so i got my technician license about three weeks ago and ive been mostly just listening on my local repeater. someone at my club mentioned there are scheduled nets where you check in and talk to people and i looked it up and found like a dozen different ones just on 2 meters alone. i tried checking into one last tuesday i think it was the local ARES net and i just keyed up and said my callsign but i dont think anyone heard me or maybe i did it wrong? the net control just kept calling for more check-ins and i tried twice more and gave up.

also saw something about special event stations and W1AW and stuff like that - is that a totally different thing or connected somehow? just trying to figure out how any of this actually works, nobody really explained the process at the club meeting i went to

Welcome to the hobby, and don't get discouraged - that exact thing happens to a lot of new folks. The timing on nets can be tricky. Usually when net control finishes a sentence and says something like "any additional check-ins" or pauses, that's your window. You key up, give your call once clearly, then unkey and wait. If the repeater has any kind of access tone (CTCSS/PL tone) you need to make sure your radio is set to transmit it or you literally won't get into the machine at all - that might have been your issue if the net control never acknowledged you even once.

Try calling your local club and asking if anyone will do a simplex radio check with you first just so you know your signal is getting out. Once you confirm the radio is working you'll feel a lot more confident jumping into a net.

And yeah special event stations are a separate thing entirely - those are one-time or annual events where a group operates under a special callsign, usually to commemorate something. W1AW is the ARRL's own station and they do scheduled on-air operations that are kind of like a net but really it's more about getting a contact with them. Fun to chase but not really beginner-critical stuff, you've got time for all that.

im pretty new too, only been licensed since january, but i had the same confusion when i started. what helped me was just listening to the whole net a couple times before even trying to check in. like really listening to how other people do it, how net control phrases things, when they pause. after i did that a few times it clicked and my first actual successful check-in felt great.

also some nets are super busy and if youre running low power or your antenna isnt great it can be hard to break through. my first handheld was almost useless into the repeater from my house until i put up even a simple j-pole outside. made a huge difference.