New Net Control Script

Post date: Nov 22, 2014 10:14:47 PM

At today's meeting we adopted three resolutions that changed the net control script. The changes modify the end of the welcome text advising that we are a training net, ask for liaison stations after the section net liaison, and modify the close of the net, dropping the round robin discussion after completion of net business.

Adding that we are a training net is aimed at helping new stations to participate without undue concern about procedure, while also ensuring that mistakes will be identified and corrected. We are an operational NTS net so good form is important, and COTN is a good place to learn and maintain the skills of a competent traffic handler.

Asking for other liaison stations allows us to advise net control if we have a station on frequency that can pass traffic to or from stations or organizations for which traffic going to the Ohio Section of NTS is unhelpful. Examples include the Military Auxiliary Radio Service (MARS), the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (EMA), other local EMAs, or any Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group in our area. Since these are not part of NTS routing but a means for local traffic to be organized, we will keep all of these liaisons together and separate from the Section Net Liaison, and we'll not include these liaison stations on our net session reports.

Finally, the round robin discussion has not been well used. While sometimes we could discuss issues about traffic handling more generally the same purpose can also be served, and indeed better served, through in-person meeting and discussion. We still want to keep our nets focused on the passing of traffic and training tips for such traffic handling, so we'll continue to ask anyone wanting to talk more generally about traffic handling or other topics to do so by IF or other discussion on frequency after the net has closed.