Clutter

AF5NP Brevity, Clutter, Directed Net, Emergency Communications (EmComm), Etiquette, Facts, factual

New hams, don’t hesitate to make that first radio contact.

Experienced hams, don’t hesitate to try a new band or operating mode.

Technician and General Class hams, don’t hesitate to upgrade your license class.

All hams, don’t hesitate… on the air.  With your mic keyed to transmit, don’t fill up time and space with “um…”, “well…”, “er…”, “aah…” and other such sounds of hesitation.

It’s not only annoying to hear but hesitation really clutters up the airwaves.  In certain cases it impedes more important communication.  For example, during a special event operation or true emergency communication (Emcomm) situation or drill, the Net Control Station (NCS) is constantly talking to various stations.  If you’re using up valuable time on the air, other stations cannot be relaying their info.

A good rule of thumb or general practice is to know exactly what you will say before you key the mic.  Think first, then talk.

If Net Control asks you a question that you cannot immediately answer, don’t take 20 seconds to stall or explain away your delay, just reply that you will get back to them.  This frees up the net for others and lets the NCS know to expect a reply shortly.

The opposite of hesitation in radio work is brevity .  Keep your transmissions short, few, and far between in a special event or Emcomm scenario.

Don’t call in periodically just to let the net know you’re still there.  Net Control and the rest of the net assume you are there unless you have to drop off for a valid reason but you must inform them in such case.

Don’t use 50 words where ten would do. Unfortunately, some hams are long-winded on a special event net.  It takes forethought and practice to keep a report short and simple.   Use the minimum number of words to communicate effectively.

Don’t talk to sound important or just to hear your own voice.  This is heard occasionally on a special event net; others can usually tell when this happens and it’s aggravating.

Study up on Emcomm radio practices, guidelines, procedures and etiquette and then practice these.  Drills and special events are perfect exercise.  Refer to our “EmComm Toolbox” topic for such info.

Another form of clutter to avoid during a special event or Emcomm operation is speculation.  Rumor, guessing, second-hand info, and supposition often lead to confusion and unnecessary concern.  Just the facts, ma’am.  Seriously, only give solid facts.

Log Time

AF5NP Emergency Communications (EmComm), GMT, Log, Time, UTC/UCT, Zulu

Keeping a record of contacts is important in amateur radio.  While not required by the FCC in the United States, logging is definitely encouraged.

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For the common, everyday VHF/UHF radio chatter we participate in on a local repeater, contacts are rarely logged.  This is fine, since logging of these would be a tedious nuisance.  Logging of all other contacts is highly recommended.

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Besides frequency, call sign and signal report, date and time of contact are logged.  Time should be when contact begins, not when completed.

In practice, active hams live in two time zones. The first is their local time, which is when they join a net or sign off a contact because dinner is being served.

Local time is what should be recorded in emergency communication (EmComm) logs when participating in drills or actual disaster deployments where local time is more meaningful.

The second zone hams more frequently use for logging is Zulu time, the current time at the Prime Meridian of the World running through Greenwich, England.  Zulu time (Z)  is also known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC or sometimes UCT).   If it’s coordinated Universal Time, why is it Called UTC and not CUT?

Standard_World_Time_Zones

 

Technically GMT is a time zone while UTC is a time standard (details) but practically speaking they are the same thing and in the aviation, military and telecommunications world it’s Zulu time.

Why the name Zulu?  There are 25 integer World Time Zones from -12 through 0 (GMT) to +12. Each one is 15° of Longitude as measured East and West from the Prime Meridian.  These are given alphabetic designations A-Z, less the letter J.  Z (ITU phonetic Zulu) corresponds to the prime meridian at 0° longitude.  Zulu time.

When logging all but EmComm contacts, hams should use Zulu, not their local time.  Then both parties in a logged contact have the same (universal) time and date recorded (date will change at midnight between 2359z and 0000z).  This becomes important when confirming contacts and getting awards.

Going Mobile

AF5NP Amateur Radio, Antenna, Emergency Communications (EmComm), Ham Radio, HT (Handheld Transceiver), Mobile, Transceiver

The Who had a hit tune entitled Going Mobile that may be playing in your head right now.  While the song celebrates the joy of living in a mobile home and traveling caravan-style in the UK, going mobile to hams means using radio equipment in your vehicle.

While some hams have HF radio setups in their cars, mobile predominantly means local VHF/UHF communication.  Besides bring able to talk to our ham buddies while driving around, 2m/70cm capability is particularly useful in case of disaster or other emergency communication (EmComm) situations.  It is perfect for storm spotting and certain public service events.

Mobile operation is popular and important enough that there are a number of US license exam questions involving the topic as you will see below.

Installing and using amateur radio equipment in one’s personal vehicle is too large a topic to cover here so we’ll simply advise you to research details on your own.  Talk to fellow hams and see what/how/why they installed their own gear.

The internet is also a vast resource for [mostly good] info .  One noteworthy site dedicated to mobile ham operation is managed by Alan Applegate, K0BG, and is located here.   It contains exceptionally useful info on most topics presented below.  We encourage you to use this site as a primary reference for your own mobile radio installation and operation.  The ABCs topic is the best place to start.

Before embarking on any of this yourself, there are several important points to consider:

  • Radio type
  • Radio control location
  • Radio mounting
  • Radio power wiring
  • Antenna type and mounting
  • Radio audio/speaker
  • Transmitting while driving
  • Hands-free/Distracted driving laws
  • Noise and interference

We will scratch the surface of each of these topics here:

Radio type-  Choose a mobile radio that best fits your needs, desires, and budget based on several factors:

  • Brand– quality/reliability and/or familiarity/loyalty
  • Transmit power (Watts)
  • Features– Auto power-off, APRS, dual-channel, remote head, cross-band, packet
  • VHF/UHF (V/U) or HF?
  • FM only, or multi-mode?
  • Single-band, dual-band, tri-band, or quad-band?
  • Analog or digital communication, or both?
  • New, reconditioned, or used?

Note that while a hand-held transceiver (HT) can be used in a car, it is significantly limited by its antenna and transmit power.  Both can be improved (linear amplifier and external antenna) but if you really want good mobile performance you should consider a purpose-specific mobile radio.

Radio control location-  Modern mobile transceivers typically feature removable front panels where the operator controls can be positioned in a more convenient, ergonomic, and safe location using a smaller footprint. Continue reading →

Ham Radio License Plates

AF5NP Amateur Radio, License Plate, Tag

If you are a new ham (or an aspiring one) you have probably noticed Radio Operator license plates (tags) on vehicles in your area and perhaps elsewhere.

hamplates

According to a Wikipedia topic, “All U.S. states offer specialized license plates for licensed amateur radio operators, in many cases at no extra charge or at a discount compared to standard vanity plates. Among the stated reasons in various state statutes for providing special amateur radio plates are to recognize amateur radio operators for their service, and to enhance visibility of amateur radio operators in an emergency. The owner’s radio call sign is used instead of a standard-issue serial.”

In addition to the USA, many other countries also issue specialty vehicle registration plates to licensed amateur radio operators,  purportedly to facilitate their movement during an emergency.  Notably, ham plates are not issued in continental Europe; please advise if this is incorrect or has changed.  One commenter from the UK has reported that they are available but expensive there.

Before you elect to get ham radio license plates for your own vehicle(s), consider the pros and cons of having them.

There are several advantages in having radio operator plates on your vehicle:

  • A fun form of specialty plate and the number is easy to remember (your call sign)
  • Helps other hams identify you
  • Opportunity to discuss amateur radio with a curious public
  • Possibly give you more credibility when driving into a disaster area
  • Likely at lower cost than any other form of vanity plate

And some disadvantages:

  • Makes it easier for the public to locate you if they want to, if you are sensitive to this issue (alternative is to give the government a PO box instead of a street address)
  • Negative publicity for ham radio if you are a bad driver
  • Potentially makes vehicle contents more attractive to thieves
  • You need to get new plates if you change your call sign

Interestingly, in Texas and at least three other US states, radio amateurs are permitted to have their call sign on the license plates of multiple vehicles that they own, in effect Continue reading →

Packet Radio

AF5NP Emergency Communications (EmComm), Message, Packet, TNC, Winlink

If you’re exposed to ham radio for any length of time you are sure to hear some discussion of packet radio.

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Without going into much detail, we’ll present a big-picture description here.  Just enough for you to have a basic grasp of what’s involved and give you some idea of how it might apply to you.

Packet radio is a generalized term for a digital communication mode where data is sent in bite-sized chunks (packets) via radio.  The transmission and receipt of packet data is largely automated and features data error correction for reliable messaging.

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Packet radio (sometimes shortened to just packet) blends radio and computer technologies together.  Sounds complicated but it really isn’t.  All you need besides your normal ham radio transceiver is a household computer and an interface between the two.  The heart of this interface is a Terminal Node Controller (TNC) which is an intelligent modem that converts text to audio tones and vice versa.

hal-with-tnc

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Packet radio can be used between hams directly in real-time (peer-to-peer or keyboard-to-keyboard) but is more commonly used to send messages that can be retrieved on demand.  This operates more like email or mobile phone text messaging.

Slow data rates (typically 1200 baud) make large messages impractical, so packet messages should be relatively short and not have any large files attached.  120KB is the max message size accepted by some big message servers.  A 4KB message will transfer in 2-2.5 minutes under ideal conditions at 1200 baud.

Particularly useful for emergency communication (EmComm) messages, packet radio is predominately used on VHF radios (more local) but can be sent over HF bands Continue reading →

National Simplex Calling Frequency

AF5NP Band Plan, FM (Frequency Modulation), Frequency, National, Simplex

A national calling frequency in the USA is a radio frequency that is widely accepted and understood to be a place to start communicating with other hams.

This frequency is established for each RF band under the voluntary US band plan and is not regulated by the FCC.  It is routinely monitored by any number of radio amateurs and is likely to result in a response when calling CQ or Mayday or SOS.

The US band plan shows calling frequencies for various modes (CW, SSB, FM, AM, digital) in different bands.  A calling frequency list includes not only the modes but adds specific activities (expeditions, power levels) as commonly practiced.

T2A02

For new hams who are likely to get started in local VHF/UHF operation, the national calling frequencies to be concerned with are 2m and 70cm FM simplex (non-repeater).  These are 146.520MHz and 446.000MHz, respectively, and should be included in your radio’s scanned channels.  If you regularly use 1.25m, 33cm and/or 23cm bands, there are national simplex calling frequencies defined per the band plan for you to look up.

Be aware that the national calling frequency for whatever mode and activity is only a place to start communicating.  Protocol and common courtesy require that once contact is established, you move to another frequency (QSY) to leave the calling frequency open for others to use.

The national simplex calling frequency is sort of a universal (within the USA) place to make contact when you are not sure where to start.  It is particularly useful Continue reading →

Ham Humor

AF5NP Humor

Amateur radio operators are not all serious business; some of us actually have a sense of Yuma (and fondness for puns).  It may be obscure and occasionally off-color, but some of it is pretty funny.

You can find bits of amateur radio-related humor on various ham websites.

For our part we have created a new Ham Humor page here which contains links and a selection of favorite clean ham radio humor which will grow as new material is discovered.  You can always access this page from the NewHams.info site menu just below the top banner.