Traffic Jam
What is the Traffic Jam?
The Colorado Traffic Jam is a week-long exercise of the National Traffic System, (NTS) with purposes of familiarizing ARES & RACES members with NTS format and procedures,and exercising the National Traffic System.Most amateurs, including ARES members, don't have experience with the NTS. However, in emergencies at home and far away, most traffic will be handled using NTS. This is particularly true of health and welfare traffic.
Members of Colorado ARES, RACES, and other groups are encouraged to participate in the exercise. To participate, each person will generate and send two pieces of NTS traffic. Each ARES district will have designated amateurs to receive this traffic. The station that receives the traffic (the designated receiver) will reply and acknowledge receipt.
Traffic can be sent using any mode: FM, SSB, CW, packet, or other mode. We encourage participants to try more than one mode. Stations using more than one mode can send an additional message for each additional mode, if they wish. Information on traffic handling procedures and nets will be provided to the ECs and on packet. Local groups are encouraged to arrange for an NTS station to participate in their nets and meetings, to help educate and train their members. We also encourage club newsletters to print information about the traffic jam.
There will be several designated receivers. Each group will be assigned two specific designated receivers. The designated receivers will be inside and outside the state of Colorado. The designated receiver will immediately send a reply message, acknowledging receipt, including message number.
1995
1995 was the year of the first CTJ. Here's the information that was provided to ECs in preparation for the CTJ:
March 6, 1995
To: All ARES and RACES officers and members
From: KA0DXM Richard Ferguson, Section Emergency Coorinator
K0TER Mike Stansberry, Section Traffic Manager
Re: COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM
When: April 1 through 9, 1995 (UTC)
Suggested message text of message to designated receiver:
"COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM DISTRICT Y TEST MESSAGE X JOE HAM 123
MAIN ANYTOWN CO 80123 719-345-6789". (Of course, Y is the
number of the originator's district). Sign with your full
name and call. (In this example, Joe Ham). We are
having you include your own address and phone number
in the text of the message to facilitate a reply.
We think that this should be a fun event, should help
familiarize ARES & RACES members with the NTS, and should
also provide a test and exercise for the Colorado stations
participating in NTS.
ABOUT TRAFFIC HANDLING
The ARRL book "Public Service Manual", particularly
appendix C, provides detailed information about the ARRL
NTS format. I will only mention the highlights here,
using this example.
101 R HXE W0ABC 16 Anytown CO 0100Z May 3
John Smith K0XYZ
987 Broad St.
Smalltown CO 80321
Tel 303 987-6543
BT
Colorado Traffic Jam District 30 Test Message X Joe Ham
123 Main Anytown CO 80123 719-345-6789
BT
Joe Ham W0ABC
A brief explantion of the above:
The first line is called the preamble.
101 is the originating station's message number.
R stands for Routine.
HXE means delivering station get reply from addressee,
originate message back.
W0ABC is the originating station. The address in the
text is his.
16 is the wordcount of the text of the message (note
that X is counted).
Anytown CO is the place of origin.
0100Z May 3 is the time and date message was written.
(Use UTC time and date)
The address needs to be complete and include phone number.
The text is preceeded and followed by a Break (BT).
The signature is the person who originated the message.
(In this case, the same as the originating station).
To send this message on packet, do the following:
ST 80321 @ NTSCO
Subject:
QTC Smalltown CO, 303 987
Msg:
(Start here with preamble, etc. Be sure to put blank lines
between the four parts of the message, as shown above.)
Explanation:
ST - Send Traffic
80321 - Zip code at destination
NTSCO - NTS Colorado (NTSAZ for Arizona, etc.)
The subject includes the destination town, area code, and
telephone prefix.
March 6, 1995 KA0DXM
LIST OF MAJOR COLORADO TRAFFIC NETS
Note: If you are not familiar with a particular net,
we recommend that you listen to it once before checking
in with traffic. All of these nets are held daily.
Southern Colorado Traffic Net 146.97 8 PM local
Columbine Net 3.989 0200 UTC
South West Traffic Net 3.935 0330 UTC
Colorado Wyoming Net (Slow CW) 3.715 7:30 PM local
Central Colorado Traffic Net Colo. Conn. 7:30 PM local
Northern Colorado Traffic Net 145.115 8 PM local
1996
For 1996, the second year of the CTJ, we added log sheets for participants and designated receivers. We are also using the HXD handling instruction. This should facilitate tracing any messages that did not receive a reply.Here's the information provided to prepare for the 1996 CTJ:
March 4, 1996
To: All ARES and RACES officers and members
From: KA0DXM Richard Ferguson, Section Emergency Coordinator
K0TER Mike Stansberry, Section Traffic Manager
Re: COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM
When: April 13 through 21, 1996 (UTC)
There will be several designated receivers. Each group
will be assigned two specific designated receivers, but
participants can send messages to other designated
receivers if they send more than two messages. The
designated receivers will be inside and outside the
state of Colorado. The stations receiving the message
are requested, via the HXD handling instruction, to
send the originator information about when and who passed
the message. The designated receiver will immediately
send a reply message, acknowledging receipt, including
message number.
Suggested message text of message to designated receiver:
"COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM DISTRICT Y TEST MESSAGE X JOE HAM
123 MAIN ANYTOWN CO 80123 719-345-6789". (Of course, Y
is the number of the originator's district). (A non-ARES
group could use their group name instead of district).
Sign with your full name and call. (In this example, Joe
Ham). We are having you include your own address and phone
number in the text of the message to facilitate a reply.
After the exercise, please send your log sheet to Richard
Ferguson, KA0DXM, at the address shown on the log sheet.
We think that this should be a fun event, should help
familiarize ARES & RACES members with the NTS, and
should also provide a test and exercise for the Colorado
stations participating in NTS.
ABOUT TRAFFIC HANDLING
The ARRL book "ARES Field Resources Manual", provides
detailed information about the ARRL NTS format.
I will only mention the highlights here, using this example.
101 R HXD W0ABC 16 Anytown CO 0100Z May 3
John Smith K0XYZ
987 Broad St.
Smalltown CO 80321
Tel 303 987-6543
BT
Colorado Traffic Jam District 30 Test Message X Joe Ham
123 Main Anytown CO 80123 719-345-6789
BT
Joe Ham W0ABC
A brief explanation of the above:
The first line is called the preamble.
101 is the originating station's message number.
R stands for Routine.
HXD means each station handling the message send traffic
to the originator, indicating the stations, date and
time that the message was passed on. This handling
instruction is not commonly used, but we are using this
for this test to facilitate tracing messages.
W0ABC is the originating station. The address in the
text is his.
16 is the wordcount of the text of the message (note
that X is counted).
Anytown CO is the place of origin.
0100Z May 3 is the time and date message was written.
(Use UTC time and date)
The address needs to be complete and include phone number.
The text is preceded and followed by a Break (BT).
The signature is the person who originated the message.
(In this case, the same as the originating station).
To send this message on packet, do the following:
At the prompt, type: ST 80321 @ NTSCO
In the subject line, type: QTC Smalltown CO, 303 987
In the message area:
(Start here with preamble, etc. Be sure to put blank
lines between the four parts of the message, as shown
above.)
Explanation:
ST - Send Traffic
80321 - Zip code at destination
NTSCO - NTS Colorado (NTSAZ for Arizona, etc.)
The subject includes the destination town, area code,
and telephone prefix.
LIST OF MAJOR COLORADO TRAFFIC NETS
Note: If you are not familiar with a particular net, we
recommend that you listen to it once before checking in
with traffic. All of these nets are held daily.
Southern Colorado Traffic Net 146.97 8 PM local
Columbine Net 3.989 0200 UTC
South West Traffic Net 3.935 0330 UTC
Colorado Wyoming Net (Slow CW) 3.715 7:30 PM local
Central Colorado Traffic Net Colo. Conn. 7:30 PM local
Northern Colorado Traffic Net 145.115 8 PM local
LIST OF DESIGNATED RECEIVERS FOR COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM
We are dividing the state into four areas. Each area
will have two designated receivers. If you send more
than two messages, feel free to use other designated
receivers.
Northeast Colorado, including Boulder
-------------------------------------
Jerry Ver Duft AD0A Mike Stansberry K0TER
26037 Matfield Dr 2630 E. Uintah
Torrance CA 90505 Colorado Springs CO 80909
310 784-1295 719 636-1290
Denver Metro area
-----------------
Peter Jordahl K5GM Wallace Stillwel N6LUY
1909 Wooten Dr 411 Lincoln St
Austin TX 78758 Red Bluff CA 96080
512 454-7889 916 527-4686
Southeast Colorado, including Colorado Springs
----------------------------------------------
Robert Howe W7EP Raymond Rich W7MBS
1317 North Bedford Pl 3360 Winesap Rd
Tuscon AZ 85715 Salt Lake City UT 84121
520 296-5257 801 943-5695
Western slope of Colorado
-------------------------
Rob Griffin AB6YR Jeff Ryan N0WPA
1436 Johnson Ave PO Box 50074
San Luis Obispo CA 93401 Colorado Springs CO 80949
805 543-3346 719 260-6826
PARTICIPANT LOG SHEET
Your call ____________ Your district or group ___________
Your Station
Call of Date Time Msg Net or that took Reply Received
Addressee Sent Sent Nbr Packet your msg. Date Time
-------------------------------------------------------------
(sample)
K0XYZ 4/13 8PM 401 N.Colo WB0ABC 4/15 6PM
(WB0ABC sent message that he gave message to K0XYZ 4/14 at 5 PM)
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After the exercise, please send your log sheet to
Richard Ferguson, KA0DXM, 1150 Albion Rd., Boulder CO
80303. (PBBS WA8ZIA.#NECO.CO.USA.NA).
Internet raf@dwroll.att.com
1997
In 1996, better records of the traffic were kept so the patterns of traffic handling could be seen. It was clear that some modes were better than others. Specifically, packet did worse than expected initially.Below is the information provided to prepare for 1997.
February 16, 1997
To: All ARES and RACES officers and members
From: KA0DXM Richard Ferguson, Section Emergency Coordinator
K0TER Mike Stansberry, Section Traffic Manager
Re: COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM
When: April 12 through 20, 1997 (UTC)
Changes for 1997: This is the third Colorado Traffic
Jam. This will be similar to 1996, but with fewer
designated receivers. We will not encourage the use of
packet for NTS traffic, since the logs from the 1996 Jam
showed that less than 50% of the messages originated on
packet reached their destinations. For those of you who
participated in the past, but were disappointed in not
receiving a return message, we request that you try it
again, but use voice, not packet.
Information on traffic handling procedures and nets will
be provided to the ECs, via the Internet, and on packet.
Local groups are encouraged to arrange for an NTS station
to participate in their nets and meetings, to help educate
and train their members. We also want to encourage club
newsletters to print information about the traffic jam.
The designated receivers will be inside and outside the
state of Colorado. The designated receiver will immediately
send a reply message, acknowledging receipt, including
message number.
Suggested message text of message to designated receiver:
"COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM DISTRICT Y TEST MESSAGE X JOE HAM
123 MAIN ANYTOWN CO 80123 719-345-6789". (Of course, Y
is the number of the originator's district). (A non-ARES
group could use their group name instead of district).
Sign with your full name and call. (In this example,
Joe Ham). We are having you include your own address
and phone number in the text of the message to facilitate
a reply.
After the exercise, please send your log sheet to Richard
Ferguson, KA0DXM, at the address shown on the log sheet.
We think that this should be a fun event, should help
familiarize ARES & RACES members with the NTS, and should
also provide a test and exercise for the Colorado stations
participating in NTS.
ABOUT TRAFFIC HANDLING
The ARRL book "ARES Field Resources Manual", provides
detailed information about the ARRL NTS format. I will
only mention the highlights here, using this example.
101 R HXE W0ABC 16 Anytown CO 0100Z May 3
John Smith K0XYZ
987 Broad St.
Smalltown CO 80321
Tel 303 987-6543
Break
Colorado Traffic Jam District 30
Test Message X Joe Ham
123 Main Anytown CO 80123
719-345-6789
Break
Joe Ham W0ABC
A brief explanation of the above:
The first line is called the preamble.
101 is the originating station's message number.
R stands for Routine, which is what you would say on voice.
HXE means reply by amateur radio.
W0ABC is the originating station. The address in the
text is his.
16 is the wordcount of the text of the message (note
that X is counted).
Anytown CO is the place of origin.
0100Z May 3 is the time and date message was written.
(Use UTC time and date)
The address needs to be complete and include phone number.
The text is preceded and followed by a the word Break
(BT on CW).
The signature is the person who originated the message.
(In this case, the same as the originating station).
LIST OF MAJOR COLORADO TRAFFIC NETS
Note: If you are not familiar with a particular net, we
recommend that you listen to it once before checking in
with traffic. All of these nets are held daily.
Southern Colorado Traffic Net 146.97 8 PM local
Columbine Net 3.989 0200 UTC
South West Traffic Net 3.935 0330 UTC
Central Colorado Traffic Net Colo. Conn. 7:30 PM local
Northern Colorado Traffic Net 145.115 8 PM local
LIST OF DESIGNATED RECEIVERS FOR COLORADO TRAFFIC JAM
Mike Stansberry K0TER Robert Howe W7EP
2630 E. Uintah 1317 North Bedford Pl
Colorado Springs CO 80909 Tuscon AZ 85715
719 636-1290 520 296-5257
Rob Griffin K6YR Jason Sullivan, N0ZFZ
1436 Johnson Ave 809 E 58TH ST
San Luis Obispo CA 93401 Loveland CO 80538
805 543-3346 970 663-3265
PARTICIPANT LOG SHEET
Your call ____________ Your district or group ___________
UTC UTC Your Station UTC UTC
Call of Date Time Msg Net that took Reply Received
Addressee Sent Sent Nbr your msg. Date Time
-------------------------------------------------------------
(sample)
K0XYZ 4/13 0205Z 401 N.Colo WB0ABC 4/15 0130Z
-------------------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
After the exercise, please send your log sheet to Richard
Ferguson, KA0DXM, 1150 Albion Rd., Boulder CO 80303.
Packet BBS WA8ZIA.#NECO.CO.USA.NOAM).
Internet raferguson@worldnet.att.net
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