How This Place Works

[Richard Stouffer]

I've been paying a lot of attention to this net hoping it catches on because it seems to be meeting a need that I haven't seen anywhere else- on line or on the air. In other words I want this thing to work because it could be a very valuable resource for our common interests in ham radio and RVing.

With that in mind I've been watching very closely to figure out how it's going and what sparks participation. I'm not sure I've got a handle on the attention getters, but I have the impression that most of the post are in the evening and very few in the morning.

It made we wonder if most of you are night people, or more practically, most of you still work. I'm semi-retired and work on an irregular schedule, but I'm up pretty early because I can only have my vertical up when it's dark and if I’m going to work the bands it's got to be early or late.

Anyway, just wondering and trying to strike up a conversation.

[Radio]

I just spent a week of very long days in Toronto. (BBRRRR!)
I had maybe 10 minutes in the morning, on some days, and maybe 20 minutes in the evening, some days, to check in and do forum stuff, plus get my email and all the other things I do on the 'net

That said...at work I sometimes keep the ORR.net up on a broswer left on the task bar and check it when ever I can, and if any admin duties come up I generally do that in the evenings.

We are a small bunch - not many folks do both RV and ham radio, but I know theres more than 100 of us out there. We will grow, but never as big as some of the other RV forums.

As Christmas gets near, I expect forum activity to come to a crawl, as we all have lives more important than ORR.net to attend to this time of year.

In order to make the forum grow, you might include a reference to www.openroads.net in your signatures on other forums, as long as it's not a real link most of them, not even rv.net, seem to mind - much.

Radio

[Richard Stouffer]

Yep, that'll work.

I do wonder, however, about your estimate for this net's potential. Every time I've put my mast up at an RV campground, somebody will stop by and introduce themselves by call sign; I am not exaggerating when I say every time.

I have my call signs on both my RV and my toad license (in Texas you can have the exact same license numbers on multiple vehicles with the radio cars plates) and have been approached several times at truck stops, mostly Flying J's, by other RVing Hams. It leads me to believe that there must be thousands of us out there.

The key to growth is, as you pointed out, exposure. A QST article might be a good place to start and the subject would be why you guys started it. Even a small piece in the "Just Up Front in QST" section would give the net a ton of exposure and really boost the viewers and, hopefully, members.

[AE5BI]

I still work and check the forums in the morning. I usually only take interest and respond in technical subjects but read almost all new posts. At least while there aren't too many of them. On the big forums I have a couple of favorites and then only scan the first page of posts and move on. Not enough time in the day!

Wow, you sure meet more hams than I do! Maybe my antenna is too small :)

The only time I met hams was at (near) the hamfest in Williams, AZ. I saw some antennas on a group of rigs so I asked if they were hams, "We all are." says one woman.

I meet more people with my homemade wine than with my antennas.

[Radio]

We are a small bunch - not many folks do both RV and ham radio, but I know theres more than 100 of us out there. We will grow, but never as big as some of the other RV forums.


With reference to such as rv.net and iRV2, no, never that big. But I bet some day we'll have several thousand members, not 200,000 like some.

:cheer: get that ORR.net tag line in those sigs! :cheer:

[Richard Stouffer]

Radio, a thousand would do the trick. And AE5BI, I'm still looking for the guys with the wine.

[W6DCS]

I work during the day. My locations vary as does my ability to access the web while working. If I am working from home, I will check it during the day, but when I am at a client's site, usually they limit the access to the internet and filter anything they don't feel is work related.

[jagco]

I have all the time in the world, being on disabilty, however, I sleep til noon. Several of my medications say they might make you drowsy. Well, let me tell you, they do!! I sleep 12 - 15 hours per day and am still very tired. Anyway, that's why my posts are afternoon or evening. Most other times I'm asleep.

[aintgotnun]

i'm just here