It couldn't be easier  ...   just do as you're told.

 

 

All must accept that  discipline is warranted
and appropriate in emergency circumstances, get used to it.

 

Emergency practice nets are supposed to be taken seriously and are highly-structured exercises in preparation for providing formal, succinct traffic handling to a professional standard in the event of an emergency.   They are not a platform for moronic ego-trippers to display their chaotic ignorance.   

To ensure traffic and practice nets run smoothly, the rules are clearly stated by the Net Control Station during the introduction to every exercise.   Checking-in to such nets deems you have accepted the rules in totality and are entering into a formal contract to comply with all commands from the Net Control Station. 

 

1.    LISTEN to the instructions issued by the NCS in his opening
       statement, then OBEY those instructions to the letter.   


a)    When asked to use the NATO phonetic alphabet when announcing your callsign, the NCS is referring
       only to the suffix.   Phoneticizing the country prefix is both unnecessary and a waste of time.   

b)    If you want to be taken seriously, give out ONLY the data requested by the NCS,  in exactly the stipulated order,   

c)    Do not add any other material, technical or otherwise, unless specifically requested.

  

 

2.    DO NOT check-in to an emergency practice net if any of your station equipment
       is connected to mains electricity.    
 

Some nets are designed to emulate realistic situations for practice in anticipation of a major emergency such as when the national electricity supply has failed and may continue to be unavailable for several days.  Economy with words and cautious use of back-up power is the answer to seeing the whole event through.

Communication during the net, whether with the NCS or while relaying for another station, must be conducted using only a back-up power source (in any of its many forms).   

The NCS does not need to know how you're doing it,  just do it   ...  otherwise you are clearly not taking the net seriously.  Back up power is the DEFAULT.  

Only the really stupid, and believe it or not there are a few,  run their equipment on mains electricity then proudly announce to the whole net without shame or apology their blatant flouting of the 'NO MAINS' rule.   

Such egregious behaviour beggars belief.   

 

Be advised, your behaviour during emergency-net exercises will provide the Net Control Station and observers with a very good indication of:

1.   Your level of self discipline,   respect for the NCS and net protocols;

2.   How you are most likely to respond to instructions in a real emergency;

3.   Whether you have a potentially-damaging laissez-faire attitude, or are more likely to
      become a valued member of the team.  

4.  To demonstrate your practical value as a team member, you will need to follow all
      instructions from the NCS without question or demur.

5.  Take responsibility for every part of your transmissions and accept all opportunities
      to participate in traffic handling.   

 

The observations and comments here may not be to everyone's liking.   Well tough, the truth is rarely a welcome visitor in these days of universal entitlement, woke sensitivities and inflated egos.   Observations and comments are entirely the work of this webmaster, but based upon the intention of less-explicitly described rules elsewhere, then paraphrased and expanded to make their importance much clearer.
 

The wording is quite deliberate and reiterates the rules for those who have repeatedly shown an innate inability to understand plain English.      Obedience is very important!  In a real emergency, communications must be conducted efficiently rather than in an unstructured, confused manner   -  lives may well depend upon the radio operator's ability to follow instructions.   

Our hobby is often referred to colloquially as 'CB', and although such denigration is often well-deserved since standards have been allowed to drop so incredibly low, that does not mean some of us should not conduct our operations in the professional and qualified manner of a real Amateur Radio operator. 
The amateur radio scene in New Zealand doesn't have to be a load of chaotic rubbish as some people seem determined to make it appear.

 


No apologies for restating:  

If you don't like the rules then please don't waste everyone's time by checking-in.
Any down-to-earth emergency net held for traffic handling practice, education and up-skilling to achieve professional efficiency, must have rules and stick to them.

 

 

All must accept that  discipline is warranted
and appropriate in emergency circumstances, get used to it.