14300.net A great frequency with an even greater purpose

http://14300.net/

You don’t even have to be a license amateur radio operator to “listen” to this one…

There is streaming audio available to anyone with an Internet connection on that web page. I would like to encourage more larger vessels (sail and motor yachts) on 14.300 Mhz SSB … you have to get an Amateur Radio License, General Class, to transmit on there. But it is easier than ever to do so. Morse Code is no longer a requirment for the basic level of Amateur Radio License, these days that is Technician Class. And upgrading past that to General is certainly not rocket science either.

* The Intercon Net

* The Maritime Mobile Service Network

* The Pacific Seafarers Net

* USCG Amateur Radio Net

Get more information at http://14300.net

*Break*

In the movie Top Gun it was mentioned that Fighter Pilots go to Miramar, because Pilots recently have lost their Dogfighting Skils …

On marine vessels some may have lost their *Radio Skills*. And Amateur Radio and the Waterway Net, and the 14300.net nets are a good place to stop in for some practice. A lot of boats these days have Satellite Phone, Internet, and all that. But it is possible that one day that will be “down” and you will in the *thick* of problems. It would be nice to remember 14300.net is there to help. It would be even nicer if you had obtained your amateur radio license and checked in and were familiar with the net… Before it became a necessity that you got on the air and called for help.

*Break*

14.300 MHz has become a very well known frequency in the Amatuer Radio world. There are three major nets in the Western Hemisphere that operate on 14.300 MHz. From early morning until late evening the frequency is busy with traffiic of one form or another. Begining at 0700 ET daily, The Intercon Net, formally know as The Intercontinental Amatuer Traffic Net, starts out the day. Intercon runs until 1200 ET before handing the frequency over to The Maritime Mobile Service Network. The MMSN, which also runs daily, operates from 1200 ET until 9 PM EST / 10 PM EDT or 0200 UTC. After The MMSN raps up The Pacific Seafarers Net begins operation at 10 PM EST / 11PM EDT or 0300 UTC and runs various lengths of time, depending on traffic load, but usually about 2 hours or less.

Let’s take a brief look at each net.

The Intercon Net According to Intercon’s website, the nets mission is threefold:

The Maritime Mobile Service Network The primary purpose of the net is for handling traffic from maritime mobiles and overseas deployed service personnel. MMSN also assists missionaries and persons working abroad. The MMSN has a more formal or structured format than Intercon. Since vessels at sea generally have barefoot or less rigs, running on battery power with wire or vertical antennas, their signals may be hard to copy at times. The Net Control Stations frequently ask all stations to standby while calling for maritimes only that may wish to check in. Also, offshore weather information is usually read at about 30 minutes past the hour. Ragchewing is considered a no-no during MMSN. Any station can check into the MMSN when the NCS is asking for general check-in’s. If you would like a signal report, audio report or just to say you are “riding along”, this is the time to check-in.

The Pacific Seafarer’s Net Pacsea handles traffic with vessles mainly in the Pacific Ocean. Utilizing stations from North America to New Zeland / Austrailia and across the Pacific, Pacsea takes position reports and weather observations from vessels. Pacsea NCS’s use special software to post positions on the internet and send observed weather conditions to the weather forecasters for the Pacific. Friends and family may then track their vessel of interest online. The first 25 minutes of the net is open to general check-in’s. After that, the roll call portion of the net begins and it is very structured from that point. Any station is welcome to assist as a relay for Pacsea. If your area of interest is The Pacific, check out The Pacific Seafarer’s Net.

This entry was posted on 24. March 2010 at 19:21 and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.