Amateur Radio Stack Exchange
Amateur Radio Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [procedure]

Use this tag for questions about specific radio procedures and practices. These are "How do I...?" questions, not about equipment or other issues.

62 questions
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5 answers

How do I report an emergency using ham radio?

If I'm in the wilderness with ham equipment but no phone signal, how would I report an emergency? Is there a particular frequency I would use, a particular protocol or suchlike?
berry120
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27
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5 answers

Is "just listening" on EchoLink considered bad etiquette?

I was reading about EchoLink and came across this rule under "Access Policies": 2. No "SWL" (listen-only) access is permitted. EchoLink is a two-way system by design, and there is no mechanism to validate listen-only stations. I'm pretty sure…
Seth
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23
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2 answers

If I hear a distress call, what is the correct procedure for helping the person?

If during normal operation, I receive a mayday or pan-pan call, how should I handle this? Am I required to provide help in this situation, and what can I do to make sure I give all the assistance needed, what information should I try and get? If…
David VK2VXK
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18
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6 answers

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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17
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1 answer

How do emergency nets work?

In movies that depict amateur radio in emergencies, the hams' worldwide communication network invariably is able to pass messages between individuals. As an amateur that has been primarily interested in the technical sides of the hobby I am not at…
pyHazard
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17
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5 answers

If I receive an SOS signal, what is the proper response?

My 5-year old son loves sending out an SOS signal using a toy Morse code generator (wired, don't worry about false alarms for real authorities). He has learned to send the SOS signal and was asking me to send a response to him to let him know that…
Hanky Panky
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16
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4 answers

OK to use any repeater?

There are a number of repeaters in my area, each belonging to a particular amateur radio club. These guys are all friendly and willing to chat but I was wondering if it was bad form to make use of a repeater belonging to a club you aren't part of…
s3c
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12
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4 answers

Amateur radio in an EOC?

Consider a small town's emergency operations center. While there are amateur radio operators involved, they primarily work for government or public safety, and there is no active ARES participation. The EOC is reasonably well-equipped, with…
Dan KD2EE
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12
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5 answers

What is the definition of DX?

I always believed that DX meant out of one’s own country, and in the continental US that can be pretty far. However, tooling around on the bands I’ll often hear people calling DX inside the US receive responses from others also inside the US.…
Adam Davis
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12
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2 answers

Why say "break" and "over" on walkie-talkies instead of an automatic chirp?

My understanding of why movie characters say "break" and "over" during radio conversations is based on this answer, which says that people using half-duplex devices often will want to let others on the channel interrupt them with something more…
Ryan
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11
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4 answers

Is there a convention for SSB frequency selection?

I know that the amateur bands are not channelized. I know that anyone can pick an arbitrary frequency and they're not wrong, and you are not obligated to have a calibrated VFO. But if everyone picks frequencies at random during a period of heavy…
Kevin Reid AG6YO
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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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5 answers

Is it illegal to key up and not identify?

So, I key up on a repeater to see if it works, or to see what cool courtesy tone they are using. I don't do anything else. Is it illegal or bad ham radio etiquette to just key up for a second, key down, and not do anything else? Where: USA, CO,…
Skyler 440
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4 answers

How do I find out what bands are open?

Say the deck is stacked. I'm out in the country with an all-band QRP home-brew rig, and an active antenna. Or say ship-wrecked and marooned on that desert island. The battery only has enough juice for say 1-min Tx, and 30-min Rx. The Sun is at the…
VU2NHW
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10
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1 answer

What is a CQ contest and what is the proper way to respond to a CQ contest call?

As I listen, I often hear stations calling "CQ contest". When I hear stations respond, they seem to do so with a specific set of information. I recognize the call sign and a signal report but there are often other pieces of information that seem to…
ghendricks
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