Net History

Ragchew and learn: there's a local net almost every night

If you like talking to people, southeast Michigan has you covered all week long. A quick sampler:

That's just a taste - see the full schedule with tones, sponsors, and websites on our Other Local Nets page.

Parks on the Air (POTA): take the radio outside

What it is: POTA is an award program where "activators" set up portable stations in registered parks and "hunters" work them from home. An activation counts when you make at least 10 contacts from inside the park boundary. It's cheap, social, and a great excuse to actually use that portable gear.

What qualifies as a park? POTA references are generally publicly accessible lands managed for conservation or recreation - national and state parks, state forests and game areas, recreation areas, wildlife refuges, and national/state trails. County and city parks generally do NOT qualify unless they are part of a listed state/national system. Every valid location has a reference number (like US-1234) in the POTA database.

Try it locally: Bald Mountain State Recreation Area (US-1397) in Oakland County is a great first activation - easy parking, picnic areas for setting up, and the elevation doesn't hurt your signal either. A wire antenna, a battery, and 10 contacts and you've activated a park.

• pota.app - live spots, park map, and your stats
• POTA documentation - rules, getting started guides

The W8CMN network: statewide infrastructure to explore

VHF Network

A linked system of VHF repeaters covering much of Michigan - check in from the car across huge distances without touching the dial.

w8cmn.net/vhf

UHF Network

The companion UHF linked system - great in urban areas and buildings where 70cm shines.

w8cmn.net/uhf

DMR

Digital Mobile Radio - commercial-grade digital voice with talkgroups that can connect you locally or worldwide. A $100 handheld gets you in.

w8cmn.net/dmr

P25

Project 25 - the digital standard used by public safety. Amateur P25 repeaters let you learn the same technology our served agencies use.

w8cmn.net/p25

MI7 Winlink

Michigan's Winlink infrastructure - email over radio with no internet required at your end. The same skill we practice for SETs is genuinely fun to play with.

w8cmn.net/mi7-winlink

APRS

Automatic Packet Reporting System - position beacons, short messages, weather stations, and telemetry on 144.390 MHz. Watch it all live at aprs.fi.

w8cmn.net/aprs

HF: which band when?

HF is where the world opens up. Propagation shifts through the day, but these are the dependable hangouts:

• 80m (3.5-4.0 MHz) - evenings and nights. Regional rag-chews and nets, including the Michigan ARPSC Net on 3.932 MHz. Short-range NVIS coverage makes it the statewide workhorse after dark.
• 40m (7.0-7.3 MHz) - reliable almost any time. A few hundred miles by day, continent-wide at night. Arguably the most consistently useful band on HF.
• 20m (14.0-14.35 MHz) - the daytime DX band. Open from mid-morning through early evening for coast-to-coast and worldwide contacts. Most POTA activity lives around 14.285 SSB and 14.074 FT8.
• 17m/15m/10m - sunspot bonus bands. When solar conditions are up, these offer low-noise worldwide paths with modest antennas. 10m sometimes opens FM repeater-style fun too.
• Digital corner: FT8 (try 14.074 or 7.074 MHz) will get you contacts with 20 watts and a wire even when voice seems dead - a fun way to check what propagation is really doing.

For the listeners: scanning and monitoring projects

You don't have to transmit to have fun. A scanner or a cheap RTL-SDR dongle opens up a whole world of listening: