so i finally got my technician license about three weeks ago and ive been listening to the local 2m repeater a lot just to get a feel for things. there's a weekly net on tuesday nights and i really want to check in but honestly i'm kind of terrified of saying something wrong or getting in the way or whatever. i dont really know the proper way to do it.

like when they call for check-ins do i just say my callsign? do i need to say anything else? and what happens if i key up at the same time as someone else, is that a big deal? i know about doubling but i dont know the etiquette around it. also i noticed the net control guy sometimes asks for traffic or comments after people check in, do i need to have something prepared or can i just say no traffic and move on

i guess im just worried about embarrassing myself on my first time. any advice from people who remember what it was like starting out would be great

oh man i remember feeling exactly like this before my first net check-in. honestly just take a breath because net control has heard it all and most of them are super patient especially with new folks.

when they open check-ins just wait for a pause and give your callsign phonetically, something like "Whiskey 4 Alpha Bravo Charlie" and thats really it for most informal nets. some nets want your name and location too but you'll hear other people doing it first so just kind of mirror what they're doing. if you key up at the same time as someone else and you hear a weird squeal or garbled audio, just wait a second and try again, no biggie at all. net control will usually say something like "stations with traffic please call again" and you just go again.

and yeah "no traffic" or just "no traffic, thanks for the net" is totally fine when they ask. you dont need to have anything prepared. the whole point for most of us is just to get on the air and be counted, its not like you have to have a reason to exist on the frequency lol. just do it, you'll kick yourself if you wait another month

yeah what he said. i checked into my first net about two months after getting my ticket and i was way overthinking it. just listen to a few check-ins before yours so you get the rhythm and then just jump in. the net control op on our tuesday net is super friendly anyway, he'd never make you feel bad for being new.