Operator-to-operator messages are messages where the radio operators are both the authors and recipients of the message. Using the terms defined above, the Message Author is the same person as the Origin Station, and the Destination Station is the same person as the Message Recipient.

Examples of operator-to-operator messages are:

  • Check-in and check-out messages

  • Health & welfare checks

  • Status reports (such as crowd counts, water level reports, traffic reports, etc.)

  • Damage assessments (such as Mike-Mike reports, windshield surveys, etc.)

Note that the destination station may forward the information to someone else, like an event or incident official, after some summarization and analysis. But the key point is that the person who authors the messages and the person for which the message it destined is a radio operator.

Because the creator and consumer of the message are both radio operators, the operators have some freedom to define what the format should be and how it should be sent. In a directed net, the net control often specifies how the net will operate. In an open net, the two individual operators may decide how best to handle the message. This is quite different from passing messages on behalf of a third party.