Sunday, February 19, 2023

Kwazulu Natal Hamnet Bulletin - Sundays at 07h00 on the GRHub Network, Mossel Bay

Keith, ZS5WFD, in his command vehicle, operating ZS5DCC

Just a reminder that the KZN HAMNET Bulletin is broadcasted every Sunday at 07h00 SAST on several KZN Repeaters.  The  ZS1I GRHub Network linked to AllStar and Echolink nodes are connected via the Pietermaritzburg Repeater Network (ZS5PMB-R and Zello) thanks to Koos ZS5KDK.

A big thank you to Koos ZS5KDK, Keith ZS5WFD and every KZN Hamnet member for the service they render to their respected communities. 

Do not miss this interesting broadcast every Sunday morning at 07h00 on the GRHub Network, Mossel Bay.

It has come to my attention that some of our local radio amateurs do not know how Echolink fits into Allstar and the GRHub Network. I will provide just the short basics here.

Important: Echolink users might think that there is no activity on the ZS1I-L GRHub Mossel Bay link if they look at their Echolink application screen. This "impression" is not correct. The important thing is that you need to connect to the ZS1I-L Echolink station (Node: 108 551) to listen for activity on the Garden Route Hub Network.

Important: You must connect to ZS1I-L GRHub, Mossel Bay on Echolink to hear activity.

Invitation: I would hereby like to invite radio amateurs and clubs throughout South Africa to make use of the Garden Route Hub Network. Relay your bulletins, news etc on the network via Echolink, Allstar and 145.550 Mhz Simplex Link in the Mossel Bay area.

Reminder:  I would once again like to remind my fellow radio amateurs of the fact that the GRHub Network is linked to several large networks world wide.  I still find that many stations are to "quick on the trigger".  For those who do not know what quick on the trigger means its quite simple. Some repeater users  do not leave at least a 6 second gap between overs to allow the repeaters and links to "drop out" that are connected to  networks.   We must allow the networks to reset other wise the time out timers will cut the audio and you will not hear any audio on repeaters or RF simplex links.  This could lead to all sorts of problems if radio amateurs start talking over each other.  Not to talk about leaving others in the cold  or not allowing others to join the conversation, just to mention a few issues.

It is thus good practice and amateur radio etiquette to leave a 6 second gap between overs and also to listen a few seconds before you transmit.

Request:  Please leave a large enough time gap between overs on any repeater, simplex frequency and for that matter any system, radio or network.


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