Nets.

This month's traffic training topic is networks.  Nets mean many things to each of us.  To some, it is a weekly rag chew with locals.  To others it is a place to pick up and relay formal traffic. To others it is a place to check in to relay weather information or to train and drill as a local ARES team member.

So what exactly are nets to ARES and what do they have in common or what sets them apart? And how does ARES fit in to the ARRL net structure.?

First of all, lets see what is common:

• They all have some kind of net control station and two or more nodes.  Even informal nets need someone to get things started and see who is on the air.
• They usually have some agreed to frequency, hardware protocol, and emission mode.
• In this context, all operate on amateur frequencies IAW part 97 rules and regulations except hard wired LANS, WANS, or FRS radios we might use to tie our EMCOMM stations together to leverage the capability of ham operations.
• Most nets have a designated time and date although some are ad hoc triggered by a specific event. Some automatic mode nets are continuous.
• They usually have a net manager, a prescribed protocol,  and a set of procedures to follow to make the net run smoother.
• They all have a purpose although they can be vastly different in that regard.
• ABOVE ALL -- THEY PROVIDE A SYNERGY OF OPERATIONS THAT CAN NOT BE OBTAINED BY STATIONS OPERATING INDEPENDENTLY OR IN A POINT TO POINT MODE.

What is different:

•   Mode of operation - Nets currently operate in many  modes, CW,  VHF Packet BBS , PACTOR , RTTY, SMTP email like (i.e. Winlink 2000) , SSB  and    FM Phone.
•     Area of Coverage - hard wired ethernets, wide area network, local, county, district, section, regional, area, CONUS, WWW  nets abound.
•     Formality and Purpose:

              

  Informal Nets   Rag chew - Some nets have no purpose other than rag chewing with a group of friends.   Special Interest - Some nets are organized around special interests within or outside of ham radio. Formal Nets Traffic Nets - Nets managed by the National Traffic System ( NTS) with a sole  objective to pass 3rd party traffic. These can range from local VHF     nets to   Continental US wide nets.  Usually nets above ARRL section level have assigned gateway and liaison stations to prevent onfusion in routing traffic. Emergency Nets ( ARES and RACES)   Local EC managed level nets  ARE NOT A PART OF NTS at this time.---- ARES nets can be formal or tactical  -- Usually one or more local ARES stations are assigned as liaison to NTS to move health and welfare BUT NOT EMERGENCY traffic in times of emergency.  Recent trends have been for ARES to move most of their traffic within ARES channels ( although you will never see that admitted to by the ARRL). The most recent move in that direction is the establishment of  more and more Winlink 2000 nodes dedicated to ARES traffic handling. Going to an e-mail based paradigm will be quite a shift to all of us.  It IS more than just a change in DIGITAL mode. It represents a complete new look at what a network really is and will require a lot of training and adaptation by both local ARES members and our served agencies as we transition into that realm.

           *    

                *     

The past is valuable to lean from, but the agencies we serve today are  not satisfied with telegram type messages or voice relays when their old reliable email system is down.

As ARES members, we need to move on to the 21st century and leverage our unique capabilities to provide the glue to extend a working WWW structure into EMMCOM sites and emergency operation centers when needed.

W8UL, our DEC is one of the active hams in Ohio helping to establish a viable last mile WINLINK 2000 network for our agencies.

                    All ARES members should attend the program on WINLINK 2000 he is going to present at an upcoming NARA meeting.

This figure shows the ARRL NTS network structure.