Join the Party

Contribute something and get the week's newsletter. Don't worry about making it fancy. Just let us know you're out there, and if you feel like adding more, you're welcome to do so. There are two steps to take: compose your contribution and choose the path to send and receive your QSP content.

Origination: Compose Your Contribution

Feel free to use our NTS radiogram template, 16-line template, our FLMSG Custom Form, or the Winlink Net Check In Form. You're welcome to use any other format that's appropriate. The most important thing is that whatever means of transmission you choose will make sense of the message and get it to the right destination.

Here are the steps to use our custom form in FLMSG:

  1. Download the Share With QSP Custom Form (ZIP) and extract the HTML file from the ZIP.

  2. Save the HTML file to your NBEMS CUSTOM folder.

  3. Start FLMSG.

  4. Select Form>Custom>Share With QSP.

  5. Select the Edit Form button in FLMSG.

  6. Complete the form and hit the Submit button at the bottom of the form.

  7. In FLMSG save the form with File>Save. Note the file's name: it will have your callsign, a date-time stamp, and a number, followed by .k2s. That's the file you will need to transmit in the next step.

Transmission: Prepare For Radio Relay

Now that you have a message, you need to select a way to get the message to its destination. Each pathway has a set of unique properties that will make it the best path for some things, the worst path for other things, and somewhere in the middle for everything else.

Sending By NTS

The National Traffic System (NTS) is a short message relay service that ties together the 71 Sections of the ARRL and beyond. The NTS radiogram template might be helpful.

Send your message to:

QSP NEWSLETTER
C/O KD8TTE
BEXLEY OH 43209

Because the system handles only short messages, we can take input via the NTS radiogram but the content can't go back out that way. We recommend for receiving your copy of the newsletter you establish liaison (see below).

Sending By Packet BBS

The packet BBS pathway has been deprecated. Please route via BLACK SWAN (NBEMS) or Winlink.

Sending By Winlink

Winlink Global Radio Email is becoming increasingly popular as a means to move messages from one arbitrary station to another. Put your contribution into the text or attach a K2S file (or other FLMSG message file) via Winlink to QSP@Winlink.org. Alternatively, you can use the Winlink Net Check In Form and send it to QSP.

When the newsletter is available, you'll receive a copy back to the same address unless you specify otherwise.

Sending By NBEMS

BLACK SWAN is an Ohio net that meets for training thrice weekly and as activated to organize message relay. The net is capable of handling NTS traffic, the 16-line radiogram, arbitrary forms in with voice procedure, NBEMS, and CW. More information is available from the Prepare for BLACK SWAN 21 page.

You can put your free-form contribution, K2S file (or other FLMSG message file) in the text portion of a 16-line, transmit an NTS radiogram, or make other arrangements on-air. Address your message to:

Editor, QSP Newsletter
KD8TTE
US OH Franklin

Sending By Liaison

If you can't get directly to any of those systems, ask your local club, net manager, or emergency coordinator. They should be able to find someone who can be a liaison for you, so they can arrange to take your message locally, probably with FLMSG, and then they'll be able to inject your message to get it going to the right place. The liaison will also be able to receive the newsletter back for you and send it to you with FLMSG.

After you've tried this out, try working with your liaison to see how you can do this yourself. And then be a liaison for someone else! The more of us participating, the stronger the system of digital messaging with amateur radio becomes.