcomers as well as those who have been around for awhile, all are invited to a traffic handlers picnic, held annually in Concord MA on the first Sunday in August, which this year falls on August 3, from noon on. It is a great opportunity to meet in person the folks you hear on the traffic nets. More details will follow later.
NTS Treasure Hunt
Another fun way to get some practice in generating and handling radiograms on traffic nets is the NTS Treasure Hunt. This is a nationwide activity where a question about NTS or traffic handling is posed every other month within the NTS Letter. Traffic handlers are requested to send a radiogram with the answer to a designated judge who will, upon receipt of a correct answer, reply by radiogram with the next question and designated judge. All who complete all four “rounds” will receive a certificate and mention in an upcoming issue of the NTS Letter. Check out https://nts2.arrl.org/treasure-hunt/ or https://nts2.arrl.org/ntsletter/ for more info.
Radiogram Portal and Field Day
I know some of our traffic handlers have participated on the web-based Radiogram Portal, and I would like to invite others to check it out. While the web is not RF, the Portal does give folks an exposure to the generation of radiograms and adds actual third party message traffic to the traffic nets. The web URL https://nts2.arrl.org/radiogram/ will walk you through the process, generate you message in radiogram format and show you what it will look like before listing it for an experienced and authorized radiogrammer to pick it up to send on the traffic nets or via the digital traffic network. This portal was initially designed to educate the public about our amateur radio messaging service, but we could use help getting the word out to them. Field Day would be a good time to have the Portal running on a computer at your site perhaps using a hot spot on your phone to access the internet. Fellow amateurs can promote the messaging service encouraging folks to use the Portal to send a message to friends or families. Be reminded that radiograms must leave the Field Day site via RF in order to be counted for points, but the Portal serves as an entry point for third party messages, much like receiving a hand-written message which would then be formatted and sent via RF to traffic nets or the digital network.
On the subject of Field Day, Shawn Dodds, N1CVO will be conducting training to clubs on sending NTS messages for FD points. Contact Shawn for more information (He is good on QRZ.com).
Traffic tip about message delivery.
There are a couple articles about message delivery on the Eastern Mass website. General traffic tips can be found at https://ema.arrl.org/2012/06/04/traffic-tips-message-delivery/ and a script that can guide you through a phone call at https://ema.arrl.org/radiogram-call-script-guide/.
Occasionally, however, we need a reminder to deliver the text in plain language. For example, if there is an ARL or RRC numbered text in the radiogram, first look up the translation at https://nts2.arrl.org/numbered-texts/ before calling, and then deliver the text in plain language the recipient can understand. Also refrain from voicing such terms as “Xray” which can be confusing to the non traffic handler. Just briefly pause to separate the thoughts as appropriate.
By the way, when delivering by email, don’t forget to request an acknowledgement of receipt. You at least have a reasonable expectation that the message was actually delivered. I suppose this might also be done when leaving a voicemail or an SMS message.
Many good conversations have begun with the delivery of a radiogram which can help get the newly-licensed ham on the road to actual participation and give the non-licensed public information about how amateur radio is still relevant today.
73 de Marcia KW1U, Section Traffic Manager Eastern and Western Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Massachusetts - Rhode Island STM Report for April 2025 (1)