Using the properties of the Near Vertical Incident Skywave antenna to their best advantage, members of the Red Cross of Southeast Pennsylvania have been running a successful monthly net enabling other EmComm stations, municipal emergency centers and interested radio operators to check in. The calls come from as close by as the immediate region and from as far away as northern New Jersey, Delaware and the Greater New York area.

The net is, in fact, all about check-ins. Participants ask for callsign, name, location and an accurate signal report. According to Cliff Hotchkiss, KC3PGT, the regional lead for the American Red Cross' Disaster Services Training in southeast Pennsylvania, these important records have been logged on this NVIS net since its startup almost a year and a half ago.

Using the southeast Pennsylvania Red Cross callsign, WA3ARC, the net operates from its communications trailer and welcomes anyone who wants to check in. Cliff told Newsline: [quote]: "We started it for a dual purpose. First, we need to exercise and practice setting up our NVIS antenna and operating from our communications trailer. Second, we wanted to establish a frequency range and protocol to communicate with our neighboring Red Cross regions in case of a widespread communication outage."

Like so many other NVIS nets around the country, this net relies on the antenna's ability to establish connections with local and regional stations and has a maximum range of about 400 miles. Cliff said that it is useful for emergency communications on HF because unlike UHF/VHF nets, it does not rely on repeaters.

The net takes place on the third Thursday of every month which, this month, will be April 16th. Calls for check-ins begin at about 10 a.m. Eastern Time on 40 meters, on or below 7.235 MHz.