REPEATER ETTIQUETTE & OPERATING PROCEDURES
The Repeaters are licensed
by the Federal Communications Commission and the users of our repeaters MUST
comply with ALL FCC mandated rules and regulations. Repeaters are part of amateur
radio, and ham radio is a hobby and should be FUN, however, common sense
requires that some basic guidelines be followed.
Remember,
repeaters are not a direct line. They are a “party line” over which your words
are heard from the
IN ADDITION to the FCC
Regulations, there are basic operating procedures that help to optimize the use
of the repeaters and to promote a positive experience for all users.
While not all-inclusive,
the following procedures establish a baseline for all repeater users to follow.
If you
follow these few guidelines, you will be acting as a responsible member of the
amateur community, and you will have a pleasant D-STAR experience!!
Program your radio
correctly:
To use the repeaters
sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Repeater Association or the CT. DSTAR Users
Group (AA1HD, W1HDN, N1GAU, KD1STR, KB1UHS, KB1UHR and K1CDG) you MUST have your call sign in the YOURCALL field. Also be sure that you have
the repeater call sign in both the RPT1 and RPT2 fields.
In the RPT1 field the call
sign MUST be followed by the
repeater module designator (A=1.2GHz, B=440 or C=2m) in the 8th
position of the field.
In the RPT2 field you MUST follow the repeater call sign with
the letter “G” in the 8th position of the field.
Not programming your radio
as indicated above violates our rules for using the repeaters and you may be
asked not use our repeaters.
Please turn on the “Busy
Lockout” feature in your radio. This will prevent you from doubling with
someone else.
Leave Pauses:
D-STAR
is a different animal than analog. DO NOT Quick key!! It is a good practice to
count to 5 between transmissions. This give others a chance to join in or
announce there presence. There is no such thing as double-keying and hearing
some indication that a double-key has occurred. If you double-key with someone
else chances are good that one of you won’t be heard and nobody will know you
transmitted.
Your
transmissions are turned into digital data streams and then transmitted.
Additional data is also transmitted each time you key your PPT, like your callsign, message and location (if GPS is turned on). This
takes time to clear through the repeater(s) and gateway especially if several
are linked together. So please leave a pause between your transmissions.
Listen Before You Talk:
When
preparing to use the repeater, be sure to listen before you press the PTT.
Please remember to key your microphone and pause for a second or two to insure
that ALL the links come up and your transmission is not cut off at the
beginning. When you turn on your rig, check your volume setting to be sure you can
hear any activity on the repeater. It is also good practice to ask if the
repeater is in use, there may be a net in progress or someone may be waiting
for another party to respond or return to the air shortly. Simply ask, “Is the
repeater in use? This is <your callsign>”.
With the
proliferation of dual band/dual display radios, be sure you are set up to
transmit on the desired band and/or frequency.
Admit to Your Mistakes!
Accidents are
bound to happen – you may inadvertently transmit into an ongoing conversation
because you forgot one of the points above. The best way to handle this is to
apologize for your error! Be a responsible adult- you will gain more respect
through your regret, in spite of your mistake!
Station Identification:
All stations
should identify themselves using their FCC assigned callsign
upon:
Initially transmitting on the repeater (strongly suggested);
Every ten minutes thereafter (not required as your radio identifies
you but it is still a good habit);
When they end their conversation or “sign off” (required).
In addition, when
operating in a net or “roundtable” your callsign
should be announced more frequently if needed to facilitate efficient
communication.
Any transmission
on the repeater which is not either indicating you are listening, or calling
another station or stations before communication is established is considered
“Broadcasting” and is not allowed on Amateur Radio and on the repeater.
When initially
coming on a repeater, (which is not previously in use verified by LISTENING for
a reasonable time or, if you’re not sure ask, “Is the repeater in use?” PRIOR
to transmitting), it is only necessary to announce your call. If you would like
to solicit a conversation, you can announce your presence on the repeater by
stating, “<your callsign> listening”.
Testing:
To test repeater
access, DON’T just kerchunk the repeater
without identifying! Instead,
use the term “testing”. Example: "<your callsign>
testing".
If
you want a signal report from another amateur, state that in plain English.
Example: “This is <your callsign>, can someone
give me a signal report?”
Do
not use the repeater frequency to check antenna SWR or to do other equipment
checks. Move to simplex if possible and use a dummy load.
Demonstrations:
From
time to time, an amateur may want to demonstrate the capabilities of amateur
radio to another non-amateur. The typical way to do this is to ask for a
"demo" such as, "<Your
Call sign> for a demonstration." Anyone who is listening to the
repeater can answer them back. If you answer such a call, give the calling
party your name, callsign, and location, not a
lengthy conversation. Someone doing a demo may ask for stations in a particular
area to show the range of amateur radio communications, such as, if the calling
station is in
If you are trying to contact a specific station, you should announce,
… "<Callsign of station being called> -
this is - <your callsign>". Your callsign is stated AFTER the station you want to call. If you do not get an answer after a couple
calls, announce “<your callsign> - clear”. This
lets everyone else listening know that you have released the repeater for
others to use.
If the repeater is
already in use, please wait for a pause between transmissions to announce your
call. If you want to contact another station not in the current conversation,
ask if you can make a call in plain English. Simply announce Call Please or state, “<your callsign> for a call”.
Make your call
when the parties using the repeater turn the repeater over to you. If you
contact the party you are seeking, turn the repeater back to the person who
turned it over to you, thank them for letting you in, and move to another
frequency to hold your conversation no matter how short you think it might
take.
If you do not get
a response from the party you are seeking, turn the repeater back to the person
who turned it over to you, and thank them for letting you in.
When a new station
enters the roundtable, those stations using the repeater, and the next station
in rotation should acknowledge the new station AND turn it over to them, or let
them know what their place is in the rotation. Also indicate who they should
turn it over to in order to keep the rotation intact. Remember to give your
name as a matter of introduction so everyone becomes familiar with you!
When in a
roundtable discussion make it a practice to turn the repeater over to the next
party in the conversation. Don’t assume everyone will remember when it is their
turn. Not turning it over can cause confusion and instigates double-keying
which does not play well in the D-STAR world.
When Callsign
Routing:
You will not know if there is a conversation taking place
on a remote repeater so you may have to make your call several times before you
are heard.
It is important that you let stations on the repeater you
are routing to know what repeater/gateway and module you are transmitting from.
This gives the users of the other repeater enough information so they can react
to your call. With D-STAR, a call from a remote repeater, that is not linked to
the one you are on, does not let you respond automatically. The users of the
remote system need to take some action in order for their response to get back
to you. Usually they will hit their “one touch” button, but they won’t know to
do that is you don’t tell them you are coming in from a different repeater. It
is a good practice to make your call in the following manner;
Announce yourself with your callsign followed by “via the” “your repeater callsign
and module”, like this: W1ABC via the AA1HD module C in
Repeat this several times without un-keying so the remote
station has time to push their one-touch button while you are transmitting.
Give enough time between attempts to allow the remote
station to reply. Remember, they can’t just put their PTT. They need to find
the one-touch button, push it while you were transmitting.
Position beaconing (GPS data):
While most D-STAR
radios have the ability to automatically beacon your position, it is not a good
idea to allow that to happen. The best practice is to allow your position
information to go out only when you press the PTT. If a conversation is in
progress and an automatic beacon goes out it could interfere with the
conversation. If a conversation is not in progress the automatic beacons can
become annoying to other listeners as it causes the repeater to beep.
If there is a
pressing need to automatically beacon, set the duration to a reasonable time
interval, preferably not less than every 5 minutes.
Being a courteous ‘guest’:
Whenever you use a
repeater that belongs to a group to which you are not a member, or belongs to
an individual and you do not support the repeater (especially when you are
traveling in an area not frequented), it is always common courtesy to thank the
group for allowing you to use the system, similar to what you would do if you
borrowed someone’s cell phone to make a call. Simply state, “This is <your callsign> clear – Thank you for the use of the repeater”
when signing off. It is likely that no one will say “your welcome”, but rest
assured that someone heard you, and accepted your gratitude.
If you frequently
use a repeater, it is courteous to join the organization that is responsible
for maintaining the system, or in the case of a system under single party
ownership, asking the owner if he accepts donations towards the upkeep of the
system. Repeaters are expensive to maintain, and keeping them on the air and
running efficiently takes a lot of time and capital. Even if a repeater is
considered “open”, that does not make it a public utility- your support is
important.
A guest is
considered to be someone who uses a system on an infrequent basis. The term
guest has its limits however…. If your mother in law asked you if she could
stay at your house for a while, and proceeded to stay for several months, at
what point would the term ‘guest’ no longer apply? The same rationale applies
to the use of a repeater!
Emergency Calls:
ONLY USE THE TERM "BREAK" OR "BREAK BREAK" in an emergency or life-threatening situation.
All
stations using the repeater should pause after the previous station drops the
carrier (releases the PTT) to minimize inadvertent "doubling"
(simultaneous transmission) and to allow time for new stations to identify.
If an incoming
station announces an emergency with a single or double "break", the
repeater is to be given to them IMMEDIATELY for their traffic.
Communication
should be in plain language, as if you were communicating over the telephone.
Although you may hear many others using them, "Q" codes are not
required and their use should be minimized (“Q” codes were established for CW
communications then extended to HF voice to facilitate quick and easy
intelligibility- on VHF or UHF this is not necessary).
"10"
codes should not be used, and avoid using CB "handles" in place of
your name! Many hams can trace their radio roots to CB, but if you are a
current or former CB’er, please leave your CB lingo
behind. Ham radio is a whole different country from CB. Using your CB ways on
the repeater is the fastest way to be labeled a LID (a bad operator).
Similarly,
phonetics should be reserved for those instances when they are required or
where ambiguity should be avoided (minimal signal / emergency traffic for
example).
Interjecting a Comment:
If listening to a
conversation and you want to make a “comment” you should come into the
conversation between transmissions by first identifying with your call sign and
then state your intention. Example: “<your callsign>
with a comment”. If you are not able to join in the conversation due to time or
other constraints, make your comment when the participants turn it over to you,
sign out, and turn the repeater back to the individual who turned it over to
you or to the next person in the rotation, depending upon circumstance.
Remember to thank the participants for letting you in, and remember to clear
with your callsign.
Extraneous Tones and
Identifiers:
Except when
required for control or identification purposes, extraneous audible content
should NOT be transmitted before, during or at the completion of a
transmission. This includes DTMF tones, your background TV or music on the car
stereo.
Proper and legal
operating etiquette is 95% common sense. While the above limits on content are not all inclusive, they
should make clear the type of communication that is NOT appropriate.
The
FCC requires the Control Operators to monitor the repeaters to insure
compliance with the rules. We would not like to hear illegal or sloppy
operating habits on our repeaters, because such problems could cause FCC
actions against us. We should all be mindful
of our operating procedures- Newer
users of the repeater will copy our poor practices, purely out of the ignorance
of proper procedures, and likely will add their own errant ways into the mix.
Let’s avoid this downward spiral!
The repeater Trustee and
Control Operators have the right and the duty to shut the repeater down should
a warning of an FCC rule violation go unheeded. Remember that they have the
responsibility of preserving the trustee’s license and any activity on the
repeater results in the de-facto involvement of the trustee.