- Clarity: Your voice should be clear. Speak a little slower than normal.
- Simplicity: Keep your message simple enough for intended listeners to understand. You can be too concise though; use affirmative or negative in favor of yes or no.
- Brevity: Be precise and to the point; avoid unnecessary banter.
- Security: Do not transmit confidential information on a radio unless you know the proper security technology is in place. Remember, frequencies are shared; you do not have exclusive use of any frequency.
Pro-Tips
- You cannot transmit and receive at the same time
- Transmission should be used sparingly to preserve power
- Monitor a channel for traffic before use
- Any emergency transmission takes priority
- Plan your message before keying the radio
- Wait half a second after keying the radio before speaking
- Call format: “Hey you, it’s me.” i.e.: “Chase truck, this is Race car. We blew a tire.”
- Check in periodically to ensure proper operation
- Do not use profanity over the airwaves
- Learn the NATO phonetic alphabet to avoid confusion
The NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Alfa | Golf | Mike | Sierra | Yankee |
Bravo | Hotel | November | Tango | Zulu |
Charlie | India | Oscar | Uniform | |
Delta | Juliett | Papa | Victor | |
Echo | Kilo | Quebec | Whiskey | |
Foxtrot | Lima | Romeo | X-Ray |