This webpage contains excerpts from the full ARES manual. In some sections you will need to read the manual itself for more details. It is still a work in progress. Expand or collapse all levels. All + All -
Copyright © 2008 Radio Amateurs of Canada Inc. All Rights Reserved.
+ - Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) and the authors of this document authorize the re-use and republication of content taken from this document only if ALL the following conditions are met:
1. Information is formally attributed to this document, as a RAC publication, or to the original copyright holder if applicable.
2. Information is used solely on a not-for-profit basis
3. RAC is notified of the re-use in writing to the Chief Field Services Officer at: CFSO, Radio Amateurs of Canada, Suite 217, 720 Belfast Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 0Z5.
This manual affords the opportunity to operate in a consistent manner that will facilitate common Emcomm methods from Section to Section and between ARES in Canada and the USA.
+ - The complete manual is located on the RAC website
• ARES is a public service organization that delivers communications services during emergencies. ARES (pronounced AIR-EEZ) provides qualified communications personnel who establish ad-hoc radio communications links where and when they are needed.
+ - • The major roles played by ARES typically include:
• Mitigation of telecommunications failures
• Supplementary telecommunications support or augmentation
• Command and control level interoperability (for example, communications from a command post to an EOC and between EOCs)
• Special assignments such as observation and reporting.
• ARES does not typically replace the communications infrastructure used by police or other emergency responders, or the systems in place to support agencies and recovery organizations.
• While advanced communications systems have become ubiquitous in the commercial and public service worlds, their sophistication and reliance on shared commercial networks increases the probability of 'system overload' during crises ...
+ - • The value that ARES offers in today's context is flexibility, survivability, and scalability:
• Flexibility - ARES communications capabilities can be tailored very quickly to meet unusual needs.
• Survivability - Systems survivability is a real issue in situations where extreme weather affects physical communications infrastructure, or where commercial electrical power is interrupted for extended periods.
• Scalability - ARES is one possible solution in the event that the demand for communications exceeds capacity.
Becoming an ARES participant means: • Having a genuine desire to assist • Reading all the literature about ARES • Attending ARES meetings • Participating in public service events and simulated exercises • Checking into nets • Getting involved in training others • Taking on a specific role.
What is expected from you when you volunteer with ARES? The answer: Whatever you want to offer. ARES is a flexible, volunteer-centric organization.
It serves as an envelope that the amateur community can use to deliver emergency communications services to the community.
There is no minimum level of participation. All our documented procedures, protocols and rules are guidelines, intended to facilitate cooperative communications and to communicate best practices.
You should not feel pressured to participate to a greater extent than you are comfortable. Your work with ARES is not a job, or an obligation.
We do ask that you show respect and consideration for other ARES participants, who are also volunteers. We’re all in this together.
ARES ‘management’, including your emergency coordinator, assistant emergency coordinators, trainers, and most of the RAC organization are also volunteers. Their work with ARES is not a job. They do not get paid, and they donate their time to benefit the community.
However, even though ARES is an all-volunteer organization, there are certain things you can expect from ARES: (more ... in the manual)
A communications emergency is a situation in which normal communications infrastructure and processes are unable to meet the communications demands associated with an unusual event, potentially putting people, property or public safety at risk.
Effective communications is essential. Without reliable, up-to-date information decision-makers are unable to manage the disaster response. Responding agencies and organizations may not share information effectively. In the absence of reliable information, rumours and misinformation can lead to serious harm.
The Incident Command System (ICS) is used to organize most disaster responses. ICS deals directly with many of the critical management, safety and logistical issues that arise during a disaster.
• Amateur radio can be extremely useful during disasters. However, most disaster response managers do not know what amateur radio is, or how it can be used. Only when communications systems fail completely is amateur radio considered as an alternative.
• Amateur radio offers a number of advantages: (see manual)
• Amateur radio also suffers from some disadvantages: (see manual)
Our served agencies may include: • Canadian Red Cross • Emergency management organizations • Municipalities • Law enforcement agencies • Salvation Army • Other disaster relief organizations.
ARES may also interoperate with other amateur radio emergency communications organizations, including: (see manual)
Despite the changing technologies and the evolving role of ARES and amateur radio in emergency communications, we still need to train and prepare for the emergencies of today and tomorrow. Things that we can focus on in order to add value and invest in
our abilities include the following:
• Practice our voice operating skills for both tactical and formal messaging handling
• Learn packet and use it in exercises
• Think about robustness and survivability when building your station and designing system
• Keep up to date with digital and wireless communications technologies, even those that do not seem to relate directly to amateur radio (for example, wireless digital telephony, wireless computer networking, and Internet-based communications)
• Be aware of the lessons learned elsewhere in the world by emergency communications agencies, including other ARES groups
• Be aware of the lessons learned elsewhere in the world by emergency communications agencies, including other ARES groups
• Be professional in all our interactions with community stakeholders, emergency officials, government representatives, and the media
• Be ready to serve
• ARES could be called upon to assist in any phase, but is more likely to be involved during Phase 1, Phase 2, and possibly parts of Phase 3.
• ARES only becomes involved in an disaster when prompted by a served agency.
• Telecommunications between the disaster site and the EOC are critical. Without reliable communications, it is impossible for the EOC to know what is going on, let alone coordinate activities.
• These telecommunications facilities are normally provided using systems operated by the responding agencies (for example, the police and fire radio systems). Typically, the communications facilities are pre-installed and tested periodically to ensure that they will operate during a disaster.
• Disaster response personnel have largely adopted cellular telephones and handheld computers as a backup to the telecommunication facilities used by primary responders. However, when cellular facilities become overloaded or unreliable, alternate telecommunications facilities are needed (for example, rented commercial radios).
• Amateur radio operators who understand the process and are properly trained and regularly exercised can be of tremendous assistance during emergencies.
• When properly trained in formal message handling, amateur radio operators can be used to transmit a wide variety of messages on behalf of participating agencies – particularly those who do not have their own telecommunications resources. These messages could include operational messages requesting equipment needed at the site. Logistic and supply messages are often used to arrange for food and supplies at the site. Personnel and administrative messages dealing with the replacement of shift workers are also important.
• Amateur radio operators can replace communications systems that have failed, augment systems that are overloaded, or simply carry lower priority traffic that would otherwise not be communicated at all.
• Served agencies direct our operations. We manage communications to meet their needs, but the served agencies define those needs and identify their communications requirements to us. We are there to serve their needs.
• It is important that ARES personnel remember their place in the overall organization. Do not try to take over a situation. Your role is to communicate, not to lead.
• More details - see manual
• Depending on the nature of the emergency, the location where you are deployed, and your skills, capabilities and willingness to help, you may find yourself taking on responsibilities over and above those of a radio operator. For example, you may be called upon to drive a vehicle, help transport other workers or the public, keep watch over an entrance, site or piece of equipment, or even serve soup in a field kitchen.
• More details in manual
A number of specific services are available to ARES clients, letting them tailor ARES communications support to fit their organizational and operational needs.
+ - Emergency communications stations 5-1
This is the most commonly requested service. Emergency communications stations provide voice and data communications between specific locations (for example, emergency operations centers, aid stations, shelters, hospitals, and other key locations). These stations augment existing communications, adding capacity and flexibility. (In the unlikely event that existing communications infrastructure fails, these stations can also serve as a backup.)
+ - Shadowing 5-1
Shadowing involves attaching telecommunications operators to specific 'high-value' personnel in an organization. This ensures that key personnel are kept in touch, regardless of location, communications overloads or failures, or other factors.
+ - Mobile communications service 5-1
• ARES mobile communications service attaches telecommunications operators to mobile units (such as evacuation buses, assessment units, search and rescue teams, or other mobile units requiring communications support). Telecommunications operators ensure connectivity between the mobile units and EOCs or coordination points.
• Mobile communications services could also use a mobile positioned to act as a relay station when there is poor coverage on simplex or repeater networks.
+ - Data messaging 5-1
• Data messaging service is provided using D-STAR, ad-hoc packet radio LANs, Wifi networks, and point-to-point Ethernet radio links (using higher power and gain antennas in the shared amateur radio portions of the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands). Data messaging stations are set up at key sites such as evacuation centres and EOCs, allowing the efficient transfer of large quantities of data.
• More ..
+ - Rapid community assessment 5-2
• During many types of emergency, getting information about conditions in the community at large can be crucial. The ARES network provides an easy way to get basic information very quickly. During community emergencies (for example, during severe weather events), the ARES network can provide rapid assessment of conditions at a large number of locations throughout the region.
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+ - Backup communications 5-2
ARES backup communications service places ARES emergency communications stations at or near existing high-value communications stations (such as those at City Hall, EOCs, hospitals, etc.) to provide backup service in case of problems or overload in key communications links. In this mode, the backup communications stations and networks are staffed and ready but idle unless needed.
Interoperable communications (inter-agency bridging) 5-2
• In situations where aid, response and recovery efforts are being hampered by incompatible communications systems, ARES can assist by providing a communications ‘bridge’. This need may arise when:
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+ - Wide-area communications relays 5-2
ARES can provide communications connectivity outside the local area when required. This service is useful during emergencies that disrupt telephone and Internet communications over a wide area.
ARES operators are radio operators who are familiar with ARES procedures and are included on ARES and provincial EMO callouts.
+ - Net Control Stations
Emergency net controllers serve as net control stations during emergencies or exercises. A net control station will take control of a specific channel (typically a repeater channel), and will maintain order and ensure efficient communications between stations on that channel.
+ - Official Emergency Stations
Stations and associated licensees may be designated as Official Emergency Stations (OES). An OES designation means that the station is fully prepared to provide enhanced capabilities during emergencies.
+ - Telecommunications operators
• Telecommunications operators are individual amateur radio operators who participate in ARES nets using either their own handheld or mobile equipment, or equipment at designated Official Emergency Stations.
• Telecommunications operators handle radio traffic and message forms in order to send messages from the site that they are supporting, or to receive messages for that site. Telecommunications operators may also be attached to vehicles (for example, a city bus being used for evacuations), or an individual person (for example, shadowing a relief coordinator).
+ - Relay stations
Relay stations are located away from supported sites and EOCs, but contribute by relaying traffic from one channel or medium to another. A relay station may be designated to carry traffic between a local VHF channel and a provincial HF net. A relay station may move traffic between voice and packet channels, or arrange phone patches. In situations where communications between endpoints is hampered by poor propagation, jamming, or other problems, a station able to communicate with both endpoints may be assigned the task of relaying traffic between those endpoints.
• The Provincial Communications Officer (PCO) directs EMO communications support activities at the provincial level.
• The District Communications Officer (DCO) manages communications resources at the local level, when tasked by the PCO.
• The emergency coordinator (EC) performs a number of tasks, most of them in preparation for emergencies and exercises rather than actually during an emergency. The EC establishes working relationships with various regional agencies that might need communications support. The EC addresses the training, organization and emergency participation of interested amateurs. The EC also creates an emergency communications plan, communications networks, and site operating procedures.
Assistant emergency coordinators (AEC) perform many of the tasks that an emergency coordinator performs. The AECs assist by offloading responsibilities from the emergency coordinator.
• Communications supervisors manage communications requirements during an exercise or emergency. Communications supervisors are often ECs or AECs, but any qualified operator can act as a supervisor.
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• A station manager is similar to a site manager, except that the station manager is responsible solely for the communications station at a site, and coordinates with the designated site manager (or site coordinator).
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• Runners are responsible for carrying messages between an ARES station and personnel elsewhere onsite (for example, carrying messages between the City Hall ARES station and the Mayor’s Office in City Hall). Runners also perform other support tasks as required, ensuring that the telecommunications operators are able to give their full attention to nets and traffic handling. Runners do not have to be licensed amateurs, although telecommunications operators may take breaks by serving as runners periodically.
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Message clerks, like runners, manage message delivery and collection. However, message clerks usually work alongside radio operators at the communications station, typically behind a desk or counter. Message clerks help clients fill in message forms, and ensure that messages are delivered only to those authorized to receive them.
Repeater managers are the owners or technical contacts for specific area repeaters that may be important to emergency communications. A repeater manager is someone who may or may not actually be involved in ARES or in any specific exercise or emergency, but can be 'on-call' to troubleshoot problems during emergencies. A repeater manager is also the point of contact for requesting permission to use a repeater during exercises.
In some situations, technical support might be required (for example, to restore repeater operation during power outages, or to establish antennas or emergency power as specific locations). Technical support primes are people who volunteer to perform technical support where and when it is needed. Support primes do not have to be licensed amateurs (although in most cases they probably will be certified).
• Chances are good that when an emergency arises, you will either be at home or at your place of work. You need to be prepared for emergencies when at home or at work, to ensure you're equipped to respond when situations arise. This means having radio equipment available and ready for use, along with supporting materials like paper and pens, a flashlight, and other useful items. It also means having a kit that contains anything you may need during a 24-hour period without support (things like medications, water, chocolate bars, and spare batteries).
• Preparation goes beyond simply your ability to operate. You should also prepare your family, your home or your business so that during an emergency you will be free to participate in ARES. Discuss your role in ARES with your employer so that they will understand the need to give you time off if you are needed during a disaster.
• In many emergencies, your car will become essential transportation. In many situations, it may become your operating post. The following guidelines suggest steps you can take to ensure that your vehicle is ready for an emergency situation:
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The first priority in home safety is ensuring the safety of your family and property. By preparing in advance, you’ll ensure that you’ll be available for ARES operations and that your family and home will be safe in your absence. Consider the following recommendations:
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• If you do not take your car to work, prepare a small ready pack that you can leave at your desk or in your office.
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Ensure that your equipment is complete, appropriate, and reliable. For more information about equipment selection and configuration, see “Equipment selection and configuration” on page 14.1.
• At the beginning of an exercise, or when a need for ARES support is identified during an emergency, a callout is performed to activate the local ARES group. The EC and AECs call their assigned operators to warn of a possible mobilization, to ask operators to monitor a net frequency, or to actually deploy operators to locations.
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• EMO activations, triggered by the provincial EMO
• ARES activations, triggered by served agencies or events that have occurred within a region or community
When you get a call for an emergency callout, you will be told the emergency channel that is being used. In some situations, you may also be immediately dispatched to a location. On activation:
• Begin monitoring the emergency channel and stand by for instructions.
• Call the personnel on your own ARES callout page, if you have been assigned callout duties.
• Check into the emergency net during the next general call for check ins.
• Prepare your emergency pack (add charged batteries, cell phone, etc.) and stand by for deployment.
• When you hear about a community emergency or telecommunications outage, begin scanning the ARES frequencies and stand by to join an emergency net.
• If the community emergency is not serious enough to warrant ARES or EMO activation, the net may not convene.
• If the emergency is serious, or if the telecommunications outage is likely to affect critical services, an EC or district communications officer (DCO) will initiate the emergency net and call for check-ins.
• If you discover a widespread telecommunications outage and believe that your EC may not be aware of it, take steps to notify your EC using whatever means are available.
• When you are deployed to a location, take your Ready Pack and enough food, water and medication to operate comfortably for at least 24 hours.
• If you require transportation, advise the EC/AEC or DCO when they call to activate you, or inform the net controller when the controller requests information about your status and availability.
1 Seek out the location site manager and tell them that you have arrived. (The location of the senior officer is often indicated by a flashing green light.)
2 Ask them where you are to set up the station (or if operating handheld, where you should place yourself)
3 Check into the emergency net and notify the net controller that you are on station and in contact with appropriate parties.
4 Wear a name badge that clearly says Communications Operator.
5 If practical, put up a sign identifying your post or station as a communications station.
6 If you are equipped with an FRS handheld and are at a location where FRS is being used by officials, turn it on to channel 9, with privacy codes (CTCSS) turned off.
1 Seek out the station manager (or location site manager, if you are the first ARES operator to arrive)
2 Find the communications station.
3 Refer to the Communications Station Operating Procedures in the ARES binder at the station and follow procedures to activate the station.
4 Check into the emergency net and notify the net controller that the station is activated and ready for service.
5 Wear a name badge with your first name, clearly indicating ARES.
Frequencies used during ARES operations will depend almost entirely on the repeater systems and communications plans in place within your region. In addition, the frequencies used during ARES operations may vary depending on the available surviving repeaters, on the area where communications support is needed, and on the number of channels needed to meet end-user requirements.
This section in the manual provides an overview of ICS-100. ARES members are encouraged to take the current ICS-100 on-line course.
• An ARES operator may be assigned to the COML, or they may be assigned as a Technical Specialist in another area. ARES operators may also be asked to perform non-ARES activities, and could conceivably be assigned anywhere. If an operator is assigned to a non-ARES unit, operators need to comply with the directions of the unit supervisor, understand the mission, and report actions back to that unit supervisor.
• Amateur radio groups deployed as units should be structured into groups of three to five operators under one ARES unit supervisor. For example, if a unit has 20 members, the leadership needs to break the unit down into four or five units. This could be based upon geography (where the units will be deployed), time of day (shifts), specific function (HQ unit, field unit 1, field unit 2, etc.), or any other reasonable, manageable division of labor. Instead of one ARES leader getting status or providing direction to 20 members, the one leader interacts with only four subordinates, and those four interact with three to five operators. This allows a much faster and more manageable method of communications and control. Smaller units are also able to be re-assigned and moved more quickly than large units, so the smaller units also give ICS more flexibility in the use of overall resources.
• ICS requires the use of plain English in all communications. Avoid special codes, prowords or jargon.
1 Directed net. A formal net with a net controller, who directs all communications on the net. Stations request permission from net control before calling other stations or passing traffic.
2 Open net. A net that allows informal communications, with or without a net controller. If there is a net controller, the controller acts to provide coordination, recordkeeping, and other support. On an open net, stations do not need to get net control permission before calling or passing traffic.
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Tactical voice communications is used in situations where messages need to pass back and forth between stations without delays, and do not need to be formal. Examples of tactical traffic include:
• Requests to mobile stations for location or operational status
• Traffic that has not been originated by third parties (such as coordination between telecommunications operators or ECs)
• Informal discussions between officials
• Informal information requests
• General broadcasts from one station to many other stations (point to multipoint)
Formal voice communications is used in situations where messages need to reach their destinations without any errors, need to be logged and recorded, or are being relayed by intermediate stations. Examples of formal voice message traffic include:
• Formal requests or directives sent to a specific individual or office
• Formal reports or responses sent to a specific individual or office
Like formal voice message traffic, digital communications is used in situations where messages need to reach their destinations without any errors, and need to be logged and recorded. Digital messaging is particularly well suited to formal traffic that is lengthy in nature. Examples of tactical traffic include:
• Evacuee lists sent from evacuation shelters to the Canadian Red Cross
• Detailed reports sent from shelter managers to the Canadian Red Cross
• Supply requisitions sent from an emergency measures office to aid agencies
• Public bulletins sent from City Hall to local radio and TV stations
Automated traffic is any form of communications that does not involve operators at both ends of the connection. Current examples of automated traffic include:
• Vehicle location coordinates (GPS data sent over APRS packet)
• Weather data sent over packet
• Site photos or video sent over SSTV or amateur television (ATV)
• Know what you are going to say before you transmit.
• Listen carefully before transmitting to ensure that you understand the net and that you are not ‘speaking over’ another station.
• Speak clearly and slowly.
• If the message needs to be written down, speak more slowly.
• Pause after logical phrases.
• Speak at an even pace
• Speak across the microphone, and not into it.
• Key the microphone a second or two before speaking, to ensure that repeater and receiver squelch has opened.
• Identify using your callsign or tactical callsign at the beginning of any transmission.
• If using a handheld, do not move around while transmitting.
• Acknowledge any instructions directed at your station. If you understand the instructions, reply with “acknowledged”. If you wish to indicate that you will comply with the instructions, reply with “will comply”. If you do not understand the instructions or need more information, request that the sender repeat or clarify the instructions. (Do not say “repeat”. Instead, use “say again”.)
• Do not use the word “break” when you pause. It is confusing, wastes time and has another meaning in formal message handling. Merely unkey and pause. If the other station has questions, they should key up and make their request known. This also permits other stations to break in if they have emergency traffic.
• Do not make any angry or sarcastic comments on the air. On-air humour is not recommended. During an exercise or emergency, amateur radio becomes a profession, not a hobby. Sound professional.
+ - Q codes
+ - Tactical call signs
• Use tactical call signs once you have been assigned a task or location. A tactical call sign is a label that identifies either your duties (for example, Fire One for an operator attached to the Fire Chief) or your location (for example, RC for a station at the Red Cross building). Tactical call signs reduce confusion.
• Use your own call sign periodically in order to satisfy Industry Canada identification requirements, but do not over-use your own callsign. (For example, normally say “EOC this is RC”, and every 15-30 minutes during traffic, say “EOC this is RC, VE9ZYX at the Red Cross.”)
+ - Phonetics
The only phonetics that are acceptable during emergency communications are those of the NATO/ITU phonetic alphabet. This is the phonetic alphabet recommended by Industry Canada, and in general use in amateur radio.
+ - Frequency designations
• Formal message handling can be done using voice, packet, or even CW or RTTY. Formal message handling involves a simple process at the sending and receiving stations to ensure accuracy, delivery, and tracking.
• The sending station transcribes the message onto a radiogram form (or has the sender fill in the form themselves).
+ - • Elements in a formal message (radiogram)
+ - • Accepting messages for transmission
When you accept a formal message for transmission to another station, you must collect the following information from the sender:
• More ...
In addition to passing messages for third parties (our served agencies), ARES operators will also send and receive messages to provide other ARES stations with important information, or to provide tasking (orders, instructions or rules of operation). This ‘internal’ ARES network traffic is not intended to go to any third party, but may be just as important as third-party traffic if it impacts ARES operator safety or the health of the ARES communications network. More info in the manual
+ - Format for tasking instructions (orders)
If you are a communications supervisor or emergency coordinator, you will issue ‘orders’ to ARES operators or stations to set up, maintain and manage the ARES communications network.
As an ARES operator or station manager, you will receive orders for you or your station.
When possible, these tasking messages should be delivered in person, rather than by radio. Do not interrupt during tasking. Wait until the instructions are complete before asking questions. .
The format for orders is broken in to several distinct units: 1 Situation 2 Mission 3 Execution 4 Coordinating instructions 5 Service and support 6 Command and communications 7 Safety 8 Time check (self explanatory) More details in the manual
If you are using cross-band repeating, remember the following guidelines:
• Count 1001, 1002 before talking after pressing the PTT switch. The 1001 provides time for your radio to transmit and bring up the repeater. The 1002 provides time for the repeater to bring up the cross-band repeater.
• In bi-directional repeat, repeater tails will lock you out until the tail drops. (The cross band radio will not drop out until the repeater tail drops.)
• Other users can slip in before the tail drops, keeping the person using cross band from getting in.
• Amateur radios are not designed for heavy use. Configure your radio to minimize transmit power. Consider using a computer CPU fan to keep the CBR transceiver cool.
• Use CTCSS to keep out intermod or other users on the same frequency.
• Make sure your radio is capable of cross-band repeating, and that you know how to set it up.
When you are replacing another operator at a site or station (or when you are being replaced), ensure that the handoff of responsibility goes smoothly by discussing:
• Basic procedure, policy, net, and stations
• How messages are routed, and local delivery procedures
• Who the location manager is, and where
• Who the location manager is, and where
• Any equipment concerns or issues
• General activities within the location
• General activities within the location
The basic duties of a net controller are:
• Taking charge of the net while the net is in session. You are responsible for controlling who uses the frequency. This needs to be balanced with the fact that you are managing a group of volunteers. You need to determine whether tight net discipline is required for the incident.
• Keeping track of which resources are on the net and who has cleared the channel. You are also responsible for knowing what types of traffic each resource is capable of handling.
• Ensuring that there is a backup net controller, in case you are indisposed or experience an equipment or propagation failure. (For some nets in some situations, this may not be required.)
• Keeping a written record of net activity, stations and traffic.
• Speak slowly in a calm voice at all times.
• Pause before transmitting to allow break-ins.
• Periodically announce the designation and purpose of the net to ensure that new check-ins and monitoring stations understand that purpose.
• Keep a written record of net activity, and a list of traffic for each station. If you don't use an organized recording system you will get confused as the traffic gets heavier.
• Discourage idle chatter courteously, until all traffic is cleared. Do not however, make the net cold, stiff, and formal except at times of high traffic density, or during real or simulated emergencies.
• Remember that other people will have to read your notes. Write clearly and in clear text (no special symbols or short forms).
• Make instructions clear and precise. Use as few words as possible. Use clear text.
• Send traffic as fast as you would write it down. Tactfully remind other stations to do the same when necessary. Break every five words or so to allow stations time to catch up. Request that stations ask for fills at the end of each paragraph.
• Use tactical callsigns and enforce this rule with other members on the net. Tactical call signs are legal as long as periodic ID requirements are met.
• Politely break in to communications currently on the repeater or frequency, explain the situation and the need to open a net, and request use of the repeater or frequency.
• Once you have control of the repeater or frequency, introduce yourself, with your callsign, as net controller.
• Clearly identify the net designation (for example, ARES logistics net) and explain the net’s purpose.
• State that the repeater or frequency will be used solely for net operations for a period of time.
• Briefly review ‘rules of the road’ for net operations.
• Call in any stations that you know are waiting to check in (such as stations that you know have been assigned to the net).
• Solicit other check-ins.
To open a net, use the following prompts:
Initially, accept check-ins on the primary net frequency. Once the primary net becomes an operational net, and a standby net is established, make periodic announcements directing newly activated stations to wait on the standby net until directed to return to the operational net.