A Net Control Station operator should familiarize himself/herself with Net Control and Traffic Handling as described in the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course.

1. Act as Net Control Station during regularly scheduled nets.
   • You may use a generic net script or you may devise one of your own, but you should always use the first paragraph from the generic script.

   • Attempt to establish a backup Net Control operator before proceeding very far into your script. The backup NCS operator will take over if your station fails or you cannot continue for some reason. Look at the Net Control operator duty roster to see who is scheduled to run the net next week. Call this operator first and ask him/her if he/she can act as the backup operator tonight. If he/she cannot, or does not respond, go to the next operator on the roster. If you exhaust the entire roster without finding a backup, you may solicit one from the operators listening to the net.

   • Make announcements as requested by the Emergency Coordinator or Net Manager. If you have not been given any notices to announce, mention those found on the team's Web site. It is alright to make annoucements requested by other parties if the EC approves them.

   • Copy any formal numbered traffic (NTS-type traffic) that is given. Try to find someone to pass this traffic. Failing that, attempt to pass it yourself.

   • Call for check ins. Follow the format of requesting:
     1. The operator's name
     2. The operator's call sign (given using standard phonetics)
     3. The operator's location
     4. "Question of the Day" if there is one (this is optional)

   • After all announcements have been made, all check ins taken, and all business concluded, thank all participants and the trustee of the repeater, then close the net.

   • Upon closing the net prepare a report including the following information:
     1. A list of the call signs of everyone who participated in the net
     2. Any notable events or comments made during the net ("events" would include equipment failure, interference, etc)
     3. Any operators who checked-in for the first time
     Send the report to the Emergency Coordinator and other Net Controllers (email is fine, ncs1@stlares.org will reach everyone who needs to see your report).

2. Step in and act as Net Control Station if the regularly scheduled Net Controller fails to bring up the net.
   • Perform the same tasks as listed above.

1. Attempt to find someone to stay on the original frequency, on the repeater's output frequency if necessary, to redirect newcomers to the new repeater. This person should not be your backup Net Control operator. Your backup should move to the new repeater along with you.
2. Note that the new repeater will require a CTCSS tone (probably 141.3 Hz) and that you do not have access to its control tones. You and the net participants should make sure that your transceiver has its CTCSS encode feature set.
3. Once on the new repeater, read the special repeater switch script. This will give the net participants a few moments to make the transition.
4. Make sure that your backup Net Controller made the switch.
5. Re-contact everyone who had checked in while you were on the other repeater. Note those participants who do not respond.
6. Resume your original script at the point where you left off.
7. If someone says, "Hey, the other repeater is working now!" do not switch back. Remain on the new repeater. The net participants are already confused enough. Only move back to the original repeater if conditions on the new repeater are even more intolerable.
8. At the conclusion of the net don't forget to put the original repeater back into "normal" mode, if it is responding.

© 2012 St. Louis County ARES^®

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