Vagabond Ragchew Net: Home

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Welcome to the Vagabond Ragchew Net!

M-F 14:30-16:00 Eastern - 145.470 MHz (-) (100 Hz tone) - North Carolina, USA EchoLink: WB9SZL-R, Node 420473

The Vagabond Ragchew Net is a group of FCC-licensed amateur radio operators who meet on the air every weekday afternoon, starting at 2:30 pm Eastern, to inform, enlighten, ragchew, and possibly add a bit of humor to the day.

Our nets are held on the W4NC repeater, 145.470 MHz (-600 kHz offset, 100 Hz subaudible tone access), which is owned by the Forsyth Amateur Radio Club. The repeater is located atop Sauratown Mountain, 20.27 miles NNW of downtown Winston-Salem, NC, about halfway between Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock State Park.

A back-up repeater, also owned by the Forsyth Amateur Radio Club, operates on a frequency of 146.640 MHz (same offset and tone) and is located on the roof of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, 1.39 miles (2.24 km) WSW of downtown. Another back-up repeater, K4MPJ, operates on a frequency of 147.315 Mhz (+600 kHz offset, 100 Hz tone). It is owned by Charles and Angela Hayworth and is located on Sauratown Mountain.

When the net began in 1991, it had difficulty finding a regular frequency on which to operate and was forced to move from place to place on the airwaves, leading the original group of founders to refer to themselves as Vagabonds. Today, our roster encompasses over 600 members. Some have passed away and become "silent keys," but most are still licensed and active. In a typical month, about 60-70 hams check in with us to share a bit of themselves and their daily lives. Some of our members use Echolink to check in from faraway states and even other countries.

We welcome all newcomers to join in the net as a casual check-in or, if they indicate an interest, to start their series of five check-ins within 30 days in order to be pledged as a permanent Vagabond. We also encourage all new hams to join us to break into amateur communications. If you do not yet have your amateur radio license, please contact us! We'll help you get the information you need to take an FCC test and get on the air. Amateur radio is for everyone, and we'd love to see you on our check-in log!

73s from all the Vagabonds!