Hamsexy dot com

Our good friend Jaymz sent us a letter and a few photos for our enjoyment:

Hey guys… found another one.

I was out to dinner tonight with my wife, father and brother and found this gem in the parking lot afterwards. I always thought those flying V antennas were for TV or something on a limo or RV. I couldn’t tell how it was attached but right on top of the lightbar didn’t seem to be the wisest choice in my book. And of course it figures that I didn’t have my camera with me tonight, but, dear ole dad being the technologically equipped had his camera phone that took these two pictures.

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge

Copied from the news section of RAC.CA‘s website (Radio Amateurs of Canada):

In July 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2003 held by the ITU in Geneva, Switzerland, deleted the mandatory international requirement for proficiency in Morse for access to the HF bands below 30 MHz. The revised International Radio Regulations leave it up to individual administrations to decide whether to retain or delete Morse as a national requirement. Since July 2003, more than 25 administrations have deleted the Morse requirement for HF access.

RIC-3, Issue 2, dated July 2005, Information on the Amateur Radio Service, is available at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf05478e.html

He’re the sign-in roster from the July 27th Hamsexy Net…. Our biggest and best net yet – we had a record 40 check-ins from a wide variety of stations. This was also our first joint Echolink/IRLP net. Many thanks to Dave VE7LTD (the inventor of IRLP) for setting us up on our very own reflector (Node 9008 – the Hamsexy Reflector), which features the world’s first dedicated and permanent Echolink/IRLP bridge. It not only allows us to reach a great many more people who might not have access to IRLP, it also stands as a landmark in Ham Radio. We are proud to be a part of this moment in history – it stands with the building of the pyramids, the defiance against the church by Marten Luther, the moon landing, the assasination of Anwar Sadat…. we are part of history, and we thank you.

VE3HBD Bryan from Toronto, Ontario (Net Control)
VE4UO Shaun from Toronto, Ontario (Net Control)
VA3AGF Adrian from Toronto, Ontaroi (Net Control)
VE3EGG Ed from Cambridge, Ontario
VA3GEX ??? from ???
VE1DRU Drew from Halifax, NA
N3TOY Jamie from Vegas
KD7LVX Steven from Vegas
N0VSJ Colin from Vegas
WA7VGM ?? rom ???
K7OOL Joe from Vegas
KD6SIN Paul from Vegas
VA3GS Geoff from Aurora, Ontario
Ab9JV Lenny from Illinois
W8GEW Greg from North Royalton, Ohio
K9JAC John from Hubertis, Wisconsin
W0ORC Barb from Hubertis, Wisconsin
K8MHZ Markfrom Muskegon, Michigan
KC0UUO Robert from Denver, Colorado
KE5CFH Michael from Loraine, Teaxs
KE4YYJ Elaine from North Carolina
VE3JES John from Peteroborough, Ontario
KC4ZYC Howard from Indialantic, Florida
VA3BU Dave from Brampton, Ontario
VE3CHJ Charles from Cambridge, Ontario
VE3SNI Eric from Oshawa, Ontario
K0LEY Nicole from Muskegon, Michigan
KC0NSC Tom from Aurora, Colorado
VA3AGF Adrian from Toronto, Ontario
KC0PCA Kent from Northglenn, Colorado
VA3HAX Jamie from Toronto, Ontario
K5MLK Matt from Crockett, Texas
VE5ARJ Arthur from Nipawin, Saskatchewan
VA6SZ – Andy from Spruce Grove, Alberta
VE3NSV – Terry from Somewhere in the Maritimes
KC8FRW – John from Burtchville Township, Michigan
K9MN – Paul from Columbus, Ohio
KC9CJY – Jared from Winnebago, Illinois
WA6BZS – Bill from San Fransisco, California

We didn’t as many checkins from our friends in Halifax this net, mainly due to the reasons laid out in the previous article…. we are sorry for this, and we hope to hear from our friends in Halifax again soon.

Until next time, take care and spread the word!

What a great net tonight!! We had about 40 check-ins, and lasted close to an hour and ten minutes. It didn’t go QUITE as long as I thought it would, but it was still a good net.

The Net was not without it’s controversy, though. Despite the fact a lot of our check-ins from previous nets came from Halifax, Nova Scotia – it seems the Halifax Amateur Radio Club (which owns the IRLP node in Halifax) didn’t appreciate the fact that their node was being used to access the net, and decided to shut us down. As a result, many of our friends and net regulars from around Halifax were unable to check into the net.

We got this letter from a friend down east, who asked to remain anonymous:

I’m commenting on the Halifax club executives banning the Hamsexy net
from being aired. This information was heard on the local Halifax IRLP
repeater on 146.940 Mhz. I’d like to say that content on the repeaters
around here are pretty reserved and never controversial. As a matter
of fact, the repeaters are normally pretty quiet.

3) The Third and final complaint the Halifax club executives had that
I know of was content not suitable for the air. This is of course,
personal option. I think it’s the best stuff on the air.

“Not suitable for air”… Bullshit! Even though we might use some spicy language on this page, we are all professional, courteous and responsible ham radio operators on the air. We are hams first and foremost, and all operate within the bounds of regulations and good taste. We have several parent-supervised children that check into the net (Mark K8MHZ remarked during tonight’s net that he has no problem with his 12 year old daughter K0LEY listening to and checking in on the net (Shane W0NKA lets his 10 year old son Nicholas KC0UR check in too… no issues). Anyone who says that we’re “unsuitable for the air” is ignorant.

Feel free to let the Halifax Amateur Radio Club know how you feel: Send them a note at executive@halifax-arc.org (please be polite and courteous). CC us your letter to them (submissions@hamsexy.com) and forward us any replies you get. We’ll post them on this site.

Thanks again for checking in! I’ll post the call list tomorrow.. I’m going to go put a dent in my pillow.

The Hamsexy Net returns for another week tonight…. This is the first week that we’ll be using the IRLP/Echolink bridge, so you don’t want to miss this monumental event.

There are two ways to access the net:

IRLP: Node 9008 (NEW NODE!!)
Echolink: *VAN-IRLP* (remember the asterisks!!)

If you don’t have access to either IRLP or Echolink, or are a dirty non-ham, you can listen to the net on VE3NSV’s live stream http://ve3nsv.no-ip.org:8000/hamsexy.m3u

Net starts at 9pm eastern (6pm pacific). See you there!

I’ve been concerned as of late in the way we run the initial check-in run for the net. With an average of 30+ users checking in every week (and potentially a lot more once we go live with the new Echolink bridge), a new, cleaner way of checking into the net is needed. Letting everyone pile on top of each other is fine for your local group net, but we’ve got a lot of people checking in using two different internet-based VoIP systems with different levels of latency (anywhere from half of a second to 2 seconds). A new system is needed.

I was chatting with Justin VE3UDP today, tossing out an internet-based “eCheckin” idea when he suggested perhaps doing the check-ins by zone. It’s a simple, clean method that will allow everyone an equal chance to check into the net. Great idea, Justin!!

So…. here is the new check-in procedure for this wednesday’s (and future) Hamsexy nets:

We will be accepting initial check-ins by zone. Please don’t check in until we ask for checkins from your area.

Here are the zones:

CANADA WEST (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories)
CANADA CENTRAL (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nunavut)
CANADA EAST (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland)
USA PACIFIC COAST (Washington, Oregon, California)
USA WEST (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico)
USA CENTRAL (The Dakotas, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Olkahoma, Texas)
USA MIDWEST (Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio)
USA BIBLE BELT (Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama)
USA EAST COAST NORTHERN (New York, Maine, Rhode Isand, Massatwoshits, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey)
USA EAST COAST CENTRAL (Pennsylvania, The Virginias, Delaware, Maryland, DC)
USA EAST COAST SOUTH (The Carolinas, Georgia, Florida)
USA FREAK STATES (Hawaii, Alaska)
REST OF THE WORLD (rest of the world)

That’s just off of the top of my head. If I missed your state, please let me know.

Please refer to this list when I ask for checkins by zone this wednesday….. and remember to go phonetically with your callsign…

See you on the net!!