TO: ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM ARRL DISTRICT 3
EMERGENCY COORDINATOR WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INC.
WOOD COUNTY ARES BULLETIN NR 19.18 DATE: May 5, 2019
SUBJECT: THE NCS IS IN CHARGE
To make any communications net better, here are a couple of items that you should use. If you are the NCS that is, Net Control Station, you are the person In Charge of that net. That means that you have the final say on how the net is to be operated. Be sure to stay In Charge. On some nets, the NCS doesn't control the net, but it seems to control them. As the NCS opens their net, they should let the net participates know some of the rules of the net. Tell them the net is a Controlled Net. That means they should wait until the NCS calls for them to talk, and not just jump in, and start making comments.
The NCS should ask for certain information when they ask for Check-ins. The NCS should only ask for a small amount of information, such as name, maybe any ARES affiliation, and if they have any traffic. When net participates check into the net, only that information which has been asked for should be given.
There may be new net participates on the net, and who doesn't know who everyone is, but if they want to know who other participates are, they can ask. Net participants should ask the NCS for permission before they start talking. They should not call other stations on the net until the NCS instructs them to do so.
Net participants should ask the NCS for permission to call someone else, on the net, before they make that call. Even though net participates check In and Out of a net, they should stay near their radio after they check in. Someone else on the net may need to contact them. To make a net work efficiently, the NCS needs to stay in charge of the net, don't let it get out of hand. Just because the NCS has ask for your comments doesn't mean that you should call someone else on the net, only do that after you have asked permission from the NCS and he/she tells you to do so.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV