How Do We Count Interrupted Net Sessions?

Post date: Aug 31, 2016 12:45:22 AM

Most of the time, reporting for a net is pretty straightforward. Net managers track how many "sessions" the net holds during the course of a month. COTN typically has one session per day, but may have special sessions as well during recruiting events, training, or the annual Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Some other nets meet more or less frequently: the Ohio Single Sideband Net, for example, has three scheduled sessions daily. Every time that a net control station calls a net session and directs the frequency, the net has a session to be recorded and reported. Each station that checks into the net will count that checkin for station activity reports (SAR) and the public service honor roll (PSHR).

Sometimes, though, a session can be interrupted. Sometimes sessions get interrupted because the net control station disappears, as happens if working from emergency power and having batteries give out. In other cases, a repeater might stop working. In still other cases, interference require that the net move to an alternate frequency.

No matter what the cause, if a net session is interrupted and needs to be continued, the session ends with the interruption and an entirely new session is called on the alternate frequency. Net control will begin a completely new session, reading the script, and going through the process of checkins. Any traffic passed in the session that was interrupted still counts as having been passed in the previous session, so it is not to be listed again. Any traffic that was listed or has since come in to be passed will need to be listed for the new session. Net control will direct the traffic as usual. In such a case, the net control station of each session will create a session report: one for the session that was interrupted, and the next for the session that was called to take care of unfinished business from the interrupted session. In such a case, of course, the net session report for anything other than the 1915 ET net will have an extra word in it, indicating the time that the net was started.

For example, if the usual session on August 30 started at 1915, had eight stations checkin, passed one piece of traffic to the Section Net Liaison KD8TTE, and ran until 1921 before needing to restart, the session report would read:

30 8 1 6 KD8TTE

A second session starting at 1925 to continue the net operation would also need to be filed, with its word two indicating the time that the net began. Suppose nine stations check in, KD8TTE as SNL, two pieces of traffic move, and the net completes at 1941. That session report would read:

30 1925 9 2 16 KD8TTE

Of course if on the same net WA3EZN also acted as SNL, the session report would read:

30 1925 9 2 16 KD8TTE WA3EZN

If your station checks into both nets, you will count two net checkins for SAR and PSHR purposes. If you check into only one then you will count only one. Despite the fact that the second session exists to complete unfinished business, it is a completely independent net session, just as if it were held on another day entirely.