QRZ! Ham Radio 1/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - December 1993.iso/arrl/ntsproce.drs

Text File | 1993-11-21 | 10KB | 168 lines

                   TRANSMITTING A RADIOGRAM

      Transmitting the radiogram for the first time applies both to
originated radiograms and radiograms that have been received for
relay. Let's assume you have found a station to receive your
radiogram, either by your own efforts to find one or as a result of
having been told by a net control station to transmit it to so-
and-so.  You call him, he says he is ready to receive (QRV).  A
voice example would go something like this:  "Copy message number
fifteen, routine, KY1T ten, Newington, Connecticut, two one five one
zulu, April twelve.  Mrs. Judy Smith, one nine zero eight Moon
Street Northeast, Albuquerque, New Mexico, eight seven one one
two, telephone two nine eight six four zero eight.  Break. Mother
and Dad arrived home safely Sunday afternoon X-ray love.  Break.
Uncle George.  End of  message, no more".
     On CW, it would go like this: NR 15 R KXIB 10 NEWINGTON
CONN 2151Z APR 12 MRS JUDY SMITH AA 1908 MOON ST NORTHEAST AA
ALBUQUERQUE NM 87112 AA 298 6408 BT MOTHER AND DAD ARRIVED HOME
SAFELY SUNDAY AFTERNOON X LOVE BT UNCLE GEORGE AR N.
     Phone operators use the proword "break" for separation of
the address and signature from the text.  It is incorrect
procedure to use the words "going to" preceding the address and
"break and the text" preceding the text.
     Radiograms should be sent by voice, not read.  That is,
reading puts emphasis on certain syllables and words, and this
means de-emphasis of others.  In transmitting a radiogram by voice,
no word or syllable should be de-emphasized.  Letting your voice
fall at the end of a sentence as would be done in reading is poor
practice in voice traffic work, as is letting your voice fall for
unaccented syllables.  You are not a broadcast announcer.  Keep
in mind that the receiving operator must put down what you
transmit, completely and accurately.
     Avoid such inanities during transmission as "Mrs., a married
lady" or "Moon, opposite from Sun."  They only confuse things and
give a bad impression of our service.  Avoid giving dates as
"four, twelve, eighty-eight."  Just say "April twelve" and forget the
year.  (We hope no message will be over a year old!  Also, don't
say "today's date."  Spell all difficult or unusual words (e.g.,
"Ferrier, I spell F-E-R-R-I-E-R").  If the word is very
difficult, unusual, or a group of letters not forming a word,
spell it out using ITU phonetics (e.g. "NCOIC, I spell:
November, Charlie, Oscar, India, Charlie.")  Using phonetics
excessively is poor procedure.  Usually simply spelling the word
is sufficient.

                      RECEIVING A RADIOGRAM

     Some of the problems of receiving have already been touched
on above.  The principal rule to follow is do not, repeat do not
assume you have received a part of a radiogram correctly if you are
not absolutely certain.  This is what causes most of the
"garbles" in our amateur message handling.  A single letter lost
in a crash of static can completely change the meaning of an
entire CW message, as can loss of an entire word by voice.  Most
operators are prone to "guess" and usually they guess right.  But
if you did not actually "copy" the missing part, it is taking a
chance.  It's best to make sure.
     Modern procedure, both on voice and CW, uses "break in."  On
voice, this usually refers to "VOX" procedure, in which the
transmitting operator can pause long enough between words or
phrases to let his VOX relay open, enabling the receiving
operator to "break" if he misses something.  On CW, the meaning
of "break-in" is that the receiving operator may miss the last
word of this phrase:"... arrive on Sunday."  He would simply say
"on" and the transmitting operator would repeat "Sunday" and go
on with the message.  On CW, the receiving operator, after
missing "Sunday," presses his key to interrupt the transmission,
sends ON and the transmitting operator repeats SUNDAY and goes on
with the message.  "Break-in" procedure is strongly recommended
for all radiogram traffic.
     If break-in is not used, it is necessary to get "fills."
This makes it necessary for the receiving operator to note the
parts missed and get the missing parts filled after the radiogram
has been completed.  On voice, simply ask for "word after..." or
"word before..." or if more than one word might have been missed,
"between... and."  On CW, the abbreviations WA, WB, or BN are
commonly used.  When break-in is not used, it is common practice
for transmitting stations to repeat (on voice "I repeat," on CW a
question mark) difficult words, letters or groups.
     Perhaps the second most prevalent cause of "garbling" of
messages is poor handwriting.  Many people cannot make out their
own handwriting a day or more after it is written, and in some
cases only an hour or so delay can erase the memory of what a
scrawl is supposed to mean.  The answer is to copy by typewriter
or a personal computer.  A little practice is all that is needed
to be able to do this as easily as copying by pencil; usually it
is faster, and always is more legible.  If you must copy by
hand, require the transmitting operator to send at a speed at
which you can write legibly; don't scrawl illegibly because you
don't want to admit you can't copy that fast.  Copy five words or
groups to a line by hand, ten (5+5) by typewriter, to enable an
instant "check of the check."  In fact, this is the origin of the
word "check" for word count.

                     RELAYING THE RADIOGRAM

     The rule is that received radiograms must be relayed or
delivered within 48 hours after receipt.  However, this is only a
"counting" rule; for practical purposes, the rule is to relay or
deliver the message as soon as possible after receipt.  This
means immediately if you have an outlet; otherwise, as soon as an
outlet is available.  The public is conditioned to "instant
communication" and will be unimpressed with messages, even free
ones, which are slower than the mail, and in some cases "slower
than walking."
     Relaying the message uses the same procedure as transmitting, but here
are some principles that are applicable especially to relaying.  For one
thing, when you are relaying a message, its contents are none of your
concern.  You take no action and make no changes, nor any comments on its
contents, except in making sure you receive it correctly and relay it in
the same condition.  Neither do you judge its importance, except on the
basis of the precedence assigned to it by the originating station.  If you
disagree with the precedence assigned, your argument is with the
originating station, not necessarily the one sending the message to you.
     Relaying stations are authorized to change the form of radiograms
they handle, if incorrect when received, but not the content.  Even
spellings that appear to be obviously incorrect are best relayed
exactly as sent; for all you know, the writer may have a purpose in
spelling incorrectly.  The best rule to follow in relaying is to relay
the radiogram exactly as you received it, after making certain that
you received it correctly.  If the station sending it to you is the
originating station, he may change it if desired; otherwise, no
changes (except in form) should be made.

                       COUNTING RADIOGRAMS

     All amateurs who handle traffic are invited to report their total
message count monthly to their Section Manager.
     For counting purposes, traffic is divided into a few
categories, as follows:
     Originated:  Any radiogram originated by someone other than
yourself, filed with your station for initial transmission on the
air.
     Received:  Every radiogram received by Amateur Radio at your
station.  This includes all messages received, whether received
for relay or received for delivery.
     Sent:  Any message transmitted from your station by radio to
another station, whether such a message was initially transmitted
from your station or was received from another station.
     Delivered:  Any message delivered by you to the addressee,
provided that the message was received at your station by radio
and that the addressee is someone other than yourself.  This
delivery must be an off-the-air function (by telephone, mail in-
person, etc.)
     The traffic total is the sum of originated received, sent
and delivered points.  Note that in some cases the same message
can be counted twice; for example, the same message received by
radio and then relayed to another station by radio is counted
both in the "received" and "sent" categories, while a message
received by radio and then delivered is counted both in
"received" and "delivered" categories.
     When transmitting or receiving messages in book form, count
one point for every three messages in the book, plus another
point for any over a multiple of three.  That is, a book of three
messages would count as a single message, but a book of four,
five or six would count as two, and a book of seven would count
as three, etc.  "Booking" of messages is a time-saving device for
those who want to use it in the interest of efficiency.  It is
similarly perfectly proper procedure to separate booked messages
into single messages if desired; that is, the transmitting
station decides in what form they shall be sent, as long as it is
proper.   Each message, regardless of its content, deserves to
receive separate treatment.  Messages handled using unauthorized
"short cuts" cannot properly be included in your traffic count.