Radio Communications
Course Content
- Course Introduction
- Radio Communications
- Types of radio
- Using radios
- Features of a radio
- Right and wrong way to use a radio
- Radio protocols and sending a message
- Phonetic alphabet and numbers
- Prowords in radio communications
- Call signs
- Radio Checks
- Radio check example
- Losing communications
- Broadcasting and talk groups
- Workplace radios
- Radio Licences
- Dual Sim Radio
- Increasing battery life
- Carrying and transporting radios
- Basic considerations when using radios
- Transmitting Techniques
- Types of Radio
- Course Summary
Radio protocols and sending a message
So in terms of utilizing a radio, it is important that you use correct voice procedures. This means that you will need to know how to initiate a call, how to send your message, and how to end a call, and how to make any corrections or ask for information to be repeated, should you miss it. In most cases, the pro-word for initiating a call is hello, followed by the call sign you want and saying what call sign you are. As an example, hello, Whisky Romeo, this is eco-papa 002, message over. The over is another pro-word which says I have finished speaking, it is now your turn to speak. This is not the same as out, which means I have finished speaking and I require no response and that the call has now been terminated. Sometimes you will need to have information repeated, the pro-word for this, is say again, and it can be used in multiple ways. If you miss the entire message for some reason, you would then say, say again or meaning repeat of the entire message. If you miss part of the message, you can use the word say again, followed by keywords that were in the transmission. As an example, say again all after the fire, in which case you would expect to hear anything afterwards fire in the message repeated. You could also do it the other way around, if you miss the beginning of the message, say all again before smoke. In some cases, you may have missed the middle of the message, probably because somebody else on the network pressed a button and blanked out the middle of a message, in which case you could use the phrase say again, or between smoke and fire. So other pro-words that you can use to ensure and aid your transmission are, roger so far, meaning, I have finished transmitting this part of the message, have you received it all, and you will wait for confirmation from control, who will repeat back to you roger so far, you can then carry on with the rest of your message. Break your message down into bite-sized chunks, which are no longer than 30 seconds each. It is important from a control room aspect that you speak clearly and you speak a reasonable tone and depth, so the recipient is receiving the message because you are passing critical information. Sometimes you will have a lot of information that you need to send in one go, but does not fit into a methane construct. If this is case, and you are gonna want to ensure that it is recorded at the other end, you need to tell control that what is coming next is a lot of information and the pro-word for that, is long message. So that would sound like something along the lines of, hello Whisky Romeo, this is eco-papa 2, long message, over, wait for confirmation from control, who will go, go ahead, long message. You can then commence your message without any breaks. Sometimes you will want to speak to people that are out of your transmission range, or you will find that the person you want to speak to is out of your transmission range. In this case, the message can be relayed through a third party who is on your network. So if I was trying to call a call sign Bravo 3, and I was getting no response by the call sign in between, so we say Bravo 2 knows that he can hear Bravo 3 and me, he will come up on the radio and go, call for Bravo 3 through me, I will give the message to Bravo 2, once he has confirmed that, he will then pass that message on to the third call sign.
In this video you will learn the correct voice procedures when initiating a call, when sending a message, when ending a call and how to make any correction or ask for information to be repeated.
You will be given examples of common scenarios of radio conversations and how to correctly communicate using radio protocols.