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Section 7
Operating practices and procedures





Good operating practices and procedures



7A1 Understand why one should listen on a frequency before calling and then ask if the frequency is in use


It is often said that the first rule of operating amateur radio is to listen, the second rule is to listen and the third rule is to listen again! It is important to check that the frequency that you are about to talk on is free - i.e. that no-one else is currently talking on it. That may seem obvious, but when you consider that there may be a conversation taking place between 2 people - one of which you can hear ( and can therefore hear you! ) , and one of which you can't - how do you know if it's free?

Well, the first rule is to listen to see if there is anyone already using this frequency. Sometimes you can easily hear a station talking and you know that the frequency is in use. Sometimes you may not hear anything, but remember this only means that may be you can't hear them - not that someone else can't.

Consider this simple example - two people are talking on the radio ( in a QSO ) - one in London and one in Oxford ( North West of London ). They have been talking about the hobby and the person in Oxford is now talking. You are in Canterbury ( South East of London ) and listen on the frequency - and hear nothing - that is because you can't hear the person in Oxford. If you were to start using this frequency the person in London would be able to hear you and it would disturb his conversation.

So how do you avoid this - again if you were to listen for long enough you would finally hear the person in London respond and start talking and know that the frequency was in use. The answer is that after you have listened for a while and heard nothing, that you politely and simply ask "Is this frequency in use please, this is G7BRC asking" - or similar words and using your own callsign. Please remember to keep this call short and to the point as you may be interrupting another conversation, and to include your callsign as after all you are now transmitting. If the frequency is clear you will hear nothing - if it is in use you may hear something like "This frequency is in use" or "Please QSY, frequency is in use" come back to you. Do not respond ( you don't want to interrupt their conversation again ! ) but move onto another frequency and try again.

7A2 Recall how to make a CQ call in SSB and FM modes.

Radio amateurs use a code of abbreviations that stem back to when most conversations were held over Morse code - and these abbreviations were used to shorten the amount of letters that had to be sent as part of a message. A lot of these are still in use today. The first of these that you will use is "CQ". CQ is the call that radio amateurs use to invite other amateurs to have a conversation ( or QSO ).

How you call CQ depends on which frequency and / or mode you are using.

In a nut shell when there is a calling channel such as on 2m FM the CQ call can be much shorter than for that used on SSB on HF where the station needs time to tune into your signal or even for that matter on the SSB calling channel on 2m where again your signal would need to be carefully tuned into by the receiving station. On VHF, when we use the FM mode, we have defined "channels" that we use. This means that I don't have to search for anyone calling all through the frequency range - i.e. I can just search the defined channels. This makes finding someone calling CQ very quick and easy. In fact there is even a standard calling frequency on certain bands ( such as 145.500MHz FM on the 2m band ) that you use to call CQ. This is a shared frequency that is used by all radio amateurs, so you do not need to ask if the frequency is in use before using this calling frequency. If you were not using the standard calling frequency you would be expected to check if the frequency is in use before calling CQ. You also should not call CQ when someone else is talking ( such as calling CQ themselves ) on the calling channel.

As it is so easy to find someone calling CQ when using these defined channels. You do not need to make your CQ call very long. If someone wants to respond to you, they can find you and respond very quickly.

On FM therefore, your CQ call may sound like this:

"CQ, CQ, CQ, This is G7BRC, G7BRC calling CQ and standing by for any contact"

You have called CQ, given your callsign ( in this case twice in case anybody didn't get it first time ) and stated that you were looking for anyone to have a conversation with. Do not speak too quickly. You know your callsign but if you say your callsign quickly those listening may not hear it clearly and decide not to give you a call. Use the proper Phonetic alphabet of the letters Golf Seven Bravo Romeo Charlie.

If you get no response after a short period you may try calling again. However do leave a reasonable gap for someone to respond to you, and also so that someone else can also come in and put a call out ( they may be calling for a certain individual rather than an all stations call such as CQ ). Remember you are sharing the calling frequency on the FM modes. If after 2 or 3 attempts no one has responded, either move to a different band / mode and try again, or leave it for a while. You will not get anyone responding to you just because you keep calling, in fact it may put people off talking to you!

Once you have made a contact on the calling frequency you must move off that calling frequency so that other may use it. This is described in more detail below.

You may also call for a specific person rather than call CQ ( which by definition means a call to all amateurs ) by giving their callsign in place of the CQ call. For example if G7BRC wanted to call G0BRC on VHF the call would be:

"G0BRC, G0BRC, this is G7BRC, G7BRC calling for you". This would indicate to other amateurs that you were only interested in hearing from G0BRC.

On the HF bands, there are no defined channels and people are free to hold conversations anywhere within the agreed ranges specified on the band plan. This also means that there is seldom an agreed calling channel that you can use to make a call ( although for some modes of operation such as SSTV / low power operations etc there are calling frequencies defined and agreed upon ).

As there is no one place to tune to in order to look for someone calling CQ, radio amateurs scan ( or search ) through the frequency band trying to find someone who is calling CQ so that they may respond. As this searching can take a long time ( the bands are quite large so you have a lot of frequencies to search ) and tuning to the exact frequency is slow ( as you will find out, tuning accurately to a SSB signal takes some practice ) you are expected to make your SSB CQ calls longer to give someone time to find you.


A good rule of thumb when calling CQ is the "three times three" rule. This means that you call CQ three times, give your callsign three times, then repeat the whole procedure three times. Your CQ on HF may therefore be like this:

"CQ CQ CQ, this is G0BRC, G0BRC, G0BRC calling CQ.

CQ CQ CQ, this is G0BRC, G0BRC, G0BRC calling CQ

CQ CQ CQ, this is G0BRC, G0BRC, G0BRC calling CQ and standing by for any contact."

Remember that you should have checked to make sure the frequency was free before calling CQ!

If anyone has tuned into your signal and wants to respond they can do so now. If after a few seconds have passed by no-one has responded then you are free to call CQ again. This is a balance between giving other amateurs a chance to respond, and waiting too long so that anyone who is searching through the frequency misses you because you are not transmitting. In this case, 3 or 4 seconds is enough time to wait before calling CQ again. You may repeat this as many times as you wish while waiting for a response.

If / once you get a contact, you do not need to change frequency on the HF bands. You are said to "for the time you are there to own" the frequency if you first checked it was clear and made the CQ call. The frequency is yours until you choose to give it up.

7A3 Understand the need to move off the calling channel when on VHF/UHF once contact is established.

What is the Calling channel? If you look on the band plan for the 145MHz (2m) if you look at the frequency 145.500 against it you will see V40 and FM calling channel. The V40 means channel 40 and the calling channel means that is where you tune your rig onto so that you can listen to the calling channel for stations or where you call CQ your self.

As described above, the VHF and UHF calling channels are shared between all radio amateur users. This means that if you were to make a contact on the calling frequency and stay on that frequency whilst holding a conversation, you would be stopping other users from calling on that channel. It is therefore necessary to move to a clear frequency once contact has been established with another radio amateur so that you can continue the conversation without interfering with other users.

You will most likely come across codes used by radio amateurs, namely QSY. QSY means to change frequency or channel.

This is the point where many new radio amateurs think is complicated - but it's not! Just remember that all you want to do is find somewhere quiet (i.e. a free channel) to continue your conversation. If you look at the mock conversation below, we have highlighted the steps that you may take the move to a clear channel.

a) You call out asking if anyone wants a conversation:

"CQ CQ CQ This is G7BRC, G7BRC calling CQ and standing by for any contact"

b) Another radio amateur responds:

"G7BRC this is G0BRC returning to you over"

c) You would acknowledge the response and ask the other radio amateur to wait while you find a clear channel:

"G0BRC this is G7BRC, thank you for coming back to my call. If you would like to wait here I will go and find us a clear frequency, G0BRC from G7BRC"

d) The other station will probably just wait for you to go and find a free frequency or may quickly respond to say that they will wait for you.

e) You now need to change channel and try and find a clear frequency. For instance you may change channel to 145.450MHz (which is 2 channels below the calling frequency) and listen to see if it appears free. If it is you would put out a call to make sure that the frequency is clear:

"Is this frequency in use please, this is G7BRC asking". If nothing is heard you would change channel back to the calling channel - if someone responded on this new channel you would change frequency again and go through the same procedure of listening and asking to ensure the frequency is clear.

f) Once you have found a clear frequency you change back to the calling channel, and making sure that no-one else is speaking you would say:

"G0BRC this is G7BRC, please QSY to one four five decimal four five zero, over"

Note that it is common practice to say "decimal" rather than point - for example 145.450 is said as "One Four Five Decimal Four Five Zero".

Also it is just as valid to say:

"G0BRC this is G7BRC please change frequency to one four five decimal four five zero, over" - you don't have to say "QSY" if you don't want to.

g) The other station is likely to confirm this change of frequency :

"G7BRC, G0BRC, roger QSY one four five decimal four five zero "

h) You then change to 145.450MHz - the frequency you found was clear, and ask again if the frequency is still clear:

"Is this frequency in use please, this is G7BRC asking" - remember you have been away from this channel for a couple of seconds and someone else may now be using it. If it is busy it's best to ask the other station (we use station to mean a licensed radio amateur) to go back to the calling frequency and trying to find another free channel.

g) It is good practice for the station you are now in conversation with to also ask if the frequency is clear as they may be able to hear other users that you can't. Be aware that some of licensed amateurs (even those that have been licensed for many years) forget to do this! So they should call:

"Is this frequency in use please, this is G0BRC asking".

If you are both sure that the frequency is clear, you can start your conversation for real. As with any conversation there are no strict rules that say what you should say, but most amateurs like to exchange signal reports ( which we'll come on to shortly ) and some personal information, such as your name and location.

EXTRA for VHF and UHF channelised operation

In a discussion with another amateur, who had been licensed for a long time, remembers that years ago that you were taught:-

    find a clear frequency first by going through the above procedure and

    then call CQ as indicated above

    when you gained a response you would have been able to tell the other amateur to QSY to what ever frequency you had found was clear earlier and

    make one final check before starting your QSO.

EXTRA GENERAL

Please be aware that you should not give out too much personal information, as you do not know who is listening to the conversation. In particular you should not give out your surname ( as they may be able to use this to find where you live ), your address, your age ( especially if you are under 18! ) or any information that may be used against you. For example don't tell anyone that you are going out for the evening and leaving the house empty, or going on holiday. Again, remember you never know who is listening to your conversation! Don't let this put you off amateur radio, as there is still much fun to be had and lots of new friendships to start.

Whilst for the exam point of view from the licence section the Period of communication = the whole QSO for good operating practise Period of communication = each over.

From the point of view of "good operating practise" it is considered wise to adopt the use of giving your callsign at the beginning and end of every over unless the over is very short.

Understand the meaning of Centre of Activity.

In the band plans there is a frequency 144.300MHz which is labelled
“SSB Centre of Activity” and this is the SSB calling frequency where you can call CQ for an SSB contact. and then move off the frequency as described earlier.

432.200MHz is also labelled in the band plan as “SSB Centre of Activity” for a similar reason

This is certainly something which is tucked away in the band plans and if you have not printed them off and had a good look through to obtain what is called "a working knowledge" then you could easily not know where to look to find and answer.

7A4 Recall the phonetic alphabet.


ITU PHONETIC ALPHABET:

A

alfa

H

hotel

O

oscar

V

victor

B

bravo

I

india

P

papa

W

whiskey

C

charlie

J

juliet

Q

quebec

X

x-ray

D

delta

K

kilo

R

romeo

Y

yankee

E

echo

L

lima

S

sierra

Z

zulu

F

foxtrot

M

mike

T

tango

G

golf

N

november

U

uniform

The Numbers

0

zero

1

one

2

two

3

three

4

four

5

five

6

six

7

seven

8

eight

9

nine



DECIMAL POINT..

decimal

FULL STOP

stop

The sort of question in the exam could be :-

Q. Using the phonetic alphabet spell "radio"

Answer Romeo Alfa Delta India Oscar.




7A5 Understand the advisability and common practice of keeping a log.

Keeping a log of your contacts and more importantly your tests made to comply with your licence is the correct thing to do but in recent years has fallen out of favour with many. But then log book does not need to be a paper one you write out but can now be kept on computer and even of web sites such as QRZ.com.

Understand why UTC is used for logging time.

UTC is the abbreviation of what is called Coordinated Universal Time is the basis for world wide civil time today. It is a 24-hour time standard which is achieved around the world using highly precise atomic clocks combined with the Earth's rotation.

So it is used in log keeping as that is the time you would log a contact and the person you contacted would log the exact same time.

UTC is not local time and local time varies around the world.

Recall that a log should detail the following information: date, time, mode, call sign of station worked for QSL and contest purposes.

In a log book where ever kept, should detail the following information: date, time in UTC , the mode you operated USB LSB, RTTY, FT8, or any one of many others modes of operating, The call sign of station worked for QSL details, and if working a contest what was the contest purposes.

7A6 Understand that the transmission of music and the use of offensive or threatening language whilst on the air are unacceptable in amateur radio.

Note it says here UNDERSTAND. Then read again the text in green and it is self explanatory. Amateur radio is a hobby and not a soap box for you to act out your stage skills or lack of them, so do consider what you say over the air. Using offensive or threatening language on the air will not be tolerated by other amateurs and the authorities who govern the air waves ( OFCOM ) could have cause take action with regards to your operating.

Understand how to respond to music or inappropriate language overheard or received from other stations

You are not the policeman or policewoman of the air ways so the best response is NONE. Say nothing and do nothing to make the situation. If you feel so inclined shut down your station and do something else. The person using the inappropriate language will not know why you have gone QRT and without reply is left just talking to themselves which as you will have learned elsewhere is broadcasting and not permitted unless calling CQ.




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The origin of some of the text on this page is from the RSGB with additions by the web master