One of my favorite uses of AI for Ham Radio is using it to help me come up with questions for the Weekly Repeater Net. Our weekly repeater net uses a chat net format – the Net Control asks a question and each checked in station gets a chance to answer the questions.
I have been in the Net Control Rotation for several years and it is getting more difficult to come up with fresh questions for an engaging discussion on the net.
Lately, I have been getting my questions from AI. For this week’s net I used the following prompt to get ChatGPT to provide some questions: “Fred, AB1OC is the net control for tonight’s Nashua Area Radio Society repeater net. Please suggest some questions that he can ask on tonight’s chat format net.”
Here is what ChatGPT generated for me:
Here are fresh, timely, fun, and ham-radio-relevant chat-format questions Fred (AB1OC) can use for tonight’s Nashua Area Radio Society repeater net. I’ve mixed in seasonal topics, technical ones, Winter Field Day tie-ins, and light conversation starters that work well on a repeater.
📡 Chat Net Questions for Tonight’s Repeater Net
🔧 Ham-Radio / Technical Questions
- What is one piece of ham gear you plan to upgrade or add in 2026?
- What mode did you use most in 2025—FM, HF SSB, CW, FT8, DMR, or something else?
- What antenna have you been the most happy with this year—and why?
- What is your favorite local repeater to monitor besides N1IMO/N1IMN?
- What radio accessory under $50 do you think is most useful? (Cables, mics, filters, tools…)
- If you could add one feature to your current HF radio, what would it be?
- Which band do you plan to operate more in 2026—6m, 10m, 160m, or VHF/UHF?
- What’s your favorite mobile or portable antenna you’ve used?
📡 Operating & Events
- Will you be joining Winter Field Day at AB1OC/AB1QB on Jan 24–25, and what band/mode would you like to operate?
- What operating achievement are you most proud of this year? (A contest, DX, POTA, SOTA, new mode…)
- What’s one ham-radio skill you’d like to improve in 2026?
- What’s your favorite POTA or portable location you operated from in 2025?
- Have you ever tried digital voice modes (DMR, C4FM, D-Star)? What was your experience?
🛠 Shack & Projects
- Do you have a winter ham-radio project planned for home or the shack?
- What’s the most useful tool on your ham bench?
- Have you built or repaired anything ham-related recently?
- If you could reorganize one part of your shack, what would it be?
🌐 Fun / Light Questions
- If you could operate from any DX location for a week, where would you pick?
- What’s your favorite ham-radio-related YouTube channel?
- What’s the best radio-related gift you’ve ever received (or given)?
- If you could design your own callsign (other than the one you have), what would it be?
- What’s the most unusual contact you made this year? (Location, mode, band, or story)
🎄 Seasonal / Holiday Themed
- Do you operate any holiday-season special events or callsigns?
- Are you planning any ham-radio gifts for someone—or hoping to receive one?
- Do you operate more, less, or about the same during the holiday season?
- If Santa delivered one piece of ham gear to your shack, what would you ask for?
If you would like to be a net control for our repeater net, but have a hard time thinking of a good question, try using AI, or use one of the questions above.
