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McKinney Amateur Radio Club W5MRC Net Control Operator Script

In the November/December 2022 issue of On the Air, the article “Please Check In Now: My Experience as a First-Time Net Control Operator” related author Ginger J. Wilder’s, KI5TJE, process of preparing for her new role as Net Control. Here, courtesy of the McKinney Amateur Radio Club, W5MRC, is the Net Control Operator Script that provides a guide for new Net Control Operators. It’s not necessary to follow it word for word. Feel free to adapt it to your club’s purposes.    

Note for new Net Control Operators: Read through the Net Script, starting at the Preamble, then come back and read this section.   Please keep in mind that the Net Control Operator generally ad-libs during the Net by responding to what guests have said, rather than following the script word for word.  

You will want to have a “Question of the Night” to ask, to get the ball rolling with communications. For example: “August 15 is Friendship Day. Didyou talk with any friends on the radio today?”   

When is the “Question of the Night” used? As the Net Control asks for check-ins for the first category (i.e., portable/mobile/short-time) and gets the first check-in (let’s imagine the first check-in is Hiram, W1AW) Net Control would say, “Welcome to the Sunday Night Info Net, Hiram, W1AW. Tell us about your radio week, and the special question for tonight is: August 15 is Friendship Day. Did you talk with any friends on the radio today?” Keep in mind that as Net Control, you will need to repeat that question at various times throughout the check-in process, as not everyone will have heard it the first time it was asked.  

What is an easy error that new Net Control Operators make? When a new Net Control Operator asks for the first three call signs in a category (i.e., portable/ mobile/ short-time, etc.) it is very common to forget to go back and ask for the next three check-ins until there are no more check-ins for that category. Once you receive no more check-ins for that category, you move on to the next category, ask for the first three check-ins in that category, repeat, “Welcome to the Sunday Night Info Net, [call sign or name]. Tell us about your radio week, and the special question for tonight is: _____,” and so on for each category.    


Preamble (start at 8 PM on Sunday night on the W5MRC VHF repeater 146.740 MHz, tone 110)   Good evening, all radio amateurs. This is [your call], my name is [your first name], and I will be your Net Control Station for this session of the McKinney Amateur Radio Club Information Net. This net meets every Sunday night at 8 PM local time for the purpose of discussing topics of interest to MARC members and others. Because this is an informal net, we invite all radio amateurs to participate.

Check-ins   As we start check-ins this evening, we will have three categories before general check-ins.
     1.  Portable, mobile, and short time check-ins
     2.  CW check-ins
     3.  EchoLink check-ins  

We will now stand by for portable and mobile and short-time check-ins. Please check in now with your phonetic call sign, followed by your name.
     (Recognize short-time, portable, and mobile check-ins individually)
     (Go through the list and allow each station to make any comments that they
      might have)
     (Ask for any additional check-ins)  

We will now stand by for CW check-ins, followed by your phonetic call sign, followed by your name via phone.
     (Recognize CW check-ins individually)
     (Go through the list and allow each station to make any comments that they
      might have)
      (Ask for any additional check-ins)  

We will now stand by for EchoLink check-ins. Please check in now with your phonetic call sign, followed by your name.
     (Recognize EchoLink check-ins individually)
     (Go through the list and allow each station to make any comments that they
      might have)
     (Ask for any additional check-ins)  

We will now stand by for general check-ins. Please check in now with your phonetic call sign, followed by your name.
     (Go through the list and allow each station to make any comments that they
      might have. Then ask for more check-ins. This might need to be done two
      or three or more times, until there are no more check-ins.)
      (Make sure you give your own call sign regularly, and allow others to ID
      appropriately as well)
      (Ask for any additional check-ins)    

Announcements of general ham interest (these are MARC-specific examples)

•  MARC meets for breakfast at the 380 & 75 location of Denny’s from 7:30 to 9:00 every Saturday morning. Denny’s address is 1615 N. Central Expressway, McKinney. It is located north of the Home Depot. Everyone is welcome.
   
  
• MARC conducts a sidewalk sale on the last Saturday of each month at the Collin College McKinney campus. Due to construction at the campus, there will be a new and temporary location for the sidewalk sale: just up the street, in front of the College Library at 2200 W. University Drive, there is a large parking area, with easy access. The sale begins about 9 AM and lasts for an hour or two. All are welcome to attend. This and other club information can be found on the club website, www.mckinneyarc.org.
  
  
• We will be operating a Simplex Net every Monday on 146.540 MHz. If you don’t find us there, check 146.560 MHz. We will start at 8:30 local time. Hope to hear you tomorrow on the radio.
  
• If anyone is interested in being Net Control for the Sunday Night Net, please contact [name] at [email] to be added to the Net Control Rotation.
   

At this time, we will take stations with announcements of interest to the amateur radio community in general.
     (When ham operators check in initially, they may tell you if they have an
      announcement for later in the Net. Make note of those who have
      announcements and recognize them first.)
     (Recognize each check-in individually, allowing them to make their announcement.)  

Swap net (shorten this if you wish)  

At this time, we wish to take check-ins for the MARC Swap Net. Please check in if you have any ham or computer gear for sale, trade, or giveaway, or if you are looking for similar items. While it is okay to mention a price, we request that you move further discussion regarding price negotiations to personal communications. Please provide a telephone number so that interested parties may contact you. Please check in now.
     (Recognize each check-in individually. Write down information about each item,
      as well as the telephone number, so that you can repeat it if necessary.)

Wrap-up   This is [your name and call]. We wish to thank all who participated in the net this evening. This net will meet again next Sunday night at 8 PM local time on the W5MRC repeater. The McKinney Amateur Radio Club meets at Spring Creek Barbeque at 1993 North Central Expressway in McKinney, Texas at 7 PM on the second Tuesday of each month. The MARC Board of Directors meets at 8 AM on the third Saturday of the month at Creekwood United Methodist Church, 261 Country Club Road, Allen, Texas. Visitors are welcome!  

Last-minute check-ins (If you’re running short on time, you may elect to skip this step)

At this time, we will ask for last-minute check-ins. Please check in now with your call sign followed by your name.   If we have any additional business for this net, please come now.    

Closing  

Because there is no further business for this net, the W5MRC repeater is now returned to normal use. The net is now closed. Thank you for your participation. This is [your call].

ARRL Operating Manual for Radio Amateurs
https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/114292

Whether you are new, an expert or somewhere in between we invite you to take part in the conversation. Share your stories and experiences by emailing ota-blog@arrl.org.

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