Weekly SPECS/SVECS Packet Practice

We recommend that you read the web page below to familiarize yourself with the weekly packet practice procedures. After that, use the summarized version of this information in the SCCo Weekly Packet Practice notice found in the XSCPERM mailbox on all SCCo BBSs.

Outpost will automatically download any new XSCPERM notices each time it connects to one of the SCCo BBSs. We recommend you save those notices in your Outpost Archive folder for reference when the Internet is not available. Each week, simply open the SCCo Weekly Packet Practice notice in Outpost to see a summary of the information below. Then create and send your message.

Weekly packet packet is more than a typical amateur radio net check-in. Our weekly packet practice incorporates several real-world activities to help ensure our operators and equipment are always ready. The weekly practice is conducted by the two main emergency communications service groups in Santa Clara County:

• SPECS - the Southern Peninsula Emergency Communications System - http://www.specsnet.org (Monday)
• SVECS - the Silicon Valley Emergency Communications System - http://www.svecs.net (Tuesday)

Practice closes promptly at 2000 hours (8pm) on Monday (for SPECS) or Tuesday (for SVECS). It is best not to wait until the last minute to send your message since forwarding your message across the BBS network does take a short but finite amount of time.

Practice messages may be sent up to six days prior to the Monday or Tuesday deadline.

• Practice messages for Monday may be sent beginning Tuesday of the previous week.
• Practice messages for Tuesday may be sent beginning Wednesday of the previous week

Everyone is welcome to send a practice message for either or both nights.  Using multiple different sources to send your message(s) is encouraged: from your assigned primary BBS, from your assigned secondary BBS, from another BBS in the SCCo network, from another BBS on the AMPRnet, from another BBS on the BBS Network, from Winlink, from e-mail.

Each week, we simulate a different BBS outage.  The BBS will not actually be disabled.  We will simply avoid using it for practice messages that week.  The purpose is to verify that both the network and our user community can easily deal with a catastrophic failure and still get the message through.

The scheduled for simulated outages is as follows:

Note: In the event of a real outage, the simulated outage schedule is suspended for that week.

Do not use a BBS for weekly packet practice the week it is being simulated as down

• Do not send your message FROM that BBS. Send from your secondary BBS instead.
• Do not send your message TO that BBS. Send to the secondary BBS assigned to "SCCo Packet Practice" instead.
• For BBS assignments, consult the "SCCo Packet Tactical Calls" bulletin or the Packet Frequencies and BBS Listing web page.

Examples:

Ask questions on our packet discussion group.

Please use the designated message format according to the schedule below. If you have difficulty with PackItForms, or if you are from checking in from another county, you can use a plain text message. But for Santa Clara County users, the use of PackItForms is critical to EOC operations and is strongly recommended when indicated below.

• Santa Clara County Users: Should use the standard "SCCo Packet" integrated installer
• BBS Selection: Connect to the primary or secondary BBS assigned to your city or agency, according to the schedule above. Packet BBS assignments and frequencies are listed on the Packet Frequencies and BBS Listings page of the county web site or the SCCo Packet Tactical Calls bulletin in the xscperm bulletin area. 
• Identification: Individual users should connect using their FCC call sign.  City or agency locations may connect using their assigned tactical call sign.

Weekly practice messages can be sent using simple text messages or one of the PackItForms. The use of PackItForms according to the above schedule is strongly encouraged for Santa Clara County users.

BBS:

• Your assigned primary or secondary BBS, according to the schedule above. See the Packet Frequencies and BBS Listings web page or the SCCo Packet Tactical Calls bulletin for assignment information

From:

• If you are checking in as an individual, use your FCC call sign
• If you are checking in as a location or function, use the tactical call you have been assigned

To:

• If you are sending from a Santa Clara County BBS (W[1-6]XSC):
  • On the second Monday or Tuesday of the month, send to:
    • PKTMON@W4XSC  (for Monday), or
    • PKTTUE@W4XSC  (for Tuesday)
  • Otherwise, send to:
    • PKTMON@W2XSC   (for Monday), or
    • PKTTUE@W2XSC   (for Tuesday)
• If you are sending from a non-Santa Clara County BBS:
  • You can use AMPRnet, BBS network or e-mail to submit your message.  Consult Packet Network Addressing for complete addressing details.
• You can add additional recipients on the To: line if you wish.  For example, you could use the same message to send a message to a city net.

Subject:

• The subject line of all packet messages always follows the Standard Format for Packet Message Subject Line.
• Plain Text Messages:
  • Use the following subject line format:

    <MessageNumber>_R_Practice <CallSign>, <FirstName>, <City>, <NetDate>

• PackItForms messages:
  • Select "Routine" for Handling Order
  • PackItForms automatically formats the Outpost Subject line using data entered into specific fields in the form.
  • Use the following table below to achieve the best Subject line format for weekly practice messages

Message Body:

• The message body is not checked for content.
• Use this as an opportunity to experiment with the various forms, to set different values in different fields and learn how the form behaves.