Thoughts On Being a Good Amateur Radio Operator

and

On the Air Etiquette

By Brian, W5AMI

This is a collection of thoughts and ideas I (and others) have about being polite, considerate, and just good operating practice. It is intended as a simple guide to those who are new to the hobby, and those who are not new, but possibly in need of some ideas to improve their communication skills on ham radio. Some of the items mentioned below do not really apply to the modes of CW, digital modes, and even AM. AM ops generally operate in a "round-table" fashion, making longer transmissions when it comes their turn without un-keying until they are finished. These points were written primarily with SSB and FM simplex/repeater operation in mind.

I have made plenty of mistakes during the 25 years I've been a ham, and I still learn new things on how to do better every day. I take constructive criticism, and glad to do it. We will all "slip up" from time to time and make a mistake, however if you take the interest, and keep these points in mind, your mistakes will diminish as times goes on.

If you have recently moved to Amateur Radio from Citizens Band radio, the most important thing you should do is leave the CB lingo behind you! There is nothing more irritating than hearing terms like 10-4, "good buddy", "my first personal is...", "for doggone sure", and other terms commonly used on the CB band. Old habits are hard to break, however if you can drop the CB lingo, you are much more likely to be welcomed into groups on ham radio, and not have the embarrassment of having someone call you on the carpet over the air. On amateur radio, simply talk much as you would if you were face to face with the others. There is no need to include spiced up words or phrases, or use fake and/or exaggerated inflections in your voice.

Using "Q Signals" - see the W9IU website
"Q-signals" are short, three letter codes used in CW (morse code) communication to speed up the contacts.
Do not use these codes for voice communication, say what you mean instead. The "Q-signals" were never intended to be used on voice modes (AM, FM, SSB), yet some people insist on using them anyway. If you want to sound like you just came off of eleven meters use "Q" signals as often as you can on SSB. Use your "Q-signals" on CW, but leave them behind for the voice modes. [submitted by Randy, K5BOC]

Do a LOT of listening! Communication is, by nature, a two way situation, whether it be in person, or over the air on a radio. Get yourself into a habit where you automatically take a breath and "think" about how much you're talking in relation to how much the others in a group are, or in a simple one on one conversation. You might be surprised to realize how much of a motor mouth you can be! If you try to dominate a group of people by talking too much, you may find yourself shunned by them over time. If you are a new ham, listening a lot will help you get a feeling of how you should conduct yourself when you speak. If you are not a new ham, listening will help you determine the gist of the mood or conversation in progress before you open your mouth and say the wrong thing.

When you do speak to others, make short transmissions, particularly if the group is large. Remember you don't have to tell about your whole day in one long transmission. When you make a comment of more than a few words, be sure to un-key the mic from time to time and see if anyone else might be talking. If you are one to pause a lot within your statements, un-keying the mic from time to time is a very good practice.

If two or more people are engaged in discussing a topic, DO NOT suddenly attempt to change the topic unless there is very good reason. You likely don't do that in person, so you should not do it on the radio either. If you don't have something to add to the topic, LISTEN, don't talk!

DO NOT intentionally talk on top of someone! In other words, if you hear someone speaking, don't attempt to talk while they are. If you do this, you better have a good reason for it. First it's technically illegal, and secondly, it's very rude. There is one ham in particular I have heard do this a lot, and I have decided that this ham does it just to see if he can be heard over whoever he's talking on. Like a power play. It's very likely that you will get a slip in the mail if you have a tendency to do this more than a few times.
See Part 97 on this rule .

If you speak one word or several, you MUST identify your station call sign within 10 minutes of that first transmission. If you continue to speak after identifying, you must repeat that process within 10 minutes. If you ID, and that's the last thing you say, you can shut down, move on, or whatever, without identifying further on that frequency. You can ID as often as you want, however there is no need to. If someone is talking when it comes time for you to identify, DO NOT transmit on top of them (see that section above). Wait until they are done. The time you have to wait for a clear frequency is waived and not added to your 10 minute limit. If you have an emergency and need to secure over the other party, state your need, ID, and secure.
See Part 97 on this rule.

Profanity and/or obscene language is something you should always refrain from using over the air on amateur radio. Part 97 prohibits such language in a broad sense, therefore any word, phrase, or statement containing such language are forbidden in most every case where they are transmitted over the air. Foremost and most importantly, remember that others can be listening at any time. A good rule of thumb is to not use any language you would not use in front of your grandmother, or your children. Maybe your grandmother cusses like a sailor, but that's not the norm, and you know it. My favorite place on 75 meters to operate has a lot of listeners. One audience we know is a retirement center which has a radio tuned to our frequency at all times, their favorite place to eavesdrop! Considering this, we are very vigilant in keeping language proper. Certain words are questionable in regard to them being obscene or profane, such as "damn" or "hell". From time to time one of those words will no doubt be heard, and I would have to say that a blurt of either on occasion is not unusual, nor considered very harmful. Nevertheless, I would challenge anyone to give me an actual REASON for using them. To make things simple on this subject; do not use any word that refers directly or indirectly to "private" body parts, specifically genitalia of males or females, body fluids or excretions. Reference to descriptive sexual activity is also prohibited on Amateur Radio. Just use good common sense, and if you have trouble in the "common sense" department, don't be a bit surprised if you get called on the carpet by another ham or an official.
See Part 97 on this rule.

When band conditions permit, use only the amount of power output to enable others to hear you. If you need an amp all the time because people can't hear you, then you better take a close look at your antenna situation.

If you know there is a large group of folks on the frequency and you have need to discuss something that only you and one or two others are interested in talking about, PLEASE find another clear frequency and move there. It is really inconsiderate to monopolize the frequency with a subject that is of no interest to the rest. If it's a short question and answer situation, no problem, but if you see that the discussion is getting deeper and more involved, suggest to the other interested party that you move so that others can rag chew as usual.

Tuning your radio, amplifier, or antenna tuner should be something you can do quickly and easily if you use your head. If at all possible, always use a dummy load to tune your amplifier (or radio if you have an older tube type rig) to a certain frequency. A dummy load provides a good nominal 50 ohm load which should be nearly identical to your resonant antenna, or the input of a properly set antenna tuner. Once these are tuned properly into the dummy load, switching over to the antenna or tuner/antenna combination should show very little change in reflected power or loading. If you must adjust your antenna tuner on the air to match the antenna, ALWAYS use the lowest possible power needed for a reliable reading. Be very certain there is no one operating near the frequency you are using. If your radio transmits a carrier exactly zero beat (most new ones do) on the frequency you see on your VFO readout, follow this golden rule to keep from interfering with other stations: If for instance there is a conversation on 3.987 mHz LSB and you wish to join in with them, first, DO NOT tune up directly on 3.937! Instead, move up a few kcs, say 3.940 and see if there is anyone talking there or above up to about 3.943. If not, tune your rig(s) there. This way your carrier will not be heard or interfere with anyone on 3.937 assuming your radio is operating properly. The reason for moving UP on lower sideband is because the receive passband of those talking on 3.937 starts at 3.937 and goes DOWN to about 3.934. A clean carrier on 3.940 is beyond the passband filter of the receiving stations! On upper sideband, the opposite is true. In that case, if the ops were talking on 3.937 using USB, they would hear audio from there up to about 3.940+, so you would want to tune BELOW them, say on 3.935 or below. If you have trouble understanding this, read up on the theory of single sideband transmitters and receivers. It will make more sense to you then. One more point on this subject; There is NO need to re tune if you only move a few kHz from where you tuned originally! Keep a log of "settings" for your amplifier or any device that has to be tuned, and write down where the knobs go on certain parts of the bands. This way you can "pre-set" these devices before tuning and already be very close. DO NOT tune for every little bit of power or minimum SWR you can squeeze out! A few watts, or a few points on SWR will not even be noticed over the air. There is no excuse to spend minutes at a time tuning.

Amateur Radio Operators should always take the responsibility to help "police" the band in order to help others become better operators. If you hear activity that does not comply with the rules and regulations, attempt to correct the situation politely. That's as far and as much as you can do. Do not get into a battle of words where things escalate and you become on the fringe of doing something illegal yourself. Best to move on, record the time, date, call, and the details of the incident and forward that information to an Official Observer, or to your ARRL Section Manager if you don't know an 'OO'.

This is a work in progress, and more will be added as time goes on. For now, I think I've hit most the important issues, and the most common mistakes, and/or things all of us should be aware of. As an Amateur Radio Operator, you should take constructive criticism when it's deserved, and without argument, otherwise you will never learn, and you will set a bad example to new hams. Chances are, you will never find many friends on ham radio if you repeatedly walk the fine line of the rules given to us by the FCC. Remember; Amateur Radio is a privilege, and we should all respect that privilege.