Tri-County Traffic Training Net

All Station Welcome!

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

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.

HF TRAFFIC NETs back on schedule

NOW THAT 80 METERS is behaving normally again, the traffic nets on that band have resumed their nomal schedules and frequencies.  The evening session of  the Ohio Single Sideband Net is back to 6:45pm on 3972.5 KHz every day.

Ohio Slow Net has likewise moved to 6:00 pm on 3535  The Net has an entire training course that will teach you exactly how traffic moves on CW freqencies, consisting of messages sent to you two or three at a time. There's 180+ message in the entire course. OSN runs at about 10 words per minute, but can handle any speed Contact net manager Henry at wd8q@arrl.net for more details.

We at TCTTN try to keep you up to date on where the nets are and when they meet.  If you don't find the net you're looking for, check back on this page for the latest data. Or, check in to TCTTN and ask.

Net Schedule

Sunday, Tuesday, Friday

9:30pm Local Time

147.015 (+)   No PL Tone

Alternate frequency
146.85(-)   PL 110.9
Used if primary frequency becomes 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

TCTTN Exclusive: Our interactive Radiogram forms let you type perfectly formatted messages right into your Adobe PDF Reader! Just use the TAB key to move from one field to the next. Available in Standard, Ink Saver or Postcard version.

Other Area Traffic Nets

Ohio Single Sideband Net
Daily at 10:30 am, 4:15pm, 6:45pm Frequency: 3972.5 KHz

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

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 6:10 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
                      Rick N8BY
                      Bill WB9LBI
                      Rick W8RGE
                      Pete KD8GYI

Statistics        Ron KC8BTN

Webmaster     Bill WB9LBI

Web Hosting   Anthony KC8SFC

Links

Get ready for Field Day by using the Field DayQuiz to memorize all of the ARRL Sections that you'll be looging.

The Global Tuners project lets you operate radio receivers all over the world from the comfort of your shack. 

Find your local Skywarn net on this list.

Online ham radio magazine from France! You don't speak French? Mon Dieu! English version is here.

Get more out of your computer by using Linux in the Ham Shack. Check out the podcasts!

Historical newsreel of Navy  radiomen learning CW in the classroom. 

Construct your own Morse code practice session online. Or download free training software,

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,   also this page.
    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             

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: Northern Ohio Repeater Management Association, Box 562, Gates Mills, OH 44040.