Amateur Radio Stack Exchange
Amateur Radio Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [phone]

Questions about the phone modes, most commonly SSB on HF and FM on VHF/UHF, but also including DSB-SC, PM, or AM.

This tag is for any questions about analog voice modes, including what bands are allocated for phone use, what modes qualify as phone, how the different modulation schemes compare, and how to make a QSO on a phone mode.

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What's the difference between saying “CQ” or “QRZ” in a contest?

I'm listening to (or let's say I'm trying to participate in) a contest (or perhaps Field Day), using SSB. I noticed that a station would, after completing a contact, sometimes say “CQ” and sometimes say “QRZ”. In either case, other stations then…
Kevin Reid AG6YO
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4 answers

What bands and modes will give me voice at 3,000 miles?

I pursued Amateur Radio primarily for local emergency communications and as part of my electronics education. My only radio right now is an inexpensive 2m/70cm HT which is good for local weather spotting and emergency operations. I'm interested in…
Adam Davis
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11
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5 answers

Why do operators mention the band when calling CQ on phone?

I'm a new-ish ham, licenced for about one year now. Within that year I've heard a lot of CQ calls from other hams on phone (both HF and VHF), and it seems that a large portion of hams routinely mentions the band being called on within the call…
Ivan R2AZR
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11
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4 answers

How do I increase my phone intelligibility?

Listening to various operators at different times, I've sometimes noticed, especially during contests, that some operators are easier to understand than others, and it doesn't all seem to be due to their speech patterns. The audio doesn't sound good…
Adam Davis
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10
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4 answers

Is use of the phonetic alphabet mandatory?

The phonetic alphabet is often used on amateur radio to spell out names and callsigns more clearly, especially when the clarity may be poorer. However, there are cases where I simply forget certain parts of this - in this case, is it ok just to use…
berry120
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10
votes
1 answer

CW on phone band

In the U.S., regulations permit CW operations throughout the amateur bands. That makes the phone section of a band look tempting when the CW/digital part of the band is busy with a contest. I wonder if my friends and I can reasonably have our…
Wayne Conrad KF7QGA
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10
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1 answer

What is the process of making a voice contact?

I got into Amateur Radio for emergency preparation and to allow me to expand my electronics hobby. Initially I didn't find much value in contesting or making contacts, but apparently there are some valuable skills one can gain from contesting. I…
Adam Davis
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8
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6 answers

Is it conventional to sign using the phonetic alphabet like people do in the military or aviation?

I know that most amateur operators simply sign at the beginning or end of a message, like The weather is good, Kz1XXY Would it also be customary to say that in phonetic form? Kilo zulu 1 X-ray X-ray Yankee
HeavenlyHarmony
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6
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1 answer

What does "THREE ALPHA in Virginia" mean?

I'm listening to the 40m band during Field Day and I keep hearing things like "You are THREE ALPHA in Virginia," or "do you hold me ONE ALPHA in Eastern Pennsylvania?", or "you are TWO ALPHA Maine." I have no idea what they're talking about, can…
SandPiper
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5
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3 answers

Why are contest signal reports always "59" or "599"?

I've heard lots of contest exchanges, and the signal report almost always seems to be 59 for phone or 599 for Morse, even when the operator giving the report has to request information to be repeated several times. Why is the signal report almost…
rclocher3
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5
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Is hiding your voice on phone legal?

Lets say I use a computer to change my voices pitch, or use computer generated voices to hit a repeater. Is this allowed, or does it have to be my natural voice coming in on phone transmissions? I am in the United States of America.
Skyler 440
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4
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1 answer

Repeater autopatch ("phone patch"): which countries use this?

The section Operating Your Ham Radio in an Emergency from Ham Radio For Dummies recommends using an "emergency autopatch" to reach the emergency services when reporting an emergency from an amateur radio transmitter: State clearly that you are…
user5147
4
votes
1 answer

Boosting Mobile Phone Reception

Yes, I know, this could very well be a controversial topic, so feel free to close this off if you feel it's not a good fit for this site. That said, I'm posting it here because hams (and as a licensed ham, I count myself in that group) know a great…
Buck8pe
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4
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2 answers

Is the NATO/ICAO or ITU figure pronunciation more common?

I know the NATO/ICAO pronunciation of modifying 3, 4, 5, and 9 to "tree", "fower", "fife", and "niner", respectively, but I just discovered the ITU figure pronunciations are vastly different. Which are more common, and which should I learn as a…
Amin Shah Gilani
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4
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How would one automate HF communications to a specific location?

There appears to be some significant interest in establishing a fool-proof* HF communications method for location to location communication regardless of current propagation conditions. Given that there's a beacon network which provides good…
Adam Davis
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