Are you bored? #4

Disasters and exercises can have long, boring periods during which nothing happens. One thing you might do during these slack periods is to re-acquaint yourself with the local situation. Are things winding down or getting more intense? Have the personnel changed? Is the person to whom you report still there, or was he replaced without you knowing it?

Reason One:
A very small group of operators generously donate their time to run these nets. But people get sick, go on vacation, and have family emergencies. We shuffle the remaining operators around as best we can, but it would also be nice if there were a few more people out there who could step in and say, "I can run the net tonight".

Reason Two
Even the most dedicated operators can get "burned out". I try to rotate the schedule so that no one gets overwhelmed, but with so few volunteers each operator's slot comes up more often than I would like. The more people we have, the less often everyone has to take a turn.

Reason Three
Our nets are all about training. With the main net, we hope to get participants used to brief, clear information exchanges. Our practice message net is an opporutnity to listen to, and eventually participate in formal message handling.
Both nets, however, are also a forum for anyone who wishes to gain experience in running a net. Yes, that could be you! It's entirely possible that you might be one of the first people on the air during a disaster. If so, rather than going back and forth with "Is there a net?" "I don't know, I haven't heard anyone", you could at least temporarily take charge and establish some order on the frequency. That could be vitaly important.

Not sure that you're qualified? Microphone shy? Daunted by the prospect? We've all been there. It's not as difficult or scary at it seems, and there will be plenty of friendly help available.

You need not make a long term commitement. Although we'd love for you to become one of the "regulars", you can try net control just once, do it on a irregular basis (whenever you feel like it), or be on standby in case none of the regular net controllers are avalable.

If you think you might be interested, or just have questions, please contact me at [email protected],net.

Gary Ross Hoffman, KB0H
Net Manager

It is very important that amateur radio operators working emergency situations understand how to handle written messages. There are standard protocols and message forms. All of the details about handling these written messages, sometimes called "formal traffic", can be found on our Resources page or via the link below. We urge you to examine this material, then try copying messages read during our weekly practice message net.

Net Controllers needed!

The weekly practice message net has only one net control operator. If you'd like the opportunity to learn more and actually send messages, even just one time, please contact Gary Hoffman, KB0H.

Thank you.

Please fill out an application and mail it to the Emergency Coordinator (see contacts page). The forms do not get sent to us electronically. You will need to print out the physical form, fill it in, and mail it to us.

ARES^® application in Adobe Acrobat "PDF" format¹

1 - Please see the Software section of the Resources page if you do not have software necessary to read these files.
Or, if you prefer, write or email us and request a physical application form.

St. Louis Metro ARES^® regular nets