I learned early on to use phonetics when giving my call sign. Our club has a 2 meter net and sometimes it's hard to distinguish KD8 from KC8 or KE8.Phonetics makes it so much easier. Another reason I like to use phonetics is that causes me to slow down. Many people say their call signs much faster than their normal speech which makes it hard to copy correctly. Since I started doing it, several other members of my club do it. Makes it easier for net control as well.
Etiquette varies depending on band at times. What goes on on 2m, 70cm SSB I have heard no where else, on the other hand the nets in the mornings on 80m often seem very relaxed. It doesn't hurt to listen for a bit and get the idea and it doesn't hurt to know somebody on the frequency when you key down to give you some confidence and answer any questions.
When I am answering a qrz in a contest or anything else, I answer phonetically. On the few SOTA activations that I have done I have always called cq phonetically. When checking into the local net on a repeater I give my callsign. I guess it is just dealer's choice!
Good video guys! I agree completely, as a rule, phonetics should not be used on the repeaters UNTIL it is obvious the other person is having trouble copying your call or during emergency drills. Calling CQ on the repeaters is another thing I hear from new HAM's instead of the tradition of giving your call followed buy 'Monitoring' or 'Listening'. There should not be any set rule for calling CQ on HF. For the most part the instructional examples given for calling CQ are just that, examples meant to be a basic guideline to follow. Back in 1992 I remember studying the "Now You're Talking" HAM radio license study book put out by 'Radio Shack'. I used it to study for my 5 WPM Novice and my Tech-Plus license and it discussed repeater etiquette and calling CQ on HF. Our new HAM's would likely follow these guidelines if only they were aware or reminded. 73!
"Calling CQ on the repeaters is another thing I hear from new HAM's" I advise new hams to beware of the Karens or Procedure Police. If you WANT to talk to someone, you need to declare it; and CQ is a great way to announce it. "AB1ABC monitoring" advises listeners that you are doing just that, "monitoring" and not particularly interested in a conversation. Some people don't even do that; just blurt out a callsign and I wonder if that is the callsign they are trying to reach, or their own. Since stations must identify eventually I concluded this odd behavior was sort of like a BEACON and did not indicate desire to talk.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Sorry, but your call plus "Monitoring" or "Listening" does indeed mean you are interested in a conversation. Otherwise, why would you need to announce that you are monitoring or listening? There are no FCC rules that dictate you need to announce you are monitoring or listening when that is all you are doing. Where are you getting your information? Are you old and experienced enough in HAM radio to be giving operating advice? I would advise you to study the ARRL protocol and etiquette for operating on VHF/UHF. If you did then you would know this. It doesn't make me or anyone else a 'Karen'. It's these guidelines that keep the ham bands organized, civil and sets them apart from the unruly channel 19 CB chaos.
@@KX4UL "Sorry, but your call plus Monitoring or Listening does indeed mean you are interested in a conversation." Nothing to be sorry about. It means what it SAYS. You are monitoring or listening. If someone wants to talk to you, and has been waiting for you to surface, now is your chance. I almost never engage someone that merely says he's listening or monitoring; or worse, simply announces callsign, a phenomenon that seems to have started only in the past year or two. Maybe he's just checking SWR, but when I do that, I announce my callsign and that I am checking SWR. No callback needed, it wasn't a CQ. "Otherwise, why would you need to announce that you are monitoring or listening?" It depends on the situation and your personality type. I'm an introverted geek; I would announce my listening IF there was someone else that I imagined was waiting to talk to me. But there isn't so I don't. Extraverts, on the other hand, announce themselves in many ways everywhere they go, on the assumption that vast throngs (or at least a couple of friends) want to talk to them. That's okay too, it is what they do. "There are no FCC rules that dictate you need to announce you are monitoring or listening when that is all you are doing." efficient A few nights ago, a new ham called CQ and I was on that in a hot minute. "Are you old and experienced enough in HAM radio to be giving operating advice?" I'm an Extra class, ARRL VE, that worked up from Novice with CW 5 words per minute. On the other hand, I don't eat sleep and breathe radio; I also have a full time job and a high maintenance significant other so I'm lucky to get on the weekly net. "It doesn't make me or anyone else a Karen." To properly be a Karen you must not only be protocol police, but be an asshole. You've been polite; thank you! "sets them apart from the unruly channel 19 CB chaos." Indeed. It is interesting to read the disrespect CB'ers have for :sad hams". That kind prefers noisy chaos and "16 pill" amplifiers. I find it amusing in a way they imagine POWER is everything, rather than skill, patience and protocol.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Your comments are considered with an open mind. Please know I too worked my way up from a 5 WPM Novice to an Extra class. I am 65 years old and have been a HAM for over 30 years now. Like it or not the protocol I mention is exactly the guidelines laid out by the ARRL and was taught in the 90's. I chose to abide by them. 73!
I always use phonetics on the HF bands, and on VHF when using simplex. Sometimes I will on repeaters, but not always. It just helps to cut down on confusion.
Good point on using phonetics when intelligibility could be poor. When you're checking in to a net on a repeater, it can be useful to use phonetics to slow things down enough that net control can have an opportunity to note your callsign. On V/UHF repeaters in the middle of an Australian state, a mixture of alphabetic & phonetic can be used eg V - K - 2 - Alpha - Alpha - Foxtrot. Everyone checking in to a NSW net is going to be a VK2 so that much is understood, no need to use Victor Kilo Number Two! Also, when a repeater net control is asking for check-ins or callbacks, there is a high likelihood for doubling. Stretching out your call with a phonetic suffix might get you heard over the collisions. Same theory when chasing a rare DXpedition or contest station on HF. Tailend the cacaphony. If you're the last station the DX op hears, you're most likely to be the one they call back. Just calling the DX with your suffix is often thought to be poor DX etiquette, though. Always use a full callsign when calling DX or contest stations.
@@HamRadioDX In that vein, please encourage your viewers to volunteer for net control whenever possible. In any ham radio club, the people who put their hand up for duties often get stuck with the task for YEARS without relief. Net control skills are vital in handling emergency traffic and you don't want to learn them in the cauldron!
I do think that comparing ham conventions with grocery talk is not reasonable. Ham talk is comparable to situations when one talks into a microphone and thousands can listen. The requirement for a code of conduct and structure, regulation is different. And this does not eliminate the fun. On the contrary, because all rules are meant to make it easy and relaxed for those who listen to you to hear and understand and get all the info with ease.
@@HamRadioDX spent some time in your country are some R&R 65-68. Had a ball didn't you alot of site seeing just a lot of Bitter beer.was stall working on the Opera house. Was in Tasmania for short while. More drinking. Was treated very happily when I was in Australia and Tasmania but when I got back to the States it was a different story and if you can see what the dates were I think you might be able to understand the conflict here in America 73 KQ4CD Paul ⚓✌
Etiquette does matter. When struggling to make a DX call, sticking to known and predictable patterns and phonetics increases the chance of a clear QSO. The people that make up their own phonetic alphabet, or don't give callsigns are just trouble and nothing but. Standards became so for a reason. Eroding them, erodes the reasons they came to be, and ultimately erodes amateur radio.
Standard phonetics helps a LOT. When you say "Mexico", are you identifying the letter "M" or your location? As to etiquette, some non-optimum behaviors have crept into local repeater groups, such as discouraging or ridiculing "CQ" on 2 meters. How else do you indicate you WISH to talk to someone? I have suggested to new hams that the way you'd start a conversation usually works on 2 meters; "This is AB1ABC and I would like to talk to someone." Or just CQ. Announcing you are "listening" is just that. Not a request for a conversation. It works okay for dozens of hams are just waiting for the Beautiful Person to announce his arrival.
dont much about this stuff, seems quite formal etiquette. but lets pretend i go for a bush run, want to contact my wife on a chosen frequency. can i just say hello Betty im ok, can you hear me. ?
I learned early on to use phonetics when giving my call sign. Our club has a 2 meter net and sometimes it's hard to distinguish KD8 from KC8 or KE8.Phonetics makes it so much easier. Another reason I like to use phonetics is that causes me to slow down. Many people say their call signs much faster than their normal speech which makes it hard to copy correctly. Since I started doing it, several other members of my club do it. Makes it easier for net control as well.
Etiquette varies depending on band at times. What goes on on 2m, 70cm SSB I have heard no where else, on the other hand the nets in the mornings on 80m often seem very relaxed.
It doesn't hurt to listen for a bit and get the idea and it doesn't hurt to know somebody on the frequency when you key down to give you some confidence and answer any questions.
Agree Paul, thanks for the comment 👍
I do enjoy Astro Leah calling CQ, definitely no mic fright there anymore. Cheers gents, KJ7FEE
We can learn a lot from Leah for sure! Thanks Max
Good thing I don't have the VK3BPV problem!
Great stuff, Hayden! Thanks for posting. 73 de VE3GKT
You have a good callsign Joseph. 73 mate 😀
Some very good information here for the new folks.
More please.
Thanks TNCT, we have more planned
When I am answering a qrz in a contest or anything else, I answer phonetically. On the few SOTA activations that I have done I have always called cq phonetically. When checking into the local net on a repeater I give my callsign. I guess it is just dealer's choice!
Sometimes it’s habit too I think
Good video guys! I agree completely, as a rule, phonetics should not be used on the repeaters UNTIL it is obvious the other person is having trouble copying your call or during emergency drills. Calling CQ on the repeaters is another thing I hear from new HAM's instead of the tradition of giving your call followed buy 'Monitoring' or 'Listening'. There should not be any set rule for calling CQ on HF. For the most part the instructional examples given for calling CQ are just that, examples meant to be a basic guideline to follow. Back in 1992 I remember studying the "Now You're Talking" HAM radio license study book put out by 'Radio Shack'. I used it to study for my 5 WPM Novice and my Tech-Plus license and it discussed repeater etiquette and calling CQ on HF. Our new HAM's would likely follow these guidelines if only they were aware or reminded. 73!
Thanks for the comment, very interesting indeed 👍
"Calling CQ on the repeaters is another thing I hear from new HAM's"
I advise new hams to beware of the Karens or Procedure Police. If you WANT to talk to someone, you need to declare it; and CQ is a great way to announce it. "AB1ABC monitoring" advises listeners that you are doing just that, "monitoring" and not particularly interested in a conversation. Some people don't even do that; just blurt out a callsign and I wonder if that is the callsign they are trying to reach, or their own. Since stations must identify eventually I concluded this odd behavior was sort of like a BEACON and did not indicate desire to talk.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Sorry, but your call plus "Monitoring" or "Listening" does indeed mean you are interested in a conversation. Otherwise, why would you need to announce that you are monitoring or listening? There are no FCC rules that dictate you need to announce you are monitoring or listening when that is all you are doing. Where are you getting your information? Are you old and experienced enough in HAM radio to be giving operating advice? I would advise you to study the ARRL protocol and etiquette for operating on VHF/UHF. If you did then you would know this. It doesn't make me or anyone else a 'Karen'. It's these guidelines that keep the ham bands organized, civil and sets them apart from the unruly channel 19 CB chaos.
@@KX4UL "Sorry, but your call plus Monitoring or Listening does indeed mean you are interested in a conversation."
Nothing to be sorry about. It means what it SAYS. You are monitoring or listening. If someone wants to talk to you, and has been waiting for you to surface, now is your chance.
I almost never engage someone that merely says he's listening or monitoring; or worse, simply announces callsign, a phenomenon that seems to have started only in the past year or two. Maybe he's just checking SWR, but when I do that, I announce my callsign and that I am checking SWR. No callback needed, it wasn't a CQ.
"Otherwise, why would you need to announce that you are monitoring or listening?"
It depends on the situation and your personality type. I'm an introverted geek; I would announce my listening IF there was someone else that I imagined was waiting to talk to me. But there isn't so I don't.
Extraverts, on the other hand, announce themselves in many ways everywhere they go, on the assumption that vast throngs (or at least a couple of friends) want to talk to them. That's okay too, it is what they do.
"There are no FCC rules that dictate you need to announce you are monitoring or listening when that is all you are doing."
efficient
A few nights ago, a new ham called CQ and I was on that in a hot minute.
"Are you old and experienced enough in HAM radio to be giving operating advice?"
I'm an Extra class, ARRL VE, that worked up from Novice with CW 5 words per minute. On the other hand, I don't eat sleep and breathe radio; I also have a full time job and a high maintenance significant other so I'm lucky to get on the weekly net.
"It doesn't make me or anyone else a Karen."
To properly be a Karen you must not only be protocol police, but be an asshole. You've been polite; thank you!
"sets them apart from the unruly channel 19 CB chaos."
Indeed. It is interesting to read the disrespect CB'ers have for :sad hams". That kind prefers noisy chaos and "16 pill" amplifiers. I find it amusing in a way they imagine POWER is everything, rather than skill, patience and protocol.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Your comments are considered with an open mind. Please know I too worked my way up from a 5 WPM Novice to an Extra class. I am 65 years old and have been a HAM for over 30 years now. Like it or not the protocol I mention is exactly the guidelines laid out by the ARRL and was taught in the 90's. I chose to abide by them. 73!
I always use phonetics on the HF bands, and on VHF when using simplex. Sometimes I will on repeaters, but not always. It just helps to cut down on confusion.
What if i transmit from another country? Would i modify my callsign?
I feel like these two blokes know what they are talking about.
Mmm at least one of them does and the other is KD9SSB
@@HamRadioDX Don't forget about the VK7HH guy, he's pretty sharp.
For German exams you learn to always use phonetics. And correct phonetics (NATO alphabet, Mike not Mexico, India not Italy etc.).
We have VK3TTT and VK3CCC on our local 2m repeater so I've got in the habit of using phonetics. Often I'm just "Triple Tango". Cheers, Tracy VK3TTT
10-4 20 Roger That Good Buddy Your Turn Key the Mic .....??
Good point on using phonetics when intelligibility could be poor. When you're checking in to a net on a repeater, it can be useful to use phonetics to slow things down enough that net control can have an opportunity to note your callsign.
On V/UHF repeaters in the middle of an Australian state, a mixture of alphabetic & phonetic can be used eg V - K - 2 - Alpha - Alpha - Foxtrot. Everyone checking in to a NSW net is going to be a VK2 so that much is understood, no need to use Victor Kilo Number Two!
Also, when a repeater net control is asking for check-ins or callbacks, there is a high likelihood for doubling. Stretching out your call with a phonetic suffix might get you heard over the collisions.
Same theory when chasing a rare DXpedition or contest station on HF. Tailend the cacaphony. If you're the last station the DX op hears, you're most likely to be the one they call back. Just calling the DX with your suffix is often thought to be poor DX etiquette, though. Always use a full callsign when calling DX or contest stations.
Thanks, great to hear your thoughts and you’re definitely right about repeating Victor Kilo 2 when you’re in that state on a repeater net 🤣
@@HamRadioDX In that vein, please encourage your viewers to volunteer for net control whenever possible. In any ham radio club, the people who put their hand up for duties often get stuck with the task for YEARS without relief.
Net control skills are vital in handling emergency traffic and you don't want to learn them in the cauldron!
Sometimes when I talk to my nurse on the phone when were done I have said, Ok...This is KO4HPC I'll Be qrt on your final. lol
I'm such a numpty.
I do think that comparing ham conventions with grocery talk is not reasonable. Ham talk is comparable to situations when one talks into a microphone and thousands can listen. The requirement for a code of conduct and structure, regulation is different. And this does not eliminate the fun. On the contrary, because all rules are meant to make it easy and relaxed for those who listen to you to hear and understand and get all the info with ease.
Oh please
To late it's now a glorified cb type class licence in Australia
I got down, bye bye bye.
🌍🇵🇱🍀👍👍👍
Kilo Queen 4 Charlie Delta how copy
Yeah Kilo Queen 4 Charlie Delta, you’re 5/9, this is Kilo Delta 9 Sugar Sugar Baby 😂
@@HamRadioDX spent some time in your country are some R&R 65-68. Had a ball didn't you alot of site seeing just a lot of Bitter beer.was stall working on the Opera house. Was in Tasmania for short while. More drinking. Was treated very happily when I was in Australia and Tasmania but when I got back to the States it was a different story and if you can see what the dates were I think you might be able to understand the conflict here in America
73 KQ4CD Paul ⚓✌
Good stuff mate, welcome back once the borders open, drop in for sure 👍
Etiquette does matter. When struggling to make a DX call, sticking to known and predictable patterns and phonetics increases the chance of a clear QSO. The people that make up their own phonetic alphabet, or don't give callsigns are just trouble and nothing but.
Standards became so for a reason. Eroding them, erodes the reasons they came to be, and ultimately erodes amateur radio.
Standard phonetics helps a LOT. When you say "Mexico", are you identifying the letter "M" or your location? As to etiquette, some non-optimum behaviors have crept into local repeater groups, such as discouraging or ridiculing "CQ" on 2 meters. How else do you indicate you WISH to talk to someone? I have suggested to new hams that the way you'd start a conversation usually works on 2 meters; "This is AB1ABC and I would like to talk to someone." Or just CQ. Announcing you are "listening" is just that. Not a request for a conversation. It works okay for dozens of hams are just waiting for the Beautiful Person to announce his arrival.
Boohoo
!♡♡♡
Thanks Aname 🤙
@@HamRadioDX I just love your videos :)
@@wild-radio7373 Thanks Aname you're too kind
LOL turn it off the old time nerd switch
dont much about this stuff, seems quite formal etiquette. but lets pretend i go for a bush run, want to contact my wife on a chosen frequency. can i just say hello Betty im ok, can you hear me. ?