TIPS FOR AMATEUR RADIO OPERATION
The following is collection of recommended operating procedures for the use radio frequencies within the Amateur Radio Service. The majority of these recommendations are not required by law and operators are not required to abide by them.
Some operators may choose to ignore all, or some of these recommendations. This would be a mistake as these procedures and recommendations are the result of years of practical experience by thousands of operators. Procedures like these are one of the main reasons for the long standing respect afforded to Amateur Operators throughout the world and have served as an effective means to avoid or reduce many of the conflicts that have plagued other radio services rending them virtually unusable.
Operators who choose not to follow these recommendations will greatly limit their enjoyment of the hobby and their access to the vast knowledge and support afforded through the Amateur Radio Community.
CODE OF ETHICS:
The Amateur Radio Community has developed a code of ethics and behavior which has been highly instrumental in providing amateurs with an orderly and dependable means of communication for both the casual chatter and the technocrat. Unlike other radio services, amateur radio has managed to maintain relatively clean, clear orderly communications with a minimal amount of interference to or from other stations.
In order for all operators to continue to enjoy the benefits of these well maintained frequencies every operator is encouraged to follow this un-written code which can be best summed up in the words: "If it is not courteous then it should not be said, or done using Amateur Radio".
A thoughtful amateur will never engage in petty arguments or be-rate another operator on the air. If you feel that it is necessary to do so, you should meet with, or telephone the person. (Never use the radio)
Although the prohibitions regarding the use of Profane or offensive language have been removed from the regulations, these practices are unlikely to be tolerated by other amateurs and will not aid in increasing your popularity within the Amateur Radio Community. Amateur Radio is intended to provide open communications where persons of any age can participate without having to worry about ignorant, offensive or obnoxious behaviors.
Amateur radio is NOT a replacement for the "Citizen's Band/General Radio Service." It is not intended for use by the general public but is restricted to those individuals who have attained a degree of understanding regarding the theory and operation of a radio station.
Amateur Radio is in a category by itself and has enjoyed the respect of the international community for decades. This respect is one the reasons for amateurs having maintained access to a large amount of frequencies and privileges that have been afforded to the Amateur Radio Service.
BAND PLANS:
The Radio Amateurs of Canada, the American Radio Relay League and the international community have formulated a series of voluntary band plans for the use frequencies allocated to the Amateur Radio Service. There is a band plan for nearly every frequency band.
The band plans are designed to avoid unnecessary conflict between the many operators sharing the bands. These plans are not mandatory but are generally recognized and followed by Amateur Radio Community on a voluntary basis. These plans are very effective in promoting courteous operations and in reducing conflicts between the use of the various modes of transmission employed within the Amateur Radio Service.
These plans are the result of years of experience and experimentation by the Amateur Community. In areas where there is little or no traffic of the types of emissions designated for a portion of a band it is perfectly reasonable to use these areas for other modes, however; if a conflict should arise with another station using the preferred mode, a courteous operator will usually yield the frequency to that station when other frequencies are easily available.
SIMPLEX VS. DUPLEX
The two most common modes of operation in the VHF/UHF frequency bands are SIMPLEX and DUPLEX. In a SIMPLEX transmission, the transceiver transmits and receives using the same frequency. In a DUPLEX operation, the transceiver transmits on one frequency and receives on a different frequency.
There two modes of DUPLEX used, one is “FULL-DUPLEX”(used in the operation of automatic repeaters), where the transceiver both transmits and receives at the same time (listening on one frequency while simultaneously transmitting on another.) The second mode is “HALF-DUPLEX” (usually used by the station accessing a repeater), where the transceiver transmits on the input/receive frequency of the repeater, and receives on a different, or output frequency of the repeater.
REPEATERS:
Automatic Repeaters usually operate as FULL-DUPLEX stations.
The “OUTPUT”(TX) frequency of a repeater is the frequency on which the repeater "re-transmits" the signal that is being received on the “INPUT”(RX)frequency of the repeater (FULL-DUPLEX). The transceiver accessing/using the repeater is tuned to receive on the OUTPUT frequency of the repeater and to transmit on the INPUT frequency of the repeater (HALF DUPLEX).
If you operate SIMPLEX on the repeater “OUTPUT” frequency, your signal will only be heard by stations that are monitoring the repeater and located within the range of your transceiver. This will also in turn cause interference with the reception of any transmissions made by the repeater.
The “INPUT” frequency of a repeater is the frequency on which the repeater "listens" for signals that will be re-transmitted on the repeater “OUTPUT” frequency. Operating "simplex" on the repeater's INPUT frequency will also cause interference to a repeater system. Your "simplex" signal will be received by the repeater and automatically be re-transmitted on the repeater "OUTPUT" frequency where it will be heard by all stations monitoring the repeater.
Stations with the range of the repeater will be able to hear your signal through the repeater, but you will only hear stations (using the repeater)that are located within the simplex range of your receiver.
You should NEVER operate SIMPLEX on either the "OUTPUT" or “INPUT” frequency of a REPEATER.
ADJACENT CHANNEL OPERATIONS
The use of simplex frequencies that are adjacent or next)to the “INPUT” or “OUTPUT” frequencies of repeaters or other commonly used SIMPLEX working frequencies is not recommended due to the possibility of interfering with the operation of the repeater or the use of the popular simplex frequencies by other stations.
A list of local repeater and simplex frequencies is appended to assist in avoiding frequencies that may interfere with the use of these frequencies.
Common Communication Protocols:
"BREAKING INTO A CONVERSATION"
The term "BREAK" should never be used in VHF operations except in the case of an emergency, in order to gain control of a frequency. The normal procedure to enter a conversation that is in progress is to transmit your call sign once between transmissions and wait for acknowledgment. A station that is monitoring the frequency, (and that is not involved in the conversation) should “NEVER” give acknowledgment to a station seeking to enter the conversation.
MONITORING:
Some operators like to announce their presence on a frequency to other operators who may have been looking for them, or may wish to communicate with them. The common procedure for this is to transmit your call-sign followed immediately by the word "Monitoring". Stations wishing to contact you will then initiate a call. If you receive no response, either there are no stations monitoring the frequency, or no station wishes to communicate with you at the time. Do not continue to repeat your call, wait a while and try again later, or move to another frequency.
CALLING:
To call a station you simply transmit the call-sign of the station that you wish to contact "once" followed by “this is” ( your call-sign) or simply state your call-sign. Repeating your call is seldom necessary as the operator called will usually respond within 10-20 seconds if they are monitoring the frequency.
To answer a call from another station that is directed to your station, transmit the call sign of the calling station, “this is”,(your call- sign)or simply transmit your call-sign and wait for a reply.
GENERAL CALLS (CQ) TO ALL STATIONS:
When placing a General Call to any and all stations, you should transmit, “CQ, CQ, CQ, this is” ( your call sign) “calling CQ, CQ, CQ,” followed by either, “on”(operating band, eg. 2 Meters) or, (frequency eg. 146.520) “CQ, CQ, CQ”. To answer a General Call, you should transmit the call-sign of the station calling, followed by, “this is”,(your call-sign) or “Station calling CQ, this is” (your call-sign).
Switching from DUPLEX to SIMPLEX
Once you have established communications with another station, it is a good idea to move your conversation from the repeater to a simplex frequency (whenever possible)to avoid tying up the repeater. If this is not possible, try to keep your conversation short and leave ample space between your transmissions for other operators who may require the use of the repeater to break in.
A simple way to determine if a station is within the SIMPLEX range of your station is to check the “INPUT” frequency of the repeater during one of the other station's transmissions.(In most modern radios, this can be done quickly by selecting the "Rev" or "Reverse Frequency" function on the radio, allowing you to monitor the input frequency of the repeater.)
If you can hear the other station well, they you will be able to carry on your conversation without the aid of the repeater.
“Don’t forget to return your receiver to normal operation or you will not be able to access the repeater.”
REPEATER COURTESY:
Unless you wish to “TIME-OUT” the repeater or you are struggling to obtain the highly coveted "PURPLE CRYSTAL AWARD"; you should try to keep your transmissions to a reasonable length. Avoid run-on transmissions and the changing of topics in the middle of a transmission. Try to leave a few seconds between your transmissions for others to break in. Don't make it necessary for stations to "RALLY" for an opening the moment that you un-key your microphone. With a little courtesy, conversations will be more enjoyable both for you and others operators sharing the repeater.
PHONE PATCHES:
A “Phone Patch” or “Auto Patch” is commonly featured on many automatic repeaters. This feature allows the operator to connect to the local telephone exchange and place regular telephone calls from their transceiver, by means of a DTMF Keypad incorporated into transceiver.
Before activating any Phone Patch, you should first "listen" to confirm that the frequency is not in use, then, transmit your call sign followed by "requesting auto-patch" or "for the patch". After a short pause, activate the patch and place your call.
You should immediately advise the called party that you are using a radio telephone patch and that your conversation can be heard by anyone monitoring the repeater.
If during the course of your conversation there should arise an argument, or the use of profanity or obscene language, defuse the situation immediately and if the problem cannot be resolved, terminate the patch and do not call that person again using the patch until you are certain that the problem will not reoccur. Following an incident, it is always a good idea to transmit an apology to other stations who may have monitored your conversation and been offended by it.
This is not the law, but it is good operating practice. Operators who may have been offended, will seldom take further action or continue to hold you responsible for an incident followed by an apology.
Upon completing your conversation,(and after the other party has hung up) terminate the patch. (The tones generated in shutting off the patch can sometimes be quite irritating to the other party) Then transmit your call sign, followed by "Clearing The Patch" or "Clear Autopatch".
REPEATER ADVANCED FEATURES:
Some repeaters allow the activation and adjustment of other features, radio links etc. by means of DTMF tones sent to the receiver. These features are made available to select persons. If you are not included in that group, do not attempt to use these features.
Remember that it is illegal for any operator to utilize frequencies, modes, or technical parameters outside of those authorized by their class of certificate. Basic Operators must not attempt transmissions on repeaters that have been configured to exceed those parameters, resulting in transmissions for which they are not authorized under their certificate. Operators doing so, will be in violation of their operator’s certificate and subject to enforcement action. Such abuse could also result in the loss of these features to other operators, due to their removal by system operator.
PLAYING WITH REPEATERS:
Do not "PLAY" with repeaters, Control Tones should never be transmitted to a repeater unless you have been authorized to do so by the repeater sponsor. Serious damage, malfunctions or the deactivation of the repeater could be the result.
If you don't know .... ask.
SELF POLICING:
Although all Amateur Radio operators are subject to the rules regulations and policies governing the use of the Amateur Radio Service. The Amateur Community is for the most part “Self Policing”.
It is not uncommon for one Amateur to remind another that they are violating regulations or engaging in discourteous behavior.
It is considered to be an honorable thing to offer constructive guidance to an amateur who has engaged in illegal or discourteous behavior. All amateurs are encouraged to assist one another and to provide, and accept constructive criticism.
Operators who do not respond to such guidance should be brought to the attention of the local Amateur Community, or in the case of a serious breach of the Radiocommunication Regulations, to a government representative.
Never argue over-the-air with an uncooperative operator. You will only escalate the problem and endanger your own certificate and privileges.
Greedy commercial interests would like nothing better than to get their hands on the Amateur Radio Bands. As amateurs, we must continue to prove that we are capable and worthy of retaining these privileges. It is in everyone’s best interest to operate their stations in a legal, orderly and courteous manner, at all times.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT:
If you should have a problem with your equipment, need assistance with an interference problem, help with an installation or repair, or just need general advice regarding the operation of your station, the Amateur Radio Community represents an exhaustive resource in the form of skilled and experienced radio operators. Due to the technical nature of the hobby many operators possess considerable technical, and practical knowledge. If you have a problem, there is someone out there that has fixed it. Amateurs love to share, and to gain new knowledge.
