Use your APRS radio for global contacts at your JOTA station.
You can use your APRS radio or HT to text message a CQ to all other JOTA stations with an APRS radio anywhere in the world. You need to remember nothing about the network, or paths, or freqs or do any set up. Just use the normal APRS frequency.
Just send an APRS message to ANSRVR and make the first two words of the message be CQ JOTA .
Your message will be delivered instantly to every other JOTA station in the world * that has also sent a similar ANSRVR message*.
Example: Message to ANSRVR: CQ JOTA fm Four Rivers Dist, MD
This Logs you into the ANSRVR which forwards the message to every other similar station instantly.
NOTE. This is just a way of calling a global CQ. You should answer any incoming such message with a direct response to the CALLSIGN of the sending station, not to ANSRVR. ANSRVR is a group ANOUNCEMENT SERVER that lets you see the callsigns of everyone else that is playing. After you see the callsigns, from then on, you use normal one-on-one messages with that station to complete the contact.
ANSRVR replaces the original CQSRVR because CQSRVR ignores stations using tactical callsigns and therefor impractical for general use where some stations may have tactical calls.
See details on http://aprs.org/ansrvr.html
Bob, WB4aPR