What about the other TAC channels?



TAC 310 has become a very active and busy channel with the explosion of the DMR mode.  In my opinion, for what it is worth, it is much to busy to try and hold a long winded QSO.

TAC 311 - TAC 319 have less traffic and would make an acceptable alternative to attempting to have a long winded QSO on 310.  With everyone trying to make new friends on 310, or just kerchunking their local repeater to activate 310 so they can monitor it, you are less likely to be interrupted, or to have someone double with you if you use a less popular TAC channel.

Its perfectly fine to make a call to a friend on 310, but once contact is made, you could suggest something like, "Hey, lets move over to TAC 311 and let 310 roll on"  This is another one of my suggested "Best Practices". Again, there is no rule or policy that says you MUST do this, but it would seem like a good idea to me.  But what do I know, I am just a Amateur radio operator just like you.  In no way to I claim to be better, or more experienced then you.

The other TAC channels are just a possible option, there are many other Talk Groups available.  If you are using a HotSpot, you have countless possibilities. If you are going through a local repeater, check the repeater webpage or with an admin to know what Talk Groups are supported by that repeater, and whether it is a FT (Full Time) Talk Group or a PTT (Part Time Talk) Group.  PTT Talk groups usually require you to Kerchunk it to activate it, so give your mic a short key to activate the group and wait a few seconds to make sure there is no traffic already using that Talk Group.  It should also be noted, with PTT Talk groups, typically they are only active for a set amount of time if you don't transmit.

For example, if you kerchunk a PTT Talk group that has an "On Time" of 5 minutes, if you only listen without transmitting, it will drop after 5 minutes.  If you key up and talk to someone, it resets the time, and you have another 5 minutes from your last transmission.

Well, that's about all for this blog, so 73's for now....keep on keeping on.
KG7GUO (Rick)

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