SET 2015 NCS Procedures

Net control stations need to take particular care during SET to record such details as whether a station is new, is on emergency power, and has digital capability. Net control stations are responsible for reporting the usual session report as well as compiling a special SET session report that includes such details as how many stations acted as liaison for served agencies, how many are new, how many are capable of digital relay, etc.

Please be sure that you can detect when two stations can exchange traffic digitally and take advantage of that option. See the Digital Procedure for how to handle that.

SET Net Control Script

Please be sure to start the net on time. Check with WWV or another accurate source for the correct time.

The # symbol means drop carrier. Also, remember to identify the net every 10 minutes. ("This is the Central Ohio Traffic Net, (your call) is net control.")

This is the Central Ohio Traffic Net, a part of the Ohio Section of the National Traffic System. We meet daily to handle traffic. This is a directed net and net control will control the net. Your net control is (your callsign), my name is (your name), and I am located at (your location). This net is participating in the annual Simulated Emergency Test. Please be sure that all test traffic comes with a precedence that starts with TEST, for example, welfare precedence traffic for SET is TEST WELFARE. #

When checking in please announce yourself with your callsign using standard phonetics. In addition, add stroke echo if you are operating on non-grid electric power, add stroke delta if you are able to relay traffic using Fldigi. Also, please say "new ham" if you got your license in 2011 or after. #

Is there any emergency or priority traffic? #

If any traffic is listed here, call for a station to help pass the traffic listed.

Are there mobile stations? #

Record all stations and their traffic (if any).

Section Net Liaison please. #

Acknowledge the SNL, and record his traffic (if any).

Any other liaison stations? #

Acknowledge any other liaison stations, e.g., W8SGT (Ohio EMA), COARES, CERT, etc.

Stations with traffic only. #

Record all stations and their traffic. Repeat this as often as is needed.

Stations with or without traffic. #

Record all stations and their information (portable, mobile, etc.). Before you pass traffic from a station portable or mobile, ask them if they can take traffic. Try to pass traffic going to the SNL first, and try to send all traffic closer to its intended location (i.e. traffic for Westerville should be given to someone in Westerville or close to it, if possible). Any announcements and IF requests should be handled after all traffic is passed (unless the IF deals with a specific piece of traffic).

All traffic and business brought to the net has been taken care of. Is there any more business for this session? #

Take care of any additional business listed. After everything is done, close the net.

The Central Ohio Traffic Net is closed at (local time). Thanks to everyone who participated, especially those who brought or took traffic.

If on a repeater, thank the repeater owner, e.g., for 146.97, 146.76, or 147.33, say:

Thanks to the Central Ohio Radio Club for use of this repeater.

Please check us out on the web at WWW.COTN.US. (your call) is clear after a control function. #

NCS Reporting

The job of the net control station is not yet finished! For all nets, a standard net session report must be completed and sent to the COTN Statistician in the form of a radiogram. In addition, for all SET nets (i.e., all nets held on October 3-4, 2015), an SET report must also be sent to the COTN SET coordinator.

NCS Session Report

All session reports for COTN SET 2015 go to W8ARR in the form of a radiogram. The format for the radiogram text is the date of the net (figure only), time of the net, number of stations checked in, volume of traffic passed, NCS, then any SNL.

Disambiguate the session: If more than one net is held on a particular day, the second word is the time that the net started, in local time. For example, the midnight net on Saturday morning, October 3, will begin with words 3 0000.

Minutes in session: computing minutes in the session from starting the call of the net to the time that you announced on-air as when the net was being closed. A net that starts at 1915 and ends at 1932 is seventeen minutes.

Liaison stations: report only NTS net liaisons, not liaisons to special stations like W8THV, W8SGT, or K8RSO. If you have more than one section net liaison stations, list them all one right after the other in separate words, e.g., if W8OLO and W8KWG are both checked in as SNL, the last two words of your radiogram will be W8OLO W8KWG. If no SNL checked in, put NONE for that word in the report.

Example session report: putting the pieces together for a net that started at 0200 (we don't have one scheduled then for the real SET), ending at 0217, where three messages were relayed, with five stations checked in, including KD8TTE as net control, and W8OLO and W8KWG acting as SNL, we wind up with a radiogram to W8ARR with the text of:

3 0200 5 3 17 KD8TTE W8OLO W8KWG

NCS SET Session Report

All nets held during SET require an additional report to the SET Coordinator, KD8TTE. Please direct the report by email to kd8tte@arrl.net.

We need a report showing each station by callsign, and for each station we need to see:

  1. Whether on emergency power ("/E")

  2. Whether Fldigi capable ("/D")

  3. Whether licensed in 2011 or after ("new ham")

  4. Number of messages sent, by precedence

  5. Number of messages received, by precedence

Please total the number of messages passed, including a breakdown by precedence. See below for an example of a net conducted during the 2013 COTN SET.