Student Activities:
1. Participate in a formal net as a member at least twice. Review the performance
of the net control stations. List five positive features and any negative features
of net operation that you encountered. Share your findings with your mentor
without revealing any names or call signs.
2. If you do not have the capability to check into a net yourself, listen to any two nets on VHF or HF and review their operations and the effectiveness of the NCS operators. Develop your own set of rules for net participants. Share your work with your mentor. Suggestions: (For net times, see the ARRL Net Directory book, or on the ARRL website at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/nets):
3. You have read that the Net Control Station is like a "traffic cop" because it directs streams of traffic. This is called an analogy. Such analogies are useful, because they depict complex ideas in terms that are familiar to us.
As an aid to understanding, develop your own analogies for the following:
A Net Control Station is like a____________ because___________.
A Directed Net is like a ______________ because______________.
An Open Net is like a________________ because______________.
The Guidelines for operating a net are like a_________ because___________.
Share your results with your Mentor.