so ive had my tech for about 4 months now and been doing some local repeater stuff but honestly its getting a little quiet on the ones near me. a buddy at the club mentioned there are like scheduled nets i could check into but i cant really figure out how to find them or know whats a good fit for a newer operator. i dont want to jump into something thats way over my head or where i'd feel out of place.

also i saw something on qrz about a special event station happening next month for some historical thing, is that different from a regular net? like do you just call them or is there a specific way to work those. i feel like i'm missing something obvious here but nobody at the club has really walked me through the net thing step by step

Welcome to the net world, its actually a lot of fun once you get into it. The ARRL has a net directory on their website that lets you search by band and mode and time zone, thats probably the easiest starting point. For someone on a tech license with a HT or basic VHF setup, look for 2 meter or 70cm FM nets in your region. A lot of them are super friendly to newcomers, you literally just wait for net control to call for check-ins and then give your callsign. Thats really it. Some nets have a specific topic each week and others are just a round table where everyone gets a turn to talk briefly.

The special event station thing is a bit different, those aren't usually nets, they're just stations set up to commemorate something and you call them to get a contact in your log and sometimes you can get a certificate or a QSL card. You'd just tune around and listen for them calling CQ or look up their frequency ahead of time on qrz or the special event station calendar. Both are worth doing honestly.

yeah i was in the same spot not that long ago. honestly just lurk on a net a few times before you check in, just listen to how it flows and youll figure out the rythm pretty quick. the OMISS net was one of the first i checked into and people were really patient. also some clubs run their own weekly nets and those tend to be pretty low pressure since its a smaller group who all kind of know each other