First Time on the WASA Net

One of my first experiences in Ham Radio once getting my first "real" HF rig was checking into a worked all states net. Every evening, at 7pm and midnight, I would check in on 40m LSB and rack up contacts. Although I thoroughly enjoyed it at the time, my interest gradually waned. I'm not sure why, but it was around the time I started getting very proficient with CW and hanging out with anti-phone types, so I suspect that was the cause.

Regardless, I still occasionally get the itch to sit by the rig, listen to people making contacts, awaiting my turn to go. In the 20 years since I did that regularly, I see there's been some upgrades to the process. Namely, NetLogger. Back in the 90's I (and I suspect others) would write down the callsign and checkin number of each participant. If you got that wrong or off-sequence, God help ya. Today it's all computerized and synced up through the Internet. Very handy!

I won't go into the whole ins 'n' outs of the program, but will say that the color coding of logged participants is nice. Who I've worked, who I haven't, who's checked out, who dropped off the face of the Earth, etc. Also handy is the ability to sent "almost instant messages" to other net participants. These things typically run two to three hours and I'm usually ready to leave about 90 minutes in. A simple "please check me out" message and bam, you're all done. NCS doesn't even have to announce it - your entry in Netlogger is grayed out to indicate your status and that's that.

So back to the nets. I did some quick searching online and, yes, the net I once checked into is still active. They still had an email reflector. (In addition to the usual FB page that everyone seems to need these days.) And they were still fairly active! Unfortunately, my 9pm bedtime doesn't work well with late-night nets. The earlier net would be right when I'd be eating dinner. So those guys are out, at least during the week. 

So I looked around at other nets out there. There's plenty to choose from, but only one met my after-work schedule: The Worked All States & Awards Net, aka WASA. Two things jumped out at me right away: It meets in the late afternoon right as I get home from work, and it doesn't require membership in the club to participate. Some nets make working enough people to join the club harder than the awards they offer. Not here. 

I checked in for the first time this evening. Well run, polite, and friendly. Everyone knew what they were doing and new guys like me were welcomed right in. Signals were strong and most everyone who called me was able to hear me. I believe my worst RST was 21. Which, technically, is still readable. Most of the logins seemed to be east of the Mississippi but I don't know if that's a tonight thing or a normal thing. Time will tell, definitely a fun time and something I'll check into again!

I exported and uploaded my contacts from Netlogger to Ham365. From there they'll be sent off to eQSL and LOTW. This was the first time I've imported an ADIF file via the website, as my usual logging programs just uploads there automatically. I was surprised with a map showing who I worked and the paths there! So I took a screenshot to post here. 

If you're looking for a ham radio activity, whether you like to chase awards or not, and get tired of calling CQ wondering if anyone can hear you, check out the WASA net. You'll probably enjoy it!