And I get that there are many HF nets that are worthless, and combative, and territorial, and all the ugly things.
I also get that this particular fellow (Mike) is trying to build up a successful YouTube channel. To do so, there’s a big advantage in pretending to be a feather-ruffler.
But I take issue with Mike’s remarks about the Maritime Mobile Service Net. Let me explain why…
Amateur Radio is a Service. Yes, it’s also a hobby, and I think it’s great that you get to go play by yourself in a park from time to time. But first and foremost, Amateur Radio is a Service.
The Maritime Mobile Service Net is also a Service, within a Service.
See, if you’re a family or couple or person on a sailboat, and you’re also a ham, you know about the MMSN. You know that if you get into trouble, pretty much all day every day there will be a bunch of hams monitoring 14.300MHz. You know this even if you can’t hear it. It’s not unlike the 2meter simplex calling frequency and the wilderness protocol. You know that even if you can’t RX at all (speaker damaged), and can’t TX voice (mic damaged), if you can generate a couple dozen watts of pixies flying through the air, you could send Morse Code “SOS (callsign) (lat/lon) (vessel name)” or something to that effect at 14.301MHz around the top of the hour, and there’s a decent chance someone will hear you.
If that net QSYs a few kilohertz because you wanted to do POTA, that person out there in trouble won’t know that the net moved. Oh sure, if they happen to be in a spot where propagation favors you hearing the current Net Control station, you might knob around a little and find it.
I have had my HF rig on 14.300 for hours, without hearing anything (or not much), while I’m sitting here working. Maybe some stations come in. Or it’s quiet for a while. This is fine. But if I suddenly heard CW SOS, I would take notice. I would drop everything and concentrate on that situation. I’m willing to bet there are hundreds of other hams who routinely do likewise.
Now – emergencies are by their nature rare. And in order for the MMSN to continue to be there day in and day out for years and years, and have any participation at ALL, such that the Net Control Operators are not bored out of their minds, it needs to be active. They need to talk about things that are unimportant but interesting enough to at least some. It needs to be socially active. It needs to press those psychological buttons that sustains interest. For if they don’t, and all interest/activity plummets, then when that guy out there on that boat gets into trouble and sends a mayday or SOS, you’ve drastically reduced the chances that there’s anybody with their beam pointed in the right direction to hear and relay that message.
The folks out there potentially in trouble need me, and the hundreds like me, who are tuned to that frequency often, listening, and not necessarily even checking into the MMSN. They need us listening. And they need to know what frequency we’re listening TO.
So… sorry Mike, but fuck no. That net should not QSY because you’re at the fucking park. Get over yourself.
