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Subj: July 2026 NTS Letter
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Sent: 260710/1139Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM #:1692 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:NTS072026
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : NTS@ARRL
====================
July 2026 NTS Letter
====================
Editor: Marcia Forde, KW1U - July 7, 2026
- Section Traffic Manager Meeting
- Performance Testing
- Obsidian Wave 1 - A National Exercise - September 19, 2026
- The "Know-It-All"
- Treasure Hunt Update
- Virtual NTS Training Net Report
- Radiogram Portal Challenge
- What is an Official Relay Station?
- Handling Instructions, Continued
- Spotlight: Jerry Fray, N9TU
Section Traffic Manager Meeting
-------------------------------
On June 9, ARRL Emergency Communications and Field Services Director Josh
Johnston, KE5MHV, called a second quarterly meeting of Section Traffic
Managers. Section Managers were also invited. While Section Traffic Managers
are appointed by and report to their Section Managers, they are also a very
important part of a national network, helping with an orderly flow of
message traffic throughout the country as well as within their Sections. It
is important, therefore, that all meet certain standardized criteria to
achieve that goal.
Several updates were reported at this meeting. Josh Johnston reported that a
long-awaited update to the ARRL Net Directory is now on the fast track to be
available by the end of 2026 or early 2027. One of the features of this
directory will be the elimination of nets no longer in existence, thereby
streamlining the lookup of current operational nets. It had been noted that
many nets listed in the current ARRL database were no longer operational and
information on others was not necessarily current. This will be a great
assistance to emergency communications personnel as well as all traffic
handlers in trying to locate nets able to handle message traffic.
Josh also announced a new system of online reporting that is currently being
studied and will be available perhaps within the next two years. The purpose
of the new reporting system is to make it easier for both traffic handlers
and ARRL personnel to submit, analyze, and demonstrate the value of NTS to
emergency communications organizations.
A highlight of the meeting, to me, was the comment of one Section Manager
who called NTS "invisible - no one knows anything about it." My first
reaction was shock, that a Section Manager, an official of the American
Radio Relay League, didn't seem to know about the foundation of that
organization. On thinking further, however, I concluded that he represents
many people who are not aware of the current presence of NTS. True, NTS was
ignored for decades by ARRL, but then by ARRL, but what have we, as amateur
radio operators and particularly traffic handlers, done to promote what we
do? We enjoy what we do, but do we have enough pride to tell others what we
do? Do we give presentations to various groups such as clubs, or have tables
where NTS is promoted at conventions? Do we talk to others on the air about
the joys of handling traffic? Yes, sometimes it feels like beating one's
head against a stone wall, but how else can we make NTS less "invisible"?
Just some thoughts to ponder.
Speaking of having pride in what we do, the next article speaks to the
performance tests the NTS2 committee is conducting to try to give us more
reason for pride.
Performance Testing
-------------------
The word "relay" in American Radio Relay League reminds us that one of the
original purposes of the Amateur Radio Service is to function as a coherent
system for sending messages across the country as a public service -
especially When All Else Failsｩ. The National Traffic System was set up to
make this system reliable and efficient.
How efficient is it? That's the question Performance Testing aims to answer.
You might have recently noticed some Radiograms being passed that have an
HXT handling instruction. Each of these messages acts as a probe, moving
through the bloodstream of NTS, to help spot any bottlenecks,
inefficiencies, or dead spots. The body of every such message urges each
traffic handler along the way to report the date and time received and sent,
and the received and sent call signs, to a special page on the NTS website.
All of this information is then poured into a database from which reports
are generated, helping NTS leadership understand how each Area, Region, and
Section stacks up in terms of message efficiency. It's also possible to see
differences among the various modes: CW, phone, and digital.
If you find yourself handling a message with an HXT handling instruction,
please go ahead and relay it in the usual way, but then go to the
Performance Test page at nts2.arrl.org/test and follow the steps described
there - it's quick and easy! --Jonathan Taylor, K1RFD
The performance test in May, while limited, showed that while most messages
were delivered, the routing and timing could not always be determined as not
all who handled these messages had recorded the requested information. The
NTS2 committee will be conducting these tests from time to time, and the
next test will likely be toward the end of July. If you handle a message
with an HXT, please follow the instructions so that the committee has the
information it needs in its efforts to improve our traffic system.
Obsidian Wave 1 - A National Exercise - September 19, 2026
----------------------------------------------------------
On April 28, 2025, Spain and Portugal experienced an electrical outage that,
for 10 hours, severely impacted electrical power generation, internet, and
commercial communications. To respond to this class of event, several teams
of amateur radio operators have been exploring options for successfully
using HF to provide emergency communications in the event of an incident of
this class or larger for whatever reason (EMP, Carrington event,
cyber-attack, or grid instability).
The National Traffic System 2.0 (NTS2) Digital Committee is preparing to
hold a country-wide exercise on Saturday, September 19 between 0900 PT/1200
ET and 1300 PT/1600 ET. The testing will exercise the following four
components:
an HF activation activity
country-wide transmission of a command message
submittal of status messages by participating stations
transmission of health and welfare messages following the "I Am Safe"
protocols of RRI using the Digital Traffic Net/National Traffic System
We have established a mailing group to support this event, which can be
found at groups.io/g/obsidian-wave. If you would like to participate, we
encourage you to:
join the mailing group
participate in training over the summer; this will be announced to the
mailing group. Participation in the training is encouraged, as the event is
relatively complex.
We look forward to your participation in this and follow-on exercises.
NTS2 Digital Team nts2.arrl.org/working-groups/digital-networks
Website on NTS2 effort: nts2.arrl.org
A joint activity of ARRL and RRI
--Don Rolph, AB1PH
The Know-It-All
---------------
We have all encountered one on occasion; the individual who, by virtue of
possessing an amateur radio license and an orange safety vest, is somehow
magically transformed into an expert on emergency services operations. These
are the individuals who exemplify the old expression, "a little knowledge is
a dangerous thing."
The self-styled expert comes in a variety of forms, ranging from the
operator who magically requires no training or experience with traffic
handling, but will nonetheless "be there when needed," to the operator who
believes that every emergency services official will be waiting patiently at
an office computer for the arrival of this person's important Winlink email.
Regardless of the flavor, many such "experts" operate more on simplistic
assumptions than they do on real-world, boots-on-the-ground, experience in
disaster operations.
One such "expert" recently declared that there is no need to use a standard
message format to facilitate the transmission of an emergency message
because he will simply send the message via Winlink for email delivery.
Unfortunately, he has probably never considered the reality that standard
formats such as ICS-213 or the radiogram incorporate data that is extremely
important to emergency operations, such as:
A standard message format ensures that important accountability data is
appended to important message traffic. This allows an emergency services
official to answer such questions as, "On whose authority was this directive
issued?" or "What agency is responsible for this request?" A standard format
that requires names, titles, and the function of the addressee and the
originator are essential to effective emergency operations.
Standard message formats always incorporate a date-time group that defines
when the message was drafted and tendered for origination. This is not
necessarily the same time as that automatically appended to an email when a
radio operator finally entered the message into a terminal or when it was
finally transmitted. Emergency services officials make many decisions based
on temporal context. For example, "Are the number of beds available at a
trauma center increasing or decreasing?" "Is the wildfire acreage increasing
or decreasing?" and so on. Messages misplaced on a timeline can result in
significant or even fatal response failures.
The network data contained in a Radiogram or radiogram-ICS213 preamble
facilitates service messages and replies. It aids in the routing of replies
by defining network topology. It associates a radio operator or station with
the disaster official whose name, title, and function appears in the
signature or "FROM" field. Message serial numbers allow for quick reference
to messages in a file during a busy operation. Message precedence allocates
scarce circuit capacity to the highest priority messages first. Zip codes in
addresses allow for automatic routing if a message is transferred to the
Digital Traffic Network.
Perhaps the most critical point about standard message formats and the
network management data contained within the preamble of a radiogram or
radiogram-ICS213 message is the fact that it facilitates the transfer of
message traffic between radio networks. Going back to our "know-it-all," his
messages originated by Winlink will very likely reach the inbox of the
addressee's email account. Winlink is an excellent and reliable tool for
emergency communications. However, let's take a deeper look at some real
scenarios:
What if the disaster official to whom an email is addressed is not at their
computer when it arrives? Perhaps they are in the field, and their email
account is not readily available.
What if the disaster official has left their shift and another official is
fulfilling the role? After all, there is a reason incident command is built
around "functions" rather than names! The function may operate continuously
for days, but people do not.
What happens if a message must be transferred to an alternate radio network
or other radio service? For example, a message arrives via email, but its
information must be transferred to a public safety radio system to reach its
destination.
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) specified a minimum standard
when creating ICS-213. This standard defines the minimum accountability
information required when transmitting official record message traffic in
time of emergency. The communications network through which this minimum
accountability data and its associated message content pass is simply a
medium. For example, if one inserts an ICS-213 message into an email, the
internet will add a variety of additional data of its own to facilitate the
routing of the message and to record its functions. Likewise, when one
transmits a message via a traffic network, network data is appended to
facilitate routing and replies, yet the basic accountability data and
message content remain intact.
Radio amateurs are not omniscient. When they originate a message on behalf
of a disaster official, they may not have any insight into the circumstances
at the point of delivery, nor may they have any insight into connectivity
problems that may arise en route. Our job is to ensure that the message
content, the accountability information, and the network management data
remain intact, thereby ensuring that essential information gets to its
destination intact and in a timely manner. Standard formats and
methodologies help ensure this occurs.
In conclusion, next time someone insists that you do not need to keep
records such as radio logs, use standard message formats for record message
traffic, or insists that only one mode or method is the "be-all and end-all"
of EmComm, do not walk away. Run away as fast as you can. -- James Wades,
WB8SIW
Treasure Hunt Update
--------------------
Hello, NTS Treasure Hunters!
The third NTS Treasure Hunt for 2026 is complete! Twenty-four stations
completed all four rounds in the May/June 2026 NTS Treasure Hunt.
Mug Award Winner for May/June 2026 is Emmett Ward, WA5EWN
The mug is awarded following a random drawing from all hunters who complete
the hunt.
Answers to the May/June questions will be published in the August issue of
The NTS Letter.
July/August 2026 NTS Treasure Hunt
This hunt will have 4 or 5 rounds. Can you get through all the rounds by
August 21, 2026?
For those of you who have trouble finding a net into the NTS, you are free
to use the Radiogram Portal or Winlink RRI Radiogram, not Winlink email. In
the message templates you will find the RRI Radiogram under 'Select
Template' 'Standard Forms' 'Radiogram & RII Forms' 'Radiogram.txt.' It will
open in your web browser. Follow the instructions and be sure to select a
liaison so your message will then be sent to a liaison station for input to
the Digital Traffic Network side of NTS and work its way through the system.
Do not send directly to the judges. Feel free to send it via radio or telnet
at this point.
Here is the first-round question:
NR 1 R HXG AC8NP 17 TIFFIN OH JUL 7
NTS TREASURE HUNTERS
BT
WHICH NUMBERED RADIOGRAM IS USED
TO CONFIRM A QSO QUERY
REPLY TO JON N1ILZ EASTHAM
MA 02642
BT
DAN AC8NP
Please remember to start your message with the THR1-5 answer, which means
Treasure Hunt Round Number. The judges will generally respond with a
radiogram back to you within 24 hours of receipt of your message. Remember
the in-transit time will vary, so, if it has been 5 or 6 days and you do not
receive a radiogram reply, try sending an email message to the judge.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please email Dan Rinaman, AC8NP, at
ac8np@xxxxx.xxx.
Virtual NTS Training Net Report
-------------------------------
In the June issue of this newsletter, we wrote about the Virtual NTS
Training Net (VNTN), inviting folks who were interested in a relaxed
atmosphere net where they could learn more about traffic handling, be able
to ask questions, and practice sending and receiving radiograms, to join
this online training net, which meets every Wednesday evening. We begin the
first Wednesday of each month with the basics and continue through the month
with various topics around traffic handling and net operation. The June
newsletter was published the day before the first Wednesday and that evening
there were 32 participants from all over the country, including many ARES
members, A number of these returned through the month for further training.
I share here some comments we received.
Frank Hobbs, KN4QJ, GA STM:
I would like to share a brief story concerning a first radiogram. Bob Garza,
K4TLG, Georgia Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator for Reporting,
recently participated in several Wednesday night Virtual NTS Training Nets.
A few days ago, Bob composed his first radiogram that included a numbered
message (ARL #). I picked up his radiogram from the DTN and relayed it to
another amateur radio operator on the GA SSB Net for delivery.
There were no errors in his first radiogram, and I mentioned that to Bob
when confirming message delivery. Bob stated that Shawn, N1CVO, and Marcia,
KW1U, were very good instructors, and he enjoyed the training sessions and
learned a lot about radiograms.
Nick Puccio, W3NJP:
Shawn (N1CVO, trainer at VNTN), thank you for the excellent NTS session last
night. I only heard about the sessions from The ARRL Letter I received a
couple of days ago. May I request access to all the material I missed in the
earlier sessions as well as last night's...? If last night was an example of
the quality of instruction and its application, I won't miss any future
sessions. Thank you for taking the time to answer my and others'
questions...very helpful. Marcia (KW1U), thank you for hosting and
supporting such a valuable resource.
The sessions are recorded and available to anyone by requesting the link
from Shawn (shawn@xxxxxx.xxxx. From time to time, we have also had
experienced traffic handlers stop by who can help answer questions. There is
a wide range of experience levels in handling traffic, and any one of us
might learn something we hadn't known or understood before. We hope to see
more of you in the future.
See nts2.arrl.org/virtual-nts-training-net for details and the link to the
net.
Radiogram Portal Challenge
--------------------------
In the June issue of The NTS Letter, we announced the second annual
Radiogram Portal Challenge during the month of July. If anyone missed it or
perhaps has forgotten about it, this is a reminder. Because this issue is
not being published until July 7, if anyone who missed the announcement or
forgot about the challenge still wants to participate, those completing the
challenge by submitting a Radiogram each day between July 7 and July 26 will
be awarded an honorable mention. Thanks for participating.
What is an Official Relay Station?
The ARRL website at www.arrl.org/official-relay-station describes the
Official Relay Station (ORS) in this way:
This is a traffic-handling appointment that is open to all classes of
license. This appointment applies equally to all modes and all parts of the
spectrum. It is for traffic-handlers, regardless of mode employed or part of
the spectrum used.
The requirements and qualifications for the appointment include:
Full ARRL membership and Novice-class license or higher
Code and/or voice transmission capability
Transmissions, by whatever mode, must be of the highest quality, both
technically and operationally. For example, CW signals must be pure,
chirpless, clickless; code sending must be well spaced and properly formed.
Voice transmission must be of proper modulation percentage or deviation,
precisely enunciated with minimum distortion
Must follow standard ARRL operating practices (message form, ending signals,
abbreviations or prowords, etc.)
Regular participation in traffic activities, either independent or
ARRL-sponsored.
Being able to handle all record communications speedily and reliably and set
the example in efficient operating procedures
Reporting monthly to the STM, including a breakdown of traffic handled
during the past calendar month
Recruitment of new hams and ARRL members is an integral part of the job of
every ARRL appointee. Appointees should take advantage of every opportunity
to recruit a new ham or member to foster growth of Field Organization
programs, and our abilities to serve the public.
Why is this appointment important and why would one seek it? As it states on
the website, the potential value of the skilled operator with traffic
know-how to his/her country and community is enhanced by his/her ability and
the readiness of his/her station to function in the community interest in
case of emergency. Traffic awareness and experience are often the signs by
which mature amateurs may be distinguished.
I am reminded of what a Section Manager recently stated (noted above in this
issue), that the NTS is invisible to most people. What if we take pride in
our abilities as traffic handlers, having shown professionalism in relaying
and/or delivering messages, or participating in and/or conducting traffic
nets? What if others can see the positive results of this professionalism
and see how that might benefit them in an extreme situation where other
means of communication are cut off? Set an example for others and encourage
them to attain this status. Perhaps wear a badge at public gatherings. (See
your Section Manager about badges. If they don't know about them, contact
Steve Ewald, WV1X, at ARRL.) Show off your accomplishments.
I urge you to seek this field appointment. Seek out your Section Manager who
makes the appointment in consultation with the Section Traffic Manager. Wear
your title proudly.
Handling Instructions, Continued
--------------------------------
While optional handling instructions have been a part of the Radiogram
preamble for decades, confusion remains over the HX Charlie. Charlie says,
"Delivering station report date and time of delivery (TOD) to originating
station." Perhaps confusion arises over definition of originating station.
There is an "originator" who has a message they wish to send but for
whatever reason does not have access to an operational radio. Then there is
a "station of origin", and note the key word "station," or one who has the
"station" via which to enter the message into the radio network.
Which is it in this case? Picture this. Suppose you submit a group of
messages to the Radiogram Portal. You do not assign your message number nor
is your call sign added to the preamble. (Remember the Portal was designed
primarily for non-hams to be able to send a message via amateur radio).
However, you, as a ham, added your call sign to the signature. Each of those
messages in the group was picked up by a different traffic handler and each
traffic handler assigned his/her unique message number. You later receive a
radiogram with an ARL FORTY SEVEN, or even an ARL SIXTY SEVEN followed by a
message number. You scratch your head. "Which message was delivered or not
delivered? You have no way of knowing. This is what has been happening to at
least one traffic handler and probably to others.
Please, when sending a SERVICE message (status of message delivery or
non-delivery), reply to the STATION OF ORIGIN, NOT the one who signed the
message. The station of origin can inform the originator of any pertinent
information.
The Radiogram Portal may have inadvertently caused some confusion when it
came to be used by licensed operators. Have we become so used to ham-to-ham
messages that we have forgotten about the meaning of a third-party message?
If we are ever called upon to relay welfare messages in a disaster, we will
be relaying actual third-party messages. It is time to get used to handling
such traffic once again. Remember, messages retrieved from the Portal are
third-party messages.
Spotlight: Jerry Fray, N9TU
---------------------------
I was first interested in ham radio when I was 16. I used to walk from my
great grandparents' house to a store named Coston Electronics to stare and
drool at all the fantastic-looking ham radio equipment I could never afford.
I would talk with all the ham radio operators who worked there and
frequented the place as well. I still remember the ARRL license manuals and
other booklets they put out at 25 cents each!
While I loved electronics and talking (still do!), I was not able to get a
handle on CW until 30+ years later! Since then, I have worked assorted
contests and fallen in love with nets! I have been handling traffic for more
than 10 years now, taking, receiving and creating traffic as radiograms. My
first traffic net was the Indiana Traffic Net where I checked in regularly,
quickly became a 9th Region rep and then a Central Area Net rep. Before I
knew it, I was a net control station on both ITN and CAN. Central Area Net
Manager at that time was Carolyn, KC5OZT, and she appointed me an NCS there.
I am still an NCS for Central, but we lost Carolyn in May 2019 and I
volunteered to step in as acting net manager. Interestingly, that is a
democratic position and net manager was up for election by NCS and members
of the net which soon meant my acting manager title became the Net Manager
for the Central Area Net! I've been NCS for the Indiana Traffic Net for many
years. ITN is a great net with awesome net control operators and traffic
handlers, two 9th Region operators who move our traffic in and out of the
region as well as longtime Indiana Section Traffic Manager Brian Jenks, W9BGJ!
One Net Control Station position that I hold near and dear to my heart is
the Sunrise Bible Study Group net at 6am EST/EDT on 3912 where I am NCS on
Tuesday mornings. SRBSG is a verse-by-verse Bible study net and I have been
an active member there for many years! ALL the nets I participate in,
whether traffic or Bible, welcome all check-ins.
NTSｩ Resources
The National Traffic Systemｩ (NTSｩ) is a network of amateur radio operators
who move information during disasters and other emergencies. General
messages offering well-wishes also move through the NTSｩ to help test the
system and to help amateur radio operators build traffic handling skills.
While the NTSｩ is primarily set up to serve the United States and Canada, it
is possible to move traffic internationally through the NTSｩ via various
local, regional, area, and international network connections.
NTS 2.0
NTS Manual
NTS Methods and Practices Guidelines
Handling Instructions
Numbered Texts
Encoding Rules for Agency Forms
Virtual NTS Training Net
Sign Up to Receive The NTS Letter
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www.nts2.arrl.org/nts-letter-issues as well as on the ARRL website.
Editor: Marcia Forde, KW1U, Section Traffic Manager -- Eastern
Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
ARRL Emergency Communications and Field Services Director: Josh Johnston,
KE5MHV
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