Utica Shelby Emergency Communications Association

USECA Sunday Night Traders Post and Technical Support Net Preamble

© William J. Wickstrom 2000

At 7:59pm local time, make the following announcement:

All stations please stand by for commencement of the USECA Sunday Night Traders Post and Technical Support Net, beginning in sixty seconds. This is (your callsign).

At 8:00pm local time, begin the net with the following preamble:

Good evening and welcome to the USECA two-meter repeater. It's Eight O'clock and time for the USECA Sunday Night Traders. Post and Technical Support Net. This net meets every Sunday night at Eight O'clock PM local time on this repeater. The purpose of this net is twofold; first, to provide a venue for area hams to list for sale or wanted Amateur and Amateur-related equipment, and second, to provide an open forum for the discussion of problems and solutions regarding the setup, operation and maintenance of an Amateur radio station.

My callsign is (your callsign), my name is (your name) and I will be your net control operator this evening. You need not be a member of the USECA organization to participate in this net; in fact, any licensed radio amateur is welcome to join us. Scanner and short-wave listeners are also encouraged to listen in.

The USECA repeater is located in Shelby Township, Michigan; with satellite receive sites located across the greater metropolitan Detroit area. This system requires 100Hz CTCSS (P.L.) tone for access. Please set your transmitter to encode a 100Hz tone before checking in.

This is a directed net, and all activity must be conducted through Net Control. I will begin taking check-ins in just a moment, but first I will ask that when checking in you give your callsign slowly, and give me your first name for the log. Also, please indicate whether you have any listings, wants, questions or announcements for the net when you check in. Net Control will acknowledge all stations, but Traders Post listings will be handled first, followed by Tech. Support traffic. Announcements will be given, as time permits, after all other traffic has concluded. Remember, Net Control needs to know if you have traffic when you check in.

I will now take check-ins from any mobile or portable stations. Mobile and portable stations only please, call Net Control now.

Acknowledge any stations.

I will now include check-ins from fixed stations as well. Any fixed, mobile or portable stations please call Net Control now.

Acknowledge any stations.

Thank you all for checking in. We will pause again for check-ins a little later in the net, but now let's get down to our first order of business, trading ham gear. Before we proceed with our first listing, however, some rules that Traders Post must adhere to need to be laid out:

First of all, any equipment listed must be Amateur or Amateur-related, in other words, equipment that can be used directly in the operation and maintenance of an Amateur radio station.

Only a private individual may list items, no dealer listings are permitted.

Estate sales and third-party listings are permitted, provided they are on behalf of a licensed radio amateur, who's callsign must be stated in the listing.

An asking price must be given for each item listed, or package of items in the case that the seller is unwilling or unable to separate items.

Absolutely no on-air negotiations are permitted.

Stations wishing to offer items for swap in lieu of cash must indicate what items would be acceptable for trade.

Stations listing items or wants should be specific, giving a thorough description of the item being offered or sought, and must list a dollar range that he or she would be willing to accept or pay.

Stations with listings posted must provide a means of contact, i.e.: telephone number, e-mail address, etc.

After listing, all stations must clear their station with net control by identifying with their callsign.

As a courtesy to Net Control as well as other net participants, please inform the net if any of your listed items are sold during the time the net is in operation. Simply wait for a break in the action and throw your callsign out. When acknowledged by Net Control, tell the net that your item has been sold, and clear your station.

Finally, no items listed on this net are in any way endorsed or guaranteed by the USECA organization or this net control operator. Any issues arising from any transaction resulting from the operation of this net are the sole concern of the parties taking part in said transaction.

Now that the ground rules have been addressed, lets move on to our first listing.

Call on the first station with a listing to make their listing. After each station completes their listing, ask if there any questions, or if fills are needed. If necessary, call on the listing station for clarification, having them again clear with their callsign. After several listings have been handled in this manner, pause for another round of check-ins as done earlier. When it appears that all Traders Post traffic has been addressed, move on to Tech. Support traffic.

Thank you all for your listings this evening. Lets now move on to the Technical Support section of tonights net.

Call on the first station with Technical Support questions. After the question is posed, ask for stations that would like to address that question to call net control. Call on those stations to offer their answers in the order of those calls to net control, having each station clear with their callsign. Encourage round-table type discussion, but maintain control of the net at all times, directing all traffic. Call on all stations with Tech. Support traffic this way in turn, pausing every so often to take check-ins. When it appears that all Tech. Support traffic has been addressed, move on to any announcements of general interest to the Amateur community, encouraging those from outside the USECA organization to bring their clubs' news to the net.

Thank you all for participating in tonights Technical Support forum. Your active participation is what makes this feature of value to your fellow hams. This net will now allow announcements of general interest to the Amateur radio community.

Call on any stations that have announcements for the net. After all announcements have been made, proceed to the net Postscript that follows.

Net control and the USECA organization thanks each of you for your listings, questions and answers, and announcements this evening. I now declare this net closed at (state the time), and release this repeater to regular Amateur usage. 73, this is (your callsign).