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SC Nets
Helpful Hints for Traffic Handlers |
NET CONTROL STATIONS
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NET MEMBERS
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| As a net control station (NCS), it pays to remember that the
net regulars are the net. Your function is to preside over the net
in the most efficient, business-like way possible so that net participants
can promptly finish their duties and go on to other ones. |
As a net member, you have a duty to be
self-disciplined. A net is only as good as it's worst operator.
You can be an exemplary net member by following a few easy guidelines: |
| 1) Be the boss,
but don't be bossy! |
1) Zero-beat the
NCS |
| It's your job to teach net dicipline and train new net
operators (and retrain some old ones!). You are the absolute boss
when the net is in session, even over your Net Manager. However, you
must be a "benevolent monarch" rather than a tyrant. |
The NCS doesn't have time to chase all over the band for
you. Make sure you're on net frequency. |
| 2) Be punctual! |
2) Don't Be
Late! |
| Many of the net participants have other commitments or nets
to attend. Liaison stations are often on a tight schedule to make
the NTS region or area net. If you, as NCS, don't care when the net
starts, others will think it's okay for them to be late also. |
There's no such thing as "fashionably late" on a
net. Liaison stations are on a tight timetable. Don't hold
them up by checking-in 10 minutes late with traffic. |
| 3) Know your
territory. Your members have names - use them! |
3) Speak
only when spoken to by the NCS. |
| They also live somewhere - by knowing their locations, you
can quickly ascertain who needs to get the traffic. As NCS, it's
your responsibility to know the geography of your net. |
Unless it is a bona fide emergency situation, you don't need
to "help" the NCS unless asked. If you need to contact the
NCS, make it brief. Resist the urge to help clear the frequency for
the NCS or to "advise" the NCS. The NCS, not you, is boss. |
| 4) Take extra
care to keep your antennas in good shape. |
4) Transmit
only to the NCS, unless otherwise instructed by the NCS. |
| An NCS with a "wimpy" signal can not run a
net. Although you don't have to be the loudest one on the net, you
do have to be heard. |
Side comments to another station during the FORMAL portion
of the net are out of order. |
| 5) NCS
establishes the net frequency. |
5) Stay
until you are excused. |
| Just because the net has been operating on a certain
frequency for years doesn't give you the right to it if a QSO is already
in progress. Move to a nearby clear frequency, close enough for the
net to find you. QRM is a fact of life on HF, so learn to live with
it. |
If the NCS calls you and you don't respond, the NCS may
assume you have left the net, and net business may be stymied. If
you need to leave the net prematurely, contact the NCS and simply ask to
be excused. |
| 6)Keep a log of
every net session. |
6) Be brief
when transmitting to the NCS. |
| Just because the FCC dropped the logging requirements
doesn't mean you have to drop it. The Net Manager or others may need
information about a check-in or a piece of traffic, and your log details
can be helpful in determining what happened on a particular night. |
A simple "yes" or "no" will usually
suffice. Shaggy dog tales only waste valuable net time. Save
these comments for the RAG CHEW portion. |
| 7) Don't
hamstring the net with "unnecessary" chatter. |
7) Know how
the net runs. |
| Move the traffic as quickly as possible and handle the
"formal" part of the net expeditiously so that members can be
free to leave the net or enjoy the informal "rag-chew" where
"chatter" is acceptable. |
The NCS doesn't have time to explain procedure to you.
After you have been on the net for a while, you should already know these
procedures. |
