3. Don't Forget to Check Your Equipment Settings Mic Level, Tuning, Compression, Etc

Another List

FAQ #174 – Like any leaking ship, am I listing to one side? Maybe. When Hamlet's father's ghost was saying, “List, O List. . .” he meant pay attention. Good idea. Sometimes the best way to remember things is (you knew this was coming) in a list. Here's another one.

1. Listen before transmitting. It sounds obvious, but it's essential. Nobody owns a frequency. Don't be like the guys who start their net right on top of yours just because they always start it there at that time.

2. Think through what you're going to say on a net before pushing the mic button. Be succinct.

3. Don't forget to check your equipment settings – mic level, tuning, compression, etc.

4. Net frequency is where the NCS is. If he or she moves, the net moves, too.

5. Radiogram format increases accuracy and has the service data needed to ensure accountability. Use a formal message when you want documentation.

6. Know the standardized process of NTS or ICS213 format. It eliminates many of the repeats, misunderstandings, and inaccuracies that result when “informal” messages are just repeated over and over by inexperienced operators.

7. A good op keeps an organized file of messages originated and received for ready reference.

8. Neatly transcribe each message to ensure there are no misunderstandings or errors. Remember that someone else may have to read it.

9. Be able to accurately convey complex information and unfamiliar terminology. You may not be familiar with all the words, but you can spell them correctly.

10. Message numbers are a reference for each message. Rather than describing an entire message in a reply, just use “REF MSG 22 R” at the beginning of the text to save time.

11. In numbering a message, do not create unnecessarily long numbers, do not start with a zero, and don't use decimals, dashes, slants or other punctuation in it.

12. Send some formal traffic. We need to exercise the system now more than ever. It's how we practice. Thank someone for a QSO. Congratulate someone. Ask someone for some information. (That might even encourage a radiogram in reply.)

13. Remember that 73 is already plural. Don't say, “73's.” And, if you have traffic, list it.

Now I'm off to listen to one of my favorite composers – Franz Liszt. 73 – K9LGU/STM