MEMA Monthly HXC Format

How to properly respond to Monthly RACES Message HXC

I wanted to update everyone on this list on some more procedures that
you should know about in terms of the First Monday RACES nets across the
state.

First, a big thank you to everyone who checks into those nets, and
delivers the state RACES messages, and in some cases local region
messages, to your local EMA director. It's because of you that the
system works.

As I've discussed with many people recently and on this list as well is,
that our goal is that EVERY RACES operator, or at least one Ham from
every city and town in the state, gets the chance to receive and send
one formal NTS/Radiogram message per month, and that they communicate
with the EMA Director regularly. As we are tracking participation
carefully, communities will not get credit for participation unless they
complete the loop and get a message back to the originating station. Our
primary mode of operation is voice. I would ask that each participating
station check in to the Monthly voice net, to receive the message, and
transmit the HXC response back initially on voice. Relay stations are
welcome to deliver the messages to the originating station in any way
they wish: Phone, Winlink2000, EMail.

The item that I'd like to bring up here is responding to the HXC
handling instructions that aways accompany the monthly state message.
Each message is almost always addressed to your local EMA director. The
HXC handling code means:

HXC--Report date and time of delivery (TOD) to originating station.

See the ARRL's definition of all of the handling codes at the following
URL:

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/fsd218.html

When you report the date and time of delivery, please report it to the
originating station, not the person signing the message. There have been
a number of cases where the MEMA Official signing the message is getting
phone calls from people delivering HXC responses. He appreciates them,
but it doesn't help when he's answering his phone a bunch in the first
week of the month for these messages and trying to do his day job. Call
the official if you have business with him, but let's manage the amateur
radio part of this without interrupting these guys from their daily
activities. Please report the delivery by formal traffic to the
originating station as the addressee.

Note that, in all of these cases, the originating station is WC1MA.
This is the Station at the Massachusetts State Emergency Operating
Center. It's not WC1MAA, WC1MAB, WC1MAC or WC1MAD, all of which are
callsigns used by MEMA Regional facilities.

Please initiate your HXC response shortly after you deliver the
message to the EMA Director. Good places to find help to send the
messages are local 2m VHF NTS nets, at 8pm on 145.23, 9pm on 146.97 or
10pm on the MMRA linked repeater system. Other outlets exist as well.
You can wait until the next monthly RACES net and send your HXC message
back to the MEMA liaison station on that net. I will close out the
previous months responses after a month.

For routing messages back to WC1MA at the State EOC, please address
your message to:

WC1MA
Framingham, Ma.
508-820-1428

For Relay stations delivering the messages, please call and leave the
message on the answering machine, or use Winlink2000 to forward the
message to WC1MA@winlink.org (be careful to use the winlink anti spam
header in the subject line of //WL2K if sending from an internet
address).

Telephone or winlink messages received directly from the originating
station will be returned for transmission on a voice net.

As always, thank you all for your participation. If you have any
questions, feel free to pose them to the group, or to myself personally.

73,

-Tom Kinahan N1CPE