One of the reasons the traffic system remains a valuable resource for relaying information into and out of areas impacted by severe weather, communications system failures, or other incidents is the fact we relay traffic every day. Traffic wishing someone a happy birthday, trivia traffic, pen pal traffic, reminders to renew you amateur radio license, and other general greetings and well wishes are what allow us to hone our skills and be better prepared when an incident does happen.
On occasion, I may introduce traffic or ask others to introduce traffic to help test the system. This traffic may be part of a general test, an attempt to troubleshoot traffic coming from a particular area not reaching its destination, or other investigations. You may have received a HXD test message that referenced this website in the addressee OP NOTE – please know that honoring the HXD instruction in this case is very much appreciated as it is actively helping test the system.
If you have introduced traffic and it didn’t reach its destination, I encourage you to try sending again, and following up with your local Section Traffic Manager if it needs to be looked into further. You can find your STM at the ARRL Sections list. You are also welcome to reach out to me if you would like, and I am happy to help look at what’s going on and ensure your Section Traffic Manager is included in this discussion.
For those receiving and relaying test traffic, thank you for helping test the system and for helping build a stronger traffic network. I very much appreciate your and everyone’s efforts to keep traffic moving and provide this valuable resource at a moment’s notice during times of need.
73,
Aaron | K8AMH
Section Traffic Manager
ARRL North Texas Section