The Metrolina 2 Meter Emergency Net
| Become a Net Control | Get the Net Preamble | Get the ARES Net Preamble | Get Net Report Procedure |
Our Metrolina 2 Meter Emergency Net (M2MEN®) meets every day of the year at 9:00 PM local time. The primary frequency is our 146.94 repeater. During net time, it is usually linked to the 145.23 and 224.400 repeaters, along with Echolink® via the K4NET-L Node. The backup frequency is 146.52 simplex. Our repeaters have a tone access of 118.8Hz.
The M2MEN is our club bulletin board where you can hear or ask about current club or ARES® activities, or just check your equipment regularly. On the net we also become familiar with the voices, callsigns, names, interests, capabilities, and typical signal characteristics of our local Hams. The rag chew session of the net is a great time to get to know more about our members, and it lets us put the face with the callsign and the voice at our club meetings. Yes, in times of emergency communications, all of this familiarity does help us communicate more effectively.
Sometimes we talk about our local ARES® organization or upcoming ARES® activities. We also practice traffic handling which is very important during ARES® events. If you haven’t handled traffic yet, come join us, we love first time traffic handlers and we do go easy on them. After handling a few pieces of traffic, the process will flow more smoothly for you. If you happen to be the “end of the line Radiogram deliverer” to someone in town, about someone they care about who is far away, it’s a very special feeling.
The M2MEN is also a great chance to meet new friends. I like to play the game of memorizing callsigns and names without using those cheating computers. With all the recent callsign changes, that becomes more challenging.
Want to Be a Net Controller?
Yes, YOU can also be a Net Control Station on our friendly net. Net Control is another operating skill where you learn by doing, the experience makes one a valuable part of any operating activity involving a bunch of Hams. Send our net manager, John – WB2NHQ, an email at NetManager or give him a call and he will get you started with everything you need to be a Net Control Station. If you’re not ready for that now, at least you have to come check in with us (especially on the Tuesday night net).
| Net Controllers | ||
| Sunday | Tim | N4IB |
| Monday | Rodney | W2ROD |
| Tuesday | Stan | AJ4ZL |
| Wednesday | Jon | KM4WDO |
| Thursday | Steve Steven Susan |
W4SJN KI4FAQ N4PSN |
| Friday | John | WB2NHQ |
| Saturday | Merrilee | WA1FHK |
| Alternate Net Controllers | |
| Brandon | KM4FLU |
| Mike | KK4JFM |
| Paul | K4VCF |
Phonetics Anyone?
Silly phonetics sometimes get a chuckle the first time they’re used, but then quickly wear thin and they reflect poor operating procedure. By getting into the habit of using standard phonetics, especially during our regular nets, we can be understood more easily when it really counts. Let’s try these:
| A – Alpha | H – Hotel | O – Oscar | V – Victor |
| B – Bravo | I – India | P – Papa | W – Whiskey |
| C – Charlie | J – Juliett | Q – Quebec | X – X-ray |
| D – Delta | K – Kilo | R – Romeo | Y – Yankee |
| E – Echo | L – Lima | S -Sierra | Z – Zulu |
| F – Foxtrot | M – Mike | T – Tango | |
| G – Golf | N – November | U – Uniform |