Learn · 5 of 7 · 2 min

Clubs and nets

Why the hobby runs on clubs, what a net is, and how a club uses QSO App.

Clubs

A club is where a newcomer finds a mentor ("Elmer"), a repeater to use, an exam session and someone to lend a radio. Most clubs are small volunteer non-profits with a president, a treasurer and a trustee for the repeater. They hold a monthly meeting, a weekly net and a field day, and they run on whatever software a member set up years ago.

Nets

A net is a scheduled on-air meeting on a repeater or a frequency. A net control operator opens it, takes check-ins (each station gives its callsign and says whether it has traffic, meaning a message to pass), runs the business, and closes with a count. Nets are how a club knows who is around, how emergency groups drill, and the easiest first contact there is: you only have to say your callsign when asked.

What QSO App gives a club

• A club page with the nets on it. When net control opens a net, members can check in from the phone; net control confirms the ones they hear on the air; the summary is posted when it closes.
• Roster with roles (member, officer, trustee, net control, instructor), licence class and expiry pulled from the public record, and who is lapsing.
• Dues recorded by the treasurer, with each member seeing "paid through". No online payments; nothing is sold here.
• Events with RSVP and attendance, elections with a ballot, equipment check-out, skills and certifications with expiry reminders, a treasury book, mail to the members.
• Exports for NetLogger and ARES Connect, an ICS-213 form for drills, reminders by mail and phone the day before each net.

How to start one here

Any operator verified at level 1 can create a club on the Clubs page, add its nets and repeater, and invite members. Officers can import an existing roster so members are approved the moment they join.

← The sites and tools people use, and whyLicences, callsigns and "Sign in with callsign" →