Net Operations

http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

1

Objectives

• You should be able to define
• What a directed net is and why it’s necessary
• Why and How to keep a net control log
• Operating practices to be used by ACS/ARES
• Correct voice communications procedure
• ABC’s – Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity
• Appropriate on-air information

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

2

Formal/Directed Nets

• Net Control requires stations to get permission before using the net
• “This is a Directed Net”
• Acts as traffic cop
• Directed Nets recommended with more than four active stations on a frequency
• Enables NCS to control and prioritize traffic
• Every ACS/ARES operator should know how to call up and run a net

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

3

Net Control Job

• CONTROL the net
• MAINTAIN net discipline
• By setting the example
• MOVE traffic efficiently
• RECORD what happens...
• REPORT to the served agency, Radio Officer / Net Manager

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

4

NCS Log

• Use what works
• ICS 309 Communications Log
• WebEOC/Sharepoint
• Yellow tablet (then transcribed)
• Whiteboard
• These are used for
• Asset tracking
• Personal Accountability Reports
• Sometimes called “PAR-checks”
• Part of official incident record

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

5

NCS Log Content

• Date, Time, Frequency
• Who originated and who took the traffic
• Does it need a reply?
• Who gets a reply when it comes back?
• What was the assignment or action?
• Priority
• ICS defines; Urgent, Immediate, Routine
• How?
• Locally received or relayed
• Via what mode? Voice, Winlink, Email, etc.

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

6

Purpose of NCS

• Prevent Chaos
• Insure there is an alternate Net Control in case you must go off the air
• Battery goes dead
• Storm/tree takes out antenna
• Unforeseen dangerous situation
• Bathroom break
• Simplex requires more attention because stations can’t hear each other
• Net control must resolve traffic issues

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

7

Operational Considerations

• NCS operation from EOC can be difficult
• Noisy and distracting to operators
• Transmissions desense other radios/block traffic
• NCS should always make sure:
• Equipment/antennas are in good order
• Batteries charged, inspected regularly
• Minimum reliable power if dependent on batteries
• Be on time and on correct frequency
• Moving net to alternate freq should be last resort

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Snohomish County ACS/ARES

8

High Traffic Loads

• Direct stations with traffic to alternate frequency
• Pass their traffic while net proceeds
• Then go back and continue listing
• Proper use of “alternate frequencies”
• Very important in high traffic loads
• Plenty of amateur repeaters available
• Move from EOC HAIL to DEM OPS
• Hand someone an 800 HT to take the traffic

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

9

Tactical Callsigns

• Enable running a net without regard to WHO is operating in any particular location
• Tactical Calls identify location or function
• Assign callsigns to stations to avoid confusion
• Provides continuity when operators change
• Use YOUR tactical call to identify
• Contact others by THEIRS
• Listen for YOURS
• Don’t forget FCC callsign (as needed)

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

10

Comply with Part 97

• Only use amateur callsign on amateur frequencies
• Tactical calls on most government radios
• On CEMNET we are “Snohomish County, KOM584”
• Add FCC Amateur callsign to last transmission in a series – ONLY
• Excessive ID wastes air time
• NCS IDs every 10 minutes
• NCS should track/allow other stations to ID

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Snohomish County ACS/ARES

11

Participant Responsibilities

• Know how the net runs
• Learn net procedures by training exercises
• Respond only to NCS
• Answer promptly
• Listen continuously, answer immediately
• Never leave a net without checking out
• Be reliable
• Arrive before your shift at operating position to be setup, briefed and ready
• We may be volunteers but we owe it to those we serve to be responsible

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

12

Brief Your Relief

• Refer to ICS 309 log, Sharepoint or notes
• Write down all oral instructions
• Update and Pass along ICS 205 – Comm Plan
• Pass along any briefings/press releases
• Tell relief operator EVERYTHING they need to know to do the job

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

13

Briefing Items

• What is our assignment?
• What is my tactical call?
• Who are duty Command Staff?
• How agency staff are recognized?
• With whom do I maintain regular contact?
• What are their tactical call signs?
• Where are the various net stations located?
• What type of current activity is pending?
• What frequencies should I use for what function?
• Telephone operations and numbers in EOC
• Location of toilet, water, food, first aid, supplies

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

14

Operations “Best Practices”

http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

15

Net Operating Practices

• Accuracy + Brevity = Clarity!
• No idle chatter on directed net
• Establish initial contact with tactical call only
• Wait for NCS recognition before transmitting further
• THINK before you speak (PTT=Plan To Talk)
• Stop transmitting if you stop talking
• DON’T call endlessly
• If truly urgent, disregard

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

16

Net Operating Practices (Cont)

• WAIT 2-3 seconds before keying and between transmissions
• Interrupt, IF you have important traffic
• When necessary to do so, ID and SAY WHY:
• ”K7TKA, with info” or “K7TKA, Relay”
• No Q-signals on phone nets!
• Use PLAIN LANGUAGE ONLY
• DO USE short simple phrases
• Wait for acknowledgement before proceeding
• Standby means STAND BY
• Acknowledge all transmissions to you
• “Copy, N7SS at DEM10” is brief and clear

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Snohomish County ACS/ARES

17

Net Operating Practices (Cont)

• Answer questions directly; do not explain
• Let NCS ask for more detail
• Be brief
• Ask who a message is for if unclear
• Let third parties speak directly to each other
• Legal, expedient and necessary
• WRITE down names of served agency officials for whom you send traffic
• Line item entry on ICS309 station log
• Necessary in case they wander off before you get a reply or need more information
• Helps eliminate duplicate requests for the same resources or information

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

18

Net Operating Practices (Cont)

• Don’t pass names over the radio
• Only names of agency officials to authenticate messages
• NCS approves any exceptions
• If doing so is operationally necessary
• Don’t say frequencies over the air
• Refer to ICS 205 designators
• Reduces malicious interference.

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

19

Transmitting

• Wait briefly after keying, before speaking
• Avoids clipping the first syllable
• Transceiver delay changing from Rx to Tx
• Equipment delay from repeater links
• Wait for “beep” on 800 radios when keying
• If you speak louder than needed for full modulation, voice audio is clipped, which reduces intelligibility
• Use an earphone or headset
• Shield your microphone
• Speak ACROSS the microphone
• Use a normal speaking voice
• HTs can often use a little more audio

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

20

ITU Phonetic �Alphabet

Agreed upon words to represent the letters of the “roman alphabet”.

The boldfaced syllables are emphasized. The pronunciations shown in this table were designed for those who speak any of the international languages.

The pronunciations given for “Oscar”, “Papa” and “Victor” may seem awkward to English-speaking people in the US.

​

A Alfa AL FAH

B Bravo BRAH VOH

C Charlie CHAR LEE

D Delta DELL TAH

E Echo ECK OH

F Foxtrot FOKS TROT

G Golf GOLF

H Hotel HOH TELL

I India IN DEE AH

J Juliet JEW LEE ETT

K Kilo KEY LOH

L Lima LEE MAH

M Mike MIKE

N November NO VEM BER

O Oscar OSS CAH

P Papa PAH PAH

Q Quebec KEH BECK

R Romeo ROW ME OH

S Sierra SEE AIR RAH

T Tango TANG GO

U Uniform YOU NEE FORM

V Victor VIK TAH

W Whiskey WISS KEY

X X-Ray ECKS RAY

Y Yankee YANG KEY

Z Zulu ZOO LOO

Snohomish County ACS/ARES

21

Net Operations Summary

http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

22

What to Say

• Use plain English
• Never use jargon (no 10-codes, Q-codes)
• Speak Clearly – Don’t rush, slur or mumble
• Avoid contractions
• Use ITU phonetics when spelling
• Police/Sheriff/SAR use different alphabet
• Minimize extra words
• Clear, Monitoring, Standing by, etc. are unnecessary
• Acknowledge all instructions
• Nothing goes over the air unless cleared by PIO

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Snohomish County ACS/ARES

23

What not to Say

• No subject names
• Use titles when referring to officials
• Full names are generally not good
• Never refer to subject as “victim”
• No subject condition
• Unless necessary for treatment purposes
• No business/commercial communications
• Be the guardian of personal information
• Phone numbers, Email addresses, etc.
• We don’t know who is listening

​

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Snohomish County ACS/ARES

24

Snohomish ACS/ARES DEM VHF/UHF Frequencies

• Repeater Frequencies
• 146.920- 123.0Hz Granite Falls Resource Net
• 224.380- 103.5Hz Marysville (FT) Command Net
• 442.975+ 103.5Hz Clearview Tactical Net
• 444.200+ 103.5Hz Marysville (FT) Alternate 70cm
• 146.780- 103.5Hz Lynnwood Alternate 2m
• 440.325+ NR7SS Mt Pilchuck DSTAR DV Mode
• Simplex Frequencies and Tones
• 52.450      100.0Hz
• 144.46     123.0Hz
• 446.500   103.5Hz
• 224.640 156.7Hz

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Snohomish County ACS

25

Snohomish ARC/Hospital VHF/UHF Frequencies

• Repeater Frequencies
• 145.390- 123.0Hz Everett Resource Net
• 146.800- 136.5Hz Lynnwood OPS-1 Wide Area
• 223.940+ 110.9Hz Haystack Command Net
• 223.860+ 103.5Hz Lyman Region 1 Hospitals
• 443.875- 127.3Hz Haystack OPS-1 linked
• 444.975+ 114.8Hz Haystack Command Net
• Simplex Frequencies and Tones
• 147.420 156.7Hz
• 223.520 156.7Hz
• 445.850 156.7Hz

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Snohomish County ACS

26

Minimum Expectations

• Practice these skills on the air
• Take some turns as net control
• Program all the ACS/ARES frequencies into your radio
• Know how to program any frequency into your radio
• Keep your contact info current in MyStateUSA
• Participate during activations

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Snohomish County ACS/ARES

27

Net Operations

http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

28