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Tar Heel Emergency Net

Nightly 7:30 p.m. - 3923 kHz

(Alternate Frequency 7232 kHz**)


Status:STANDARD mode
Regular Session tonight at 7:30 p.m. on 3.932 MHz.
Breaking News: December 3, 2011

Be prepared for winter emergencies. Snow, ice, and even flooding can lead to communication emergencies during the coming months. Stay tuned to weather alerts. Keep backup power supplies at the ready.

With the coming of cold weather we have all noticed the changing band conditions during the regular Net sessions. Help the Net Control Station by using standard phonetics when you check in. Also, help by relay if you hear a station that NCS does not.

News Updates: September 1, 2011

Special thanks to those who served as Net Control Station during activation for Hurricane Irene!
WB4GUD, W4WNT, WK4P, WB4ZIQ, KG4GPJ, W4YBQ, W4AJT, ND4MR, N4IB, KG4OPM, K8SKX, KB8KFM, K4BNP, N4ZYE, KD4IMA.
And a very special thank you for all who served as relay for NCS, and those who listened for emergency traffic.

Net Protocol

See you all tonight at 7:30 pm for a regular session of the THEN. Remember to adhere to the Net Procedures. The Tar Heel Emergency Net is a directed net. This means that the Net Control Station is in charge. The Net will best serve all if basic ground rules are followed.

About the Tar Heel Emergency Net

The Tar Heel Emergency Net is a directed net and is the North Carolina HF ARES® net. ARES® is "Amateur Radio Emergency Service," and is part of the ARRL field organization. The purpose this net is to provide communications during emergencies, to provide training in all aspects of net operations, to serve as a forum for discussions and to foster fellowship among radio amateurs. All radio amateurs are invited to participate in the Tar Heel Emergency Net.

** The alternate frequency of 7232 is only used if the net is activated during the day and the band drops out. When this happens we may have to go plus or minus a few kHz to find a clear frequency.

The Tar Heel Emergency Net is one of the longest running nightly nets, meeting on the air since 1947! Although the frequency and some of the Ham terminology has changed over the years, the Tar Heel Emergency Net continues to provide training to amateurs who are "furnishing communication when and if the public has need of its services". And we still need to be mindful of good operating procedures. Enjoy this 1954 copy of the net rules provided from the library of Weldon, W4AJT.

Scan of cover of 1954 THEN rulebook1954 THEN Rules (pdf) -- Courtesy of Weldon, W4AJT

Net Control Stations (NCS)

Amateurs interested in being a Net Control Station for the Tar Heel Emergency Net (THEN), should contact T.H.E.N. Net Manager Mark Cantrell KD4IMA kd4ima@arrl.net. Remember, we are always looking for volunteers to serve as Net Control station when our regular NCS are absent. So step up and gain some valuable experience.
Current Net Control Stations
SundayKG4GPJ, Larry 
MondayN4TAB, TomARES® Night
TuesdayWB4GUD, HowardTraining Night
WednesdayK4BNP, Tommy 
ThursdayN2COP, BillSection Manager
FridayN4IB, Tim 
SaturdayKG4OPM, Marc 

Training

The topic of the Tuesday night training net on 4/5 was installation of Power Pole connectors. For a good description, refer to the following Wake County ARES® documentation:
ARES Power Connector

Tar Heel Emergency Net (THEN) Script

The THEN script is available for download in several formats:
MS Word format (.doc)
Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf)
Hyper Text Markup Language (.html)
Script for Monday Night ARES Session (.html)

Net Reports

Net Control Stations should send net reports to the Net Manager within a few days following the net and prior to the 4th day of any following month. Net reports can be sent as formal written traffic via the Tar Heel Emergency Net, as formal written traffic on any NTS net, or via email to Mark Cantrell, KD4IMA kd4ima@arrl.net.
Since the served agencies have adopted ICS - 213, traffic on the THEN is typically handled in the ICS - 213 format, although we still may pass traffic in traditional ARRL radiogram format.
See an example of a Net Report in ICS-213 format.
   word (.doc) format    pdf format
See an example of a Net Report in Radiogram format.
   word (.doc) format    pdf format

ITU Phonetic Alphabet

A AlfaN November
B BravoO Oscar
C CharlieP Papa
D DeltaQ Quebec
E EchoR Romeo
F FoxtrotS Sierra
G GolfT Tango
H HotelU Uniform
I IndiaV Victor
J JulietW Whiskey
K KiloX X-ray
L LimaY Yankee
M MikeZ Zulu

Please direct any additions or corrections to this page to Mark Cantrell, KD4IMA kd4ima@arrl.net.
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Dec 3, 2011