WELCOME TO THE NET

Did you know that ham radio operators send telegrams all over the continent? These non-commercial Radiograms, very much like telegrams, are a free public service provided by ham radio operators all over the globe. You don’t have to be a ham radio operator to send a Radiogram, and you don’t have to be a ham to receive one.

After Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of hams took their own equipment into the afflicted areas, so that hurricane victims could send Radiograms to their friends and loved ones in the outside world, reassuring them on their health and whereabouts. Plus, hams handled thousands of inquiry messages coming into the hurricane area.

Why?

• Because there was no other form of working communications in the affected area. Cell phones, regular phone lines, even electrical power, were gone.

• Because hams have already built their own network to get messages anywhere in America, any time, under any conditions. It’s called the National Traffic System.

• Because hams train year-round, sending and delivering routine Radiograms, to stay in practice for the real thing.  Next time an emergency breaks out, the Traffic System will be ready, and everybody involved in the Traffic System will know exactly what to do. 

That’s the purpose of Tri-County Traffic Training Net.

IF YOU'RE A HAM, please join us. Traffic handling is rewarding, fun, and the oldest tradition in ham radio. We train people on all aspects of efficient traffic handling. In the next emergency, message traffic may be coming your way.

IF YOU'RE NOT A HAM, you can help us keep the machinery well-oiled by sending Radiograms to friends and family. It doesn’t have to be anything of great importance; see below for suggestions. And of course, if you ever worried about someone in a disaster area, that you just can’t reach, the hams of Tri-County Traffic Training Net will be standing by to make inquiries on your behalf.

We hope to hear from you soon!

-Dennis KI8U, Net Manager

looking for a few good net control stations

LIKE THE MARINES, TCTTN is looking ror a few good people to move up to Net Control status. Maybe you've already had some experience in calling another net. This is an excellent opportunity for you to gain some experience in keeping everything organized and moving along. Download the NCS Training Package at right, and dig in. Contact Dennis KI8U and he will set you up for your first night calling TCTTN!

How to send a Radiogram

Contact a ham with the following information:

• Name, address, and phone number of the recipient.
• The message should be limited to 25 words or less, not counting address or signature.
• The message must be non-commercial in nature.
• There is never any charge for sending or receiving a Radiogram. There’s not even any tipping. Send as often as you like.

Don’t know any hams that handle Radiograms? No problem–contact the Tri-County Net Manager and we’ll ask a nearby ham to contact you. Or, simply email us the message and we’ll take it from there.

Morse Code training via echolink

Our friend Katherine KE5ZCM invites you to join in for Morse Code training from the Dallas Amateur Radio Club. They are conducting 5 Word-per-minute practice on-air practice most evening at 8:15pm Eastern time. Check in on their repeater via Echolink at W5FC-5, node 37247.

Participants will go from no knowledge of Morse Code to 5 WPM by April.  An optional test is available with "certificate of completion" and bragging rights for successful completion.  Each class will be 45 minutes in length and begin at 8:15PM Eastern, 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) through April. Optional make up classes on Saturdays are hald as required and requested.

You do not need to be a member of the DARC, just have an interest in learning amateur radio's original digital mode.

Contact Tom ke5icx@yahoo.com for additional information or sign up at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cwdallas

Can't wait until 8:15? You don't have to...listen anytime to complete recordings of the sessions can be  via streaming or download at this link. 

Net Schedule

Sunday, Tuesday, Friday

9:30pm Local Time

147.015   No PL tone

Alternate Frequency
146.85 (-)   PL 110.9 Hz
All stations should move to alternate frequency whenever the primary repeater is unavailable

TRAining Materials

Our Training Manual covers everything: how to check in, how to format a radiogram, how to send, how to deliver radiograms. Includes blank forms and many examples. If you’re new to the Tri-County Net, download it here. It's a big PDF document (1.2 MB); allow a minute or two to load completely.

If you’ve been participating in TCTTN on a regular basis, maybe you have what it takes to be a Net Control Station. First, review the NCS Training Package. Download the PDF file here.

Problems? Contact the Webmaster.

Interactive Radiogram Form

NEW & IMPROVED! Now you can save them to your computer! Our interactive Radiogram form lets you type perfectly formatted messages right into your Adobe PDF Reader! Now Just use the TAB key to move from one field to the next. Thanks to Eddie KD8FTS for the new version.

Try the 3x5 Post Card Radiogram form for those messages that can only be sent by mail.

Emergency nets like ARES and RACES use the ICS-213 form for traffic handling. We are pleased to offer the first-anywhere Interactive ICS-213 form, similar to our interactive Radiogram forms. 

Other Area Traffic Nets

Ohio Single Sideband Net
Daily at 10:30 am, 4:15pm, 6:15pm Frequency: 3972.5 KHz

Burning River Traffic Net serving Cleveland and North Central Ohio.
Daily at 9:30pm  
Frequency:147.15 MHz (+)

Eighth Region Net 
Daily at 7:45pm and 9:30pm
Frequency: 3865 KHz

Midwest RTTY Net 
Sunday - Friday at 8:30pm
Frequency: 3587 KHz

Morse Code Traffic Nets

Besides voice traffic nets like TCTTN, a parallel system of Morse Code traffic nets operates in conjunction with us. In Ohio, the Buckeye Net meets twice daily at 6:15pm and 10:00pm, on 3577 KHz.

If you’d like to explore the world of traffic handling in Morse code, the Ohio Slow Net is ideal. This training net operates at 10 words per minute, and meets daily at 6:00pm on 3535 KHz. Check it out!

If 6:00 is your dinner hour, Maryland Slow Net convenes at 7:30pm on 3563 KHz. 

Both nets feature training messages designed to familiarized newcomers with the ins and outs of Morse Code message handling. Just ask net control for training.

Personnel

Net Manager   Dennis KI8U

Net Controls    Ray N8EQT
                      Nick N8WLE
                      Bill WB9LBI
                      Robert N8RLG                                  George WD8GEO
                      Gregg WB8YYS

Statistics        Ron KC8BTN

Webmaster     Bill WB9LBI

Web Hosting   Steve K8SRR

Links

Want to spiff up your CW skills? We recommend the following FREE software:

• Start here to learn Morse Code

• Great contest simulator

• Build your speed.

Find your local Skywarn net on this list. 

Big list of ham radio nets.

Ham station locator

ARRL, (American Radio Relay League) the national organization of ham radio  
    Great Lakes Division  
    Ohio Section
    ARES District 10
    National Traffic System
    Net Directory search

Area ham radio clubs

Suggested Radiogram Topics

Choose any combination of the topics below. Or, make up your own topic. Please limit the message to 25 words or less.

• Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Get Well, Hope you’re feeling better.

• Hope to visit you soon, nice seeing you recently, Please stop by and say Hello.

• Congratulations on graduating, getting married, getting promoted, birth of a child, or any worthy event.

• Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving, Joyous Groundhog Day

• Greeting by ham radio, just thinking of you.

• For hams: Congratulations on license upgrade, Congratulations on new toy for the shack, Thanks for the recent QSO, QSL on the way, Please QSL, Hope to see you on the bands, check in to TCTTN.

About Tri-County Traffic Training Net

TCTTN is part of the Ohio Section of the National Traffic System. The messages that we handle, collectively known as traffic, are sent on to the Ohio Single Sideband Net, where hams all over the state meet three times daily on short wave. Traffic bound for other states goes to the Eighth Region Net, which covers Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia. Other nets cover other regions and states in an interlocking system designed to ensure that the message always gets through. It’s sort of like the Pony Express, with radios.

The ham operators who staff the Tri-County Traffic Training Net are volunteers from Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, and surrounding counties. Thanks to the tremendous range of the Newbury repeater, hams from all over Northeast Ohio can check in to TCTTN, even with low-power hand-held radios.

TCTTN is a friendly place. People will be happy to help you get the hang of this traffic handling stuff. Nobody will criticize you if you make a mistake; we’ll just help you do it better. And, once official business is squared away, the net moves to a comment round where friends catch up on what’s new in their lives.

Common Messages

Performance 

Many Thanks to N.O.R.M.A.

The 147.015 repeater that we use is graciously provided by the folks at NORMA, who gladly accept your donations to keep the system up and running.  Send your contribution to: