MRC Procedures
OBJECTIVES
There are two unique messages – a QUESTION, and an ANSWER. The objective is to relay the QUESTION from MRC1 to all other stations in the direction of the arrows on the Summary Sheet map. Notice that MRC7 has to relay to both MRC8 and MRC13. The remainder of the objective is to relay in the reverse direction, with an ANSWER starting at both MRC12 and MRC24 and passing to every station, ending with MRC1.
Remember that the objective is to relay via 27MHz Ground Wave, only relay via skip or other bands if necessary.
CALLING
Please monitor and call regularly (per the Summary Sheet call channels & times) until you have established contact with your neighbouring MRC stations (whether they are the official neighbours from the map or alternatives that you establish) and then call no less than once every half hour (on the half hour) until you have relayed both the QUESTION and ANSWER. Conditions and circumstances change, so you may find that who you can reach will vary throughout the event.
Please be patient with those who may be facing harsh weather conditions as they may be experiencing closed roads due to fire, heavy rain or lightning. However it may be necessary to bypass a station if possible to keep the message moving. Please advise via Zello (see below) to keep others aware of your status.
Once the question and answer has been successfully relayed, the objective is complete. If you are leaving your location please advise your nearby stations. Note that many stations are camping Saturday night, often the longest ground wave contacts are achieved after dark. You may also be able to make contact with MRC stations while travelling or back at home, feel free to call at the listed times.
Please avoid using the call channels for the actual message relay. Ask the sender or receiver to change to a clear channel with you first. You should establish a “message relay channel” with your neighbouring stations early in the day, to reduce their ability to listen in to your relay.
RECORD KEEPING
Write down both the QUESTION and ANSWER message exactly as received (i.e. do not correct any spelling, punctuation or grammar) as well as the callsign of the sending station along with signal report information and the time of receipt.
ZELLO
Install Zello and connect to the MRC2019 Zello channel. There you will find the MRC organisers and many of the MRC stations. Zello works well on older devices and under marginal mobile network coverage and has proven itself at previous MRCs to be a reliable method of sharing operational status, reporting progress of the relay, doing troubleshooting coordination with neighbouring stations and for getting general technical advice.
LISTEN OUT FOR
Feel free to involve people on the listen out for list if required and invite them to call in to other MRC stations, it is my hope that they may be able to be more involved next year. Likewise, encourage other local stations you may contact during the event to call other MRC stations, keeping in mind the need to minimise chatter at times while the message relay is in progress.
You may wish to advise them many stations will be around throughout the day.
Please discuss with other stations if you will have amateur bands, as many operators are also licenced amateurs.
OBJECTIVES
There are two unique messages – a QUESTION, and an ANSWER. The objective is to relay the QUESTION from MRC1 to all other stations in the direction of the arrows on the Summary Sheet map. Notice that MRC7 has to relay to both MRC8 and MRC13. The remainder of the objective is to relay in the reverse direction, with an ANSWER starting at both MRC12 and MRC24 and passing to every station, ending with MRC1.
Remember that the objective is to relay via 27MHz Ground Wave, only relay via skip or other bands if necessary.
CALLING
Please monitor and call regularly (per the Summary Sheet call channels & times) until you have established contact with your neighbouring MRC stations (whether they are the official neighbours from the map or alternatives that you establish) and then call no less than once every half hour (on the half hour) until you have relayed both the QUESTION and ANSWER. Conditions and circumstances change, so you may find that who you can reach will vary throughout the event.
Please be patient with those who may be facing harsh weather conditions as they may be experiencing closed roads due to fire, heavy rain or lightning. However it may be necessary to bypass a station if possible to keep the message moving. Please advise via Zello (see below) to keep others aware of your status.
Once the question and answer has been successfully relayed, the objective is complete. If you are leaving your location please advise your nearby stations. Note that many stations are camping Saturday night, often the longest ground wave contacts are achieved after dark. You may also be able to make contact with MRC stations while travelling or back at home, feel free to call at the listed times.
Please avoid using the call channels for the actual message relay. Ask the sender or receiver to change to a clear channel with you first. You should establish a “message relay channel” with your neighbouring stations early in the day, to reduce their ability to listen in to your relay.
RECORD KEEPING
Write down both the QUESTION and ANSWER message exactly as received (i.e. do not correct any spelling, punctuation or grammar) as well as the callsign of the sending station along with signal report information and the time of receipt.
ZELLO
Install Zello and connect to the MRC2019 Zello channel. There you will find the MRC organisers and many of the MRC stations. Zello works well on older devices and under marginal mobile network coverage and has proven itself at previous MRCs to be a reliable method of sharing operational status, reporting progress of the relay, doing troubleshooting coordination with neighbouring stations and for getting general technical advice.
LISTEN OUT FOR
Feel free to involve people on the listen out for list if required and invite them to call in to other MRC stations, it is my hope that they may be able to be more involved next year. Likewise, encourage other local stations you may contact during the event to call other MRC stations, keeping in mind the need to minimise chatter at times while the message relay is in progress.
You may wish to advise them many stations will be around throughout the day.
Please discuss with other stations if you will have amateur bands, as many operators are also licenced amateurs.
