something off the beaton path!!

NEOKSimplex Group
Our History


    A few years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, (oops! wrong story) a new ham radio operator, after exploring the repeater scene on two meters, daringly rolled his VFO to the no man's land of FM simplex. Hearing nothing, he believed it to be a fresh frontier, to be populated with others who shared the same ideals of marvelous clear conversations, without the annoyances of courtesy tones,  time out timers, squelch tails and repeater cops. Embarking on ths bold new adventure, he started a net on 146.52 simplex on saturday nights. Hence the name Saturday Night Simplex Net. Kinda fits doesn't it?

    It was a daring step and seemed like a mistake at first. "There is no one on simplex" the naysayers scoffed. For a while it seemed to be true, but then the word got around, as it always does, that  some crazy guys were having a net, of all places, on 2 meter simplex. Lo and behold the sightseers gathered in wonder, and thought to themselves, "I better enjoy this while it lasts, cause it probably won't". But the experiment succeeded beyond the net creator's wildest expectations. It was no longer just something to do on a saturday night, it was becoming THE thing to do on saturday night.

    Sadly though life has a way of changing on us and the fellow behind this all, had to make some decisions. One involved moving, the other, dropping the net that he brought into existance.  But not all was lost, one of those fellows who felt that simplex was the place for him, decided to save the net and carry on in its tradition. But realizing the daunting task ahead, he accepted help from
others of like mind and the NEOKSimplex Group was formed. No matter how joyous a task may be, it can be a burden if you must dedicate yourself exclusively to it. So in order to share the load , and keep it fun for all, it was decided to evolve into a group led net. Two, three, four or even more net controls could take turns in rotation and cover a much larger area than any one controller could. It also gives each one a break and a chance to just listen for a bit. And if something comes up, or the family needs some quality time, no one has to feel like they are letting the net and the group down by not being there for the net. We all know that it is always in good hands.

    The Net was the cause of a resurgance on 2 meter simplex operation locally and in fact, the traffic increased to the point that it was deemed necessary to move off of the call frequency and over to 146.55. Later we added 52.55 and 446.55 simplex. And packet and SSTV. The alternate check in modes are not used much, but it is nice to know that you can try another rig and check in, or just find out how the rig is doing.

    This is where we are today. A free association of hams, who enjoy FM simplex, and life beyond repeaters on 6 meters and up.
    Check out the following link to find out what the group is up to these days!

http://www.geocities.com/mrfixit605/now

Special thanks to Joe (KD5KUF) the other co-founder of the NEOKsimplex group for compiling this artical and motivating our group to grow and flurish......

just some food for thought for the new hams coming into the hobby...and  seasoned hams that may have forgotten some days gone by.........73 de kc5ter (co-founder of the NEOKsimplex group)

 

Hi all,

Great show OM, I don't much like repeaters myself and prefer simplex. There are two active groups (no nets) acive here at the Jersey Shore and I join in periodically when someone's on. I tend to shy away from the one on .52 at times, too much QRM from across the water and up the coast, Long Island NY.

Simplex is great, no repeater delays so one can jump in CB style with a short quip and not be chastized for transmitting out of turn. Hey, no static, no "splash" or CB lids to contend with either, it brings back memories of how 11M used to be before the moron invasion and subsequent demise of the band.

Only one problem though, we have the only ham who can time out simplex and he runs a KW into an H stack up 90'. One time I was traveling on the Parkway and he talked for countless miles, through a rest stop and several MORE miles. When he finally let up I yawned, signed my call and let him wonder why I was the only one left on the frequency. Funny he doesn't do that on HF or he would have missed the sunspots entirely. (;-&gt

Yes, FM simplex is great, I work them on SSB too and leave the repeaters for those who need a "home channel" even if they're within simplex range and most are. "You're coming in fine on the input."

73 de Warren, KB2VXA
Operating on 6, 2, 220 & 440.