Operating practices and procedures, repeaters and satellites

Telegraphy

Effective communication by telegraphy implies the use of internationally agreed symbols and abbreviations so that difficulties arising from language differences are eliminated to a fairly large extent.

The symbols and abbreviations used in amateur radio are based on the international Q-code and the procedures used in marine and commercial radio telegraphy. Many other abbreviations are based on phonetic English.

The international Q-code is a series of questions and answers, and the Q-signals in Table 11.1, which are taken from the official list, are commonly used in the amateur service. Amateurs use many of the Q-signals as nouns as well as in question-and-answer form (see Table 11.2).

Reports on readability and signal strength (and tone in the case of telegraphic signals) are given in terms of the RST code (see Table 11.4).

Speed of sending

The golden rule is 'never send at a greater speed than you are able to receive'.

The speed of sending should depend to a large extent on circumstances: when conditions are poor with low signal strengths or in heavy interference it is sensible to send more slowly. It is a good principle to send at the same speed as the operator at the other end.

The good CW operator is the one whose copy is easy to read and who does not send faster than he is capable of doing properly. An indifferently sent 25 words per minute may well be almost unreadable but a properly sent 25wpm is considerably easier to read than a badly sent 20wpm.

It is probably true to say that most telegraphy on the amateur bands is at a speed of somewhat less than 20wpm.

Establishing communication The first step is to spend a short time listening on the band it is proposed to use in order to check:

(a) if conditions are good or bad; (b) who is working who and what signal reports are being exchanged.

The propagation forecasts published each month in Radio Communication are invaluable as an indication of the part of the world likely to be heard at a particular time.

There are two ways of establishing communication:

(a) by calling a specific station; (b) by transmitting a 'CQ' ('general invitation to reply') call.

On most bands there are always many stations to be heard calling 'CQ' so it is generally preferable to answer such a call rather than to initiate another. However, a CQ call made when a band appears 'dead', particularly on 21 or 28MHz, sometimes results in an unexpected contact.

Calling procedures

Calling a specific station First of all, 'net' on to the frequency of the station it is proposed to call, ie adjust transmitter frequency onto the signal being received. The basic call is:

G7AA G7AA G7AA de G7ZZ G7ZZ G7ZZ KN

'de' here means 'from'. Note that 'KN' is an invitation to a specific station, G7AA, and no other, to reply.

This basic call may be varied, ie in poor conditions or heavy interference it would be advisable to send the station call (G7ZZ) five or six times.

Initiating a CQ call The first step is to choose a frequency where no other station is operating - this is often very difficult and it has to be accepted that virtually every signal is likely to cause some interference to another station somewhere. Before initiating a CQ, the signal 'QRL?' is often sent two or three times; this is intended to enquire "is this frequency in use?" If so, then the answer given is 'QRL' meaning, "I am using this frequency" or sometimes 'pse QSY' meaning "please change frequency". The action is then obvious! The basic call is:

CQ CQ CQ de G7ZZ G7ZZ G7ZZ K

Basic calls may be repeated up to five or six times - this depends on conditions and activity on the band. Never send a long series of CQ signals without interspersing the station call.

A CQ call may be made specific, eg

CQ DX CQ DX CQ DX de G7ZZ G7ZZ G7ZZ K

or directional, eg

CQ VK CQ VK CQ VK de G7ZZ G7ZZ G7ZZ K

Prolonged CQ calls or calls to a specific station should be avoided. These cause unnecessary interference, particularly to stations in the immediate vicinity who generally accept interference from a local station in contact but who will not take too kindly to continuous CQ calls. An unanswered CQ is therefore best followed by a short period of listening.

If a station replying cannot be positively identified due to low signal strength or interference, the signal 'QRZ?' ("who is calling me?") may be used, eg

QRZ? QRZ? de G7ZZ G7ZZ G7ZZ KN

Note that KN and not K is now used. A 'QRZ?' call should be brief and not extended as an additional CQ call. 'QRZ?' is not an alternative to 'CQ' .

Having established communication a CW contact (QSO) is likely to follow the general form shown here. [PAGE 91 (remove this, for temporary page reference only)]

G9AA G9AA DE G7AA G7AA = GA OM ES MNI TNX FER CALL = AM VY PSED TO QSO U = UR SIGS RST 579 = QTI-T IS LONDON = NAME IS GEO = HW? AR G9AA DE G7AA KN

These transmissions are known as 'overs'. The following should be noted.

(a) Report, QTH and name are generally sent twice (but not more than three times).

(b) Each sentence is separated by the break sign (dah-di-di-di-dah).

(c) Each callsign sent twice at the beginning is generally adequate but may be sent once only or three times depending on signal strength and interference etc.

(d) Each callsign is sent once only at the end - there is no point in sending them more than once.

(e) Names may just as well be abbreviated.

(f) 'HW?' means "how do you receive me?"

(g) 'AR' signifies "end of message".

(h) 'KN' means specific station (G9AA) to reply.

The contact may then continue:

G7AA G7AA DE G9AA G9AA = R ES VY GA GEO = GLD TO QSO AGN = THINK WE QSO LAST YEAR ON 3R5? = MNI TNX FER RPRT = UR RST 569 QSB QRM = QTH IS BIRMINGHAM = NAME IS MAC = RIG IS FF101 AT 150 WAll'S INPUT = ANT IS TRAP DIPOLE = WX IS COLD ES DULL = OK? AR G7AA DE G9AA KN

The following should be noted:

(a) 'R' signifies "received all sent", which is obviously preferable to such phrases as "solid cpy hr" etc.

(b) '3R5' - here 'R' indicates a decimal point, ie 3.5.

The contact then goes on:

G9AA G9AA DE G7AA G7AA = MOST OK MAC BD QRM AT END = TNX FER RPRT ES INFO ON RIG HR HOME MADE TX ES INPUT IS 120 WATTS = RX IS AR88D=ANT IS 132 FT END FED = YES WE DID QSO LAST YEAR = CONDX FB FER DX BUT EU STNS VY STRONG= QRU? AR G9AA DE G7AA KN

G7AA G7AA DE G9AA G9AA = R ES TNX ALL = MNI TNX QSO ES HPE CUAGN SN = PSE QSL VIA BURO = VY 73 ES DX = GB OM ES GL AR G7AA DE G9AA KN

Note that this is G9AA's last transmission but the contact has not finished because he is about to receive G7AA' s final over. G9AA therefore finishes with 'KN' and not 'VA'.

G9AA G9AA DE G7AA G7AA = R FB SIGS NW OM = QRT = MNI TNX QSO ES HPE CUAGN = QSL OK VIA RSGB = 73 ES DX = CHEERIO MAC ES ALL THE BEST AR G9AA DE G7AA VA CL.

This is the last transmission of the contact and G7AA therefore uses 'VA', meaning "I have finished". 'CL' indicates that G7AA is closing down.

The above describes a fairly basic contact but in practice CW contacts range from just an exchange of RST/QTH/name to a chat lasting an hour or more.

'N' and 'VA' are probably the most misused symbols in amateur radio. Remember: 'K' is an invitation to any station to reply. 'KN' is an invitation to a specific station to reply. 'VA' means "I have finished".

When tuning across a band, if only 'G9AA K' is heard, one is entitled to call G9AA. If 'G9AA KN' is heard, it means that G9AA is in contact with someone else or has just called someone, and one should therefore not call G9AA. On the other hand if 'G9AA VA' is heard it should indicate that G9AA has just finished a contact and therefore one is entitled to call him.

It follows that if these symbols are not used correctly a considerable amount of annoyance can be created.

At the conclusion of a contact always listen for a few seconds - someone may be calling you! Do not immediately send 'QRZ?' after sending 'VA' unless you suspect someone may be waiting for you. A very short CQ call, ie just 'CQ DE G9AA K' will indicate that you are now ready to accept a call.

The procedure of 'tail-ending' means a very short call, ie 'DE G9AA KN' , to a station immediately he has finished his last transmission. It is most effective when both sides of the contact have been heard but it does require that 'VA' is correctly used. It is accepted by some good operators but is open to abuse and likely to cause irritation if used carelessly. It should be avoided until a fair amount of operating skill has been acquired.

Do not 'send double' unless specifically asked to do so or your signals have been reported as, say RST 339 .

Abbreviations used in amateur telegraphy are understood throughout the world. Many of these are given at the end of this chapter.