so i finally got my technician license about three weeks ago and ive been mostly just listening to the local repeater but someone at my club mentioned i should try checking into one of the weekly nets to get some practice. i looked up a few schedules on the ARRL site but honestly i have no idea what to expect. like do i just transmit my callsign at some point? does the net control tell me when to talk? i dont want to step on anyone or do something embarrassing my first time. also is there a difference between a directed net and a ragchew type net because i saw both mentioned and im not sure which one to try first. any advice would be great i have a baofeng uv5r for now and im hitting the repeater fine so at least i know i can get in

welcome to the hobby, dont stress about it at all. directed nets are probably the easier one to start with actually, even though they sound more formal. basically net control will announce the net, say something like QNI for check-ins, and thats when you just give your callsign. most nets youll hear a bunch of people tail-ending after net control gives the cue and you just do the same thing - transmit your callsign once, clearly, and wait. net control will acknowledge you and that's it, youre checked in. then you just listen unless they ask for traffic or comments. some nets have a little roundtable at the end where people can chat. the first time i ever checked in i was so nervous i forgot my own callsign for a second which was pretty funny in retrospect. just go for it, net controls have heard it all and theyre usually pretty welcoming to new folks especially if you mention youre newly licensed.

yeah what he said. also just wanted to mention - if you can find out if your club runs their own net that might be the most comfortable way to start. ours does a monday night net on the club repeater and the net control guy is super patient. also some of the bigger HF nets do visitor or guest check-ins which is kinda cool once you get a hf radio sorted out down the road. special event stations are fun too if you ever get a chance, operated one last veterans day and the pileup was something else but thats a whole other thing