so i finally worked up the nerve to check into the local Tuesday night net and i think i may have done something wrong. when the net control called for check-ins i just said my callsign but then someone else came back at the same time and i think we doubled and it was kind of a mess. net control sorted it out but i felt bad about it.

also i wasnt sure when to say "over" vs just stopping talking. i noticed some people said it and some didnt. is there like a standard thing you're supposed to do? im still getting used to all this and dont want to be that guy who annoys everyone. been licensed about 3 months now and this was my second time on a net.

oh man dont stress about the doubling thing at all — that happens to everyone including people who've been doing this for decades. it's just RF, sometimes two people have the same idea at the same moment. net control has dealt with it a thousand times and honestly they probably forgot about it before the net was even over.

as for "over" — on FM repeater nets most folks around here dont bother with it, it's more of an HF or formal traffic net thing. what you do want to say is something like your callsign when you're done transmitting, especially if it's a busy net, just so people know you're finished. something like "...and that's all I have, W5XYZ" is totally fine. you'll pick up the local habits fast just by listening. sounds like youre doing everything right honestly, showing up and checking in is the whole thing.

yeah im pretty new too (got my ticket in january) and i had the exact same anxiety about nets for the first couple months. i just listened to maybe 4 or 5 nets before i actually checked in and that helped a lot because i could hear how people were doing it. the "over" thing confused me too — my elmer told me on VHF FM most people just drop the mic and the squelch tail tells everyone you stopped transmitting. different vibe than HF for sure.