PROCEDURE FOR CHECK-IN GETTING ON ROLLCALL


The procedure is simple:

Just come up on the net during the initial warm up or after the roll and ask to be put on. You can check in with your callsign during the warmup and ask to be put on, or after rollcall when we call for new vessels under way. We will place you in a simple log style database also for simple recall purposes. You will be added to the existing list of vessels under way unless you are a singlehander, in which case you will be first on rollcall to facilitate a predictable schedule for you. If singlehanders are already on the rollcall, you will be placed next in line after the last singlehander. We normally have no more than 3 or 4 singlehanders on a large rollcall.

The form created by our software into which your report goes looks like this:


YOTREPS
02/03/2002
                                  | BOAT  | WIND  | SWELL |   |    |    |
 No|  CALL  |TIME|   POSITION     |Cse|Spd|       |       |Cld|Bar |tend|
   |        | UTC| Lat.     Lng.  |d T|Kts|Dir|Kts|Dir| Ht| % |hPa |    |
---|--------|----|----------------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|----|----|
  1|KN6FG   |0340|11 20 S 017 56 W|295|5.2| SE| 15| SE|1.0| 75|1010|0   |
  2|KG6IHQ  |0300|21 13 N 108 50 W|330|4.0|  W| 12|  W|0.6| 20|1015|0   |
  3|KC7KAW  |0300|00 44 S 082 24 W|266|4.0| NW|  8| NW|0.6| 10|1013|0   |
  4|KD7DHG  |0300|16 44 N 101 06 W|146|4.3|SSW|  8| NW|0.6|  0|1019|0   |

Comments
1.  KN6FG   /EAGLE DANCER    /PATRICK /ST HELENA TO FERNANDO DE NORONHA/1POB
2.  KG6IHQ  /TUATHA                /SKIP       /P.V. TO HILO                                              /2POB
3.  KC7KAW  /POETS PLACE    /SHARON/ECUADOR TO GALAPAGOS                        /2POB
4.  KD7DHG  /URSA                  /CHUCK   /MEXICO (P.V.) TO GALAPAGOS                  /3POB

So, please format your "on air" report to the order above so that when we type  it in while you're talking (we are entering the data via computer "tab fields" real-time),  we won't have to backspace and try to jump around. Please read out your numbers in "single digits" (each number individually) rather than, for example,  "eighteen".  We would rather hear "one-eight" because it helps us to hear intuitively when band conditions are bad or noise is high.   The format is, in order:

1.    Time of fix
2.    Latitude degrees and minutes (no decimals of minutes necessary, our reports don't use it)
3.    Longitude degrees and minutes
4.    Course in degrees true
5.    Vessel Speed in knots (over the ground is better for our charting programs)
6.    Wind Direction, followed by Wind speed in knots
7.    Swell/Wave direction followed by Wave Height in feet or meters
8.    Cloud cover in percent of sky
9.    Barometer, Hpa, millibars, or inches of mercury
10.  Trend over the past 3 hour period (eg steady, up 3hPa or down 2hPa)

Please note that we always like to have wind DIRECTION before speed, and wave direction also BEFORE speed. Again, this is because we are typing while you are talking, and it makes things easier if you are in the same order as our fields on our computer form so that we don't have to try to backspace and forward to get the info in.

We will then take a "search and rescue" information inventory of vessel equipment and descriptions so that if you experience trouble at sea requiring assistance, we can relay the vessel information to the authorities without bothering you for the information while experiencing difficulties. If you wish to submit the inventory information securely online, you can enter it directly in the VESSEL DETAILS DATA BASE. Sign up as a member and follow the prompts. The information is kept in a password-protected online database available to the net controllers for access during a vessel emergency.

Enjoy your passage, and we always look forward to the new acquaintances every year on the Pacific Seafarer's Net.

Robert Reed
The Pacific Seafarer's Net
Amateur Radio Station N6HGG
Humboldt Bay, California