Getting​ ​On​ ​The​ ​Air:​ ​ ​Tips​ ​&​ ​Pointers Making​ ​Contact

To​ ​call​ ​another​ ​operator​ ​simply​ ​do​ ​the​ ​following: Call​ ​the​ ​station​ ​with​ ​their​ ​call​ ​sign​ ​followed​ ​by​ ​yours “N2MOO​ ​this​ ​is​ ​N7ACM” or N2MOO​ ​N7ACM

Monitoring​ ​the​ ​Frequency

To make your presence known and to allow others to contact you, you can simply just say your callsign and followed by either the phrase “monitoring” or “listening” or​ ​just​ ​simply​ ​say​ ​your​ ​call​ ​sign. “N7ACM​ ​Monitoring” or “N7ACM​ ​Listening”

Kerchunking Kerchunking is referred to as someone keying up their radio and not identifying. Most users do this to see if they can hit a repeater. This is a grey area of the rules and regulations and should be avoided since you are making an unauthorized transmission as you are not identifying​ ​yourself. To see if you are making it to a repeater ​simply keyup, say your callsign and then unkey​. This is the friendly way to kerchunk a repeater to see if you are hitting it. And by doing this you might start a conversation and meet someone​ ​new!

Joining​ ​a​ ​Conversation

The appropriate way to join in on a conversation is by waiting for a pause and simply say either the last part of your call sign or full call sign if you are able to. Then wait​ ​to​ ​be​ ​acknowledged​ ​and​ ​join​ ​in​ ​the​ ​conversation. Please avoid using the words “Break” or “Break Break” as these are really reserved for emergencies and or urgent types​ ​of​ ​traffic/communications.

Identify​ ​Yourself

You are required by FCC Rules and Regulations to ​ID every 10 minutes during a conversation and at the end​. You are required to identify in english if using a language other than​ ​english​ ​during​ ​your​ ​conversation. For Example if you receive a phone call please indicate so and sign with your call sign to signify you are done with the conversation.

Turning​ ​On​ ​Your​ ​Radio​ ​-​ ​Listen​ ​First!

A general rule when turning on your radio or tuning to a new frequency you should ​monitor the frequency to make sure there is not a conversation in progress. ​Generally 30 seconds​ ​to​ ​a​ ​minute​ ​will​ ​suffice.

Pausing​ ​During​ ​Conversations

During a conversation please allow for a brief pause to allow others to join in or for any priority / emergency traffic to break in. Quick keying is the term for not allowing a break which makes it hard for others to join in. Generally allow either the ​courtesy beep on the repeater to reset or count​ ​to​ ​3​ ​before​ ​keying​ ​up​​ ​again.

Use​ ​Plain​ ​English

It is ok to ​use day to day english on the frequencies. Meaning you don't have to say 10-4 or QSL, etc. There are no rules against using it but generally the amateur community frowns upon this and might ask you to not do that anymore. Don’t be offended it is just how we operate on the airways. We want to make it easy and not to have to remember or those listening to know the different types of​ ​codes​ ​to​ ​communicate.

Be​ ​Courteous

Remember ​a lot of people are listening and anything you say can be heard​. So please keep highly political or religious topics to a minimum. It is ok to talk about these topics but just remember we all have our ideals and principles and can be easily offended even if not intentional.