so ive been licensed for about 3 months now (technician) and i keep hearing about nets on my local repeater but i never actually checked in before. last night i finally did it on the tuesday evening 2m net and it was way less scary than i thought but i still fumbled my callsign the first time which was embarrassing lol. the net control was super patient though and just asked me to go again.

anyway i was wondering if anyone has tips for finding other nets to check into, like beyond just the local repeater ones. i downloaded the arrl net directory app or whatever its called but there are so many listed i dont really know where to start. also is there a good time of day for HF nets if i ever upgrade? i dont have an HF rig yet but im thinking about it. just curious what people listen to or check into regularly

congrats on the first check-in, that first one is always the hardest and then you wonder what you were worried about. the net directory can be overwhelming for sure, i'd honestly just pick a couple that fit your schedule and stick with those for a while rather than trying to chase down a ton of different ones.

for HF once you get there - the 40 meter band has nets going pretty much around the clock, traffic nets, rag chew nets, all kinds of stuff. 75 meters too but that one can get a little... colorful depending on when you listen ha. the ARRL has a list of affiliated nets that's a good starting point and a lot of them are very welcoming to newer operators. some nets also give you a chance to pass formal traffic which is kind of a lost art but pretty fun once you get the hang of NTS format.

oh man i remember my first check-in i totally blanked on phonetics for like half a second and just said my callsign wrong letter by letter without the phonetics and the net control had to ask me to repeat too so you're not alone there. also there are special event stations that pop up throughout the year that are worth looking out for - like lighthouses on the air or museums on the air or the national parks on the air thing, those are a lot of fun because you get a nice QSL card sometimes and the contacts are just more interesting than a regular check-in. if you search for NPOTA or POTA that'll keep you busy for a while once you have HF going