Different parts of the county hold their nets at different days and times. Time and frequency are arranged by the different area groups and are announced at our meetings.
Most 2-meter nets are held on repeaters, but they are not the best choice for preparedness since they are dependent on the repeater being available. The downside to using simplex is the lower range of the hand-held radios that many in our group have. A big part of why we hold this net is so you can determine who you can reach in your area and then plan accordingly.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- If you do not yet have your ham radio license, then just listen to the net if it is on a ham frequency. Learning comes from listening – not from transmitting.
- If you are not satisfied with the performance of your radio, first consider upgrading your antenna. Antenna design and height is the key to radio performance; however, the 8 watts that these hand-held radios have is not enough to power a large antenna or a longer run of coax cable.
- Reception will vary by your location. The west side of the county generally has a very heavy tree cover which absorbs the signal. Your elevation also makes a major difference.
- The two big factors are antenna height and output power. On this frequency, the Baofeng has a maximum of 8 watts, where a typical 2-meter mobile radio will put out about 65 watts. The antenna that comes standard with the Baofeng is not going to compare well to an antenna on top of a 35′ tower. The Baofeng radios are fine for many of our communications needs, but understand the power and antenna limitations. Test, and upgrade if needed.