             Using the Wisconsin Network - Part 21
                   by Andy Nemec, KB9ALN
 
     One of Amateur Radio's primary reasons for living is to
handle messages on behalf of other people. Sometimes these are
mere demonstration messages of the routine variety, some are
actually important emergency traffic. The need for relaying
messages in an orderly fashion was found by none other than
Hiram Percy Maxim himself in 1913. The ARRL and the National
Traffic System were born of this need.

     As with virtually any mode of Amateur Radio operation,
packet can and is used for message handling in the National
Traffic System (NTS). Like anything else, there is a right way
to do this, and a wrong way. In this edition of our series, we
will explore just how to use the Wisconsin Network of BBS's to
handle NTS Traffic.

     If you know anything about the NTS, you know it uses a
specialized format. There are reasons for this - NTS operators
want to make certain that the message gets through accurately,
and want to know what when wrong when it doesn't. For this
reason, it is important that you know how to do this properly,
and follow this standard format. Knowing how to properly
handle a routine message now will be invaluable if a disaster
strikes and you have to handle disaster traffic. All that
being said, let's look at how to do it.

     First, the usual Send command is now changed a little
bit. Use the ST command when sending traffic. The line sent
to the BBS includes the Zip code, the @ symbol, then the
letters NTS followed by the destination's two-letter state
abbreviation.

     For example, suppose you are asked to send traffic to me.
The person asking you to send the traffic should have a name,
address with Zip code, and hopefully a telephone number. In my
case, the line you would send to the BBS would look like this:

ST 54304@NTSWI

the BBS responds with "Enter Title or Postal Code"

     At this point, you send the destination city and
recipient's phone number. In my case, this would be:

Green Bay, Wi. <Area Code-Phone Number> 

     It is important that you limit the number of characters
to 37 or less. At this point, the BBS will respond with the
familiar:

 "Enter Message, End with ^Z, /EX (^A Aborts):"

     Now, you enter the preamble, the body of the message, and
the signature. The preamble appears on the first line, and
includes the number of message that your station has handled
from the start of the year, the handling instructions, your
call sign, the word check, the town of origination as well as
the date and time of origination. Let's say your call-sign is
AX9XX, and this is the first message you have handled this
year. You sent this on October 31st at 12:01 A.M., and it is a
routine message of 10 words. The preamble would appear like
this:

NR 1 R HXG AX9XX 10 Anytown, WI 10-31-96 0601Z

     The NR 1 is Message number 1 from you station. R is the
type of message, in this case Routine. HXG indicates that you
should deliver this message without making a toll-call or
mailing. 10 is the word check, and you are located in Anytown,
Wisconsin.  You sent the message at 12:01 A.M. local time on
the 10-31-96.  Of course, you use UTC time when handling
traffic of any kind.  This is why our 12:01 A.M. became 0601Z.

      The next line to send to the BBS seperates the preamble
from the body of the message, it is simply:

-------------------bt---------------------------

Then comes the body of the message. After this is sent, you
once again send a "break" like the one that seperates the
preamble from the body. Then we have the signature and reply
instructions, if any. It may appear something like this:

John Waprmember, AX9XX, Anytown, Wi. 
Reply to:AX9XX@WB9TYT.EN63EB.WI.USA.NA

     After this, you send Control-Z (or /EX), and the traffic
will be on it's way.

     Of course, originating the message is only part of
traffic handling. While the BBS forwarding system will handle
relaying the message, some person has to deliver it.
Delivering traffic can be a lot of fun, especially if the
person you are delivering it to is not a ham and you have a
chance to educate them a little about ham radio. It is best to
deliver the message without all of the preamble stuff - most
non-hams have no idea of what it means. If ARL numbered
messages are in the body of the message, don't read them to
the recipient as "ARL 63" (or whatever), just interpret the
number as text.

     Naturally, you have to know if there is any traffic on
your BBS if you want to deliver some. Use the LT command to
determine if there is. You will get a listing of NTS traffic,
or "***None Found***" as a reply.

     If you do find a piece of traffic and do deliver it, be
sure to kill it from the BBS. Otherwise, some other
well-meaning ham may find it and deliver it again. Use the
format KT followed by the message numer to delete the message.
If the message number was 14523, KT 14523 would erase the
message from the BBS.

     This article is not intended to give you a complete
tutorial on traffic handling, just how to enter and handle the
message via packet radio. If you are not familiar with the
contents of a preamble, consult the Radio Amateur's Handbook.
The chapter on "Operating a Station" covers this material
well. Another very good source of information is your local
ARES Emergency Coordinator. They can give you some tips on how
to handle traffic via any mode.

  ***End of Part 21***
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