CAP CommunicationsCAP Communications

Orientation Class Orientation Class

Voice of CommandVoice of Command

CAP Radio Operator AuthorizationCAP Radio Operator Authorization

• Communications Orientation Class– 1-2 Hour Class on:

» Standard Operating Procedures

» Local Operating Procedures

– Entitles CAP member to operate a CAP Radio

– Issued a CAPF 76, Radio Operator’s Permit by Wing or higher headquarters

• Advanced Communications User Training– 4 Hour Class

– Pass the Advanced Communications User Test, CAPF 119

– Entitles CAP member to be assigned a call sign for their radio

– Required as part of the Communications Specialty Track

National HeadquartersCivil Air Patrol

Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6332

RADIO OPERATOR AUTHORIZATIONName and address of operator:John Doe123 Main StreetMontgomery AL 36112

Card # AL-00123

Expiration: 31 AUG 98

Authorization is done in two phases:

CAP Radio Station LicensingCAP Radio Station Licensing• CAP is a considered a federal agency, thus its

Radio Stations are authorized by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

• Public stations are licensed by the FCC

• Federal agencies are not allowed to use services allocated exclusively to the public sector for their business.

• This excludes the use of Amateur Radio and Citizens Band for CAP business.

The regulation for all CAP Communications is CAPR 100-1

Types of Stations &Types of Stations &Tactical Call SignsTactical Call Signs

GROUNDAIRMOBILE

Goldenrod 265

CAPFLIGHT 101

Goldenrod 75

MOBILE

ALABAMA WING CALL SIGN EXAMPLES

PROWORDSPROWORDS

• THIS IS Preface to your call sign

• ROGER Last transmission received OK

• OVER I’m done, go ahead

• OUT I’m done, bye

• WAIT I will be back in a few seconds

• SAY AGAIN Say that again

• CORRECTION Oops! I really meant to say

• WILCO ROGER and I will comply

• AFFIRMATIVE Yes

Prowords are a special set of words used for clarity and brevity in communications.

Some of the most commonly used prowords are:

Reference: 100-1

Phonetic AlphabetPhonetic AlphabetA AlphaB BravoC CharlieD DeltaE EchoF FoxtrotG GolfH HotelI IndiaJ JulietK KiloL LimaM Mike

N NovemberO OscarP PapaQ QuebecR RomeoS SierraT TangoU UniformV VictorW WhiskeyX X-RayY YankeeZ Zulu

NumbersNumbersPronunciation

1 WUN

2 TOO

3 TREE

4 FO-WER

5 FIFE

6 SIX

7 SEVEN

8 ATE

9 NINER

0 ZERO

When writing the numbers, do not write them down the way they are pronounced.

For example, do not write “one” as “wun” or “five” as “fife.” Write them as “one” and “five.”

I SPELL / FIGURES / INITIALSI SPELL / FIGURES / INITIALS• Use “I SPELL” for pronounceable words

– PIZZA

» “I SPELL PIZZA PAPA INDIA ZULU ZULU ALPHA PIZZA”

• Use “FIGURE(S)” AND “INITIAL(S)” for non-words– N516F

» “INITIAL NOVEMBER FIGURES FIVE ONE SIX INTIAL FOXTROT”

CORRECTIONSCORRECTIONS

Use proword “CORRECTION” to correct a mistakeExample:

“… Turn right at next corner … CORRECTION Turn left at next corner…”

SENDING NUMBERSSENDING NUMBERS• Use Prowords “FIGURES”, “DECIMAL”, “TIME”, “INITIALS”

Digit-by-Digit Not“Seven Fifty” 750 “FIGURES SEVEN FIVE ZERO”

NinerNot Nine

849 “FIGURES EIGHT FOUR NINER”

DecimalPoint

14.5 “FIGURES ONE FOUR DECIMAL FIVE”

Z Time 1635Z “TIME ONE SIX THREE FIVE ZULU”

Initial AndFigures E21 “INITIAL ECHO FIGURES TWO ONE”

One Figureand Initial 3-A “FIGURE THREE DASH INITIAL ALPHA”

ZULU TimeZULU Time• AKA Greenwich Mean Time or Universal

Coordinated Time.

• Refers to the current time in Greenwich, United Kingdom.

• Zulu time is a system of timekeeping that refers to the same time, no matter what time zone you are in.

Date-Time GroupDate-Time Group

16 0218Z APR 97

Date Time Month Year

Date and Time in ZULU

Distress and Emergency Distress and Emergency SignalsSignals

MAYDAY DistressPAN UrgencySECURITE Safety

} Supercedes allPriority orRoutine Traffic

Operator ResponsibilityOperator Responsibility

• LISTEN

• Be Prepared to Assist

• Do NOT Transmit Unless You Have Something to Offer or Contact is Requested

Calling Another StationCalling Another Station• To Establish Contact

– “Goldenrod 40 THIS IS Capflight 3421 OVER”

• Response from the Ground Station– “Capflight 3421 THIS IS Goldenrod 40 OVER”

• No need to use call signs until communications are complete

• On Closing the Contact– “… Capflight 3421 OUT”

Calling Another Station cont

• Always end a transmission with OVER or OUT - NOT BOTH!

• Do not use “Roger Wilco” instead of Wilco. “Roger Wilco” means “Last transmission received OK last transmission received OK and I will comply.”

Airborne operators:Airborne operators:• Before transmitting, make sure you are

on the correct frequency.

• Before leaving the aircraft at the close of a mission, make sure the ELT is off.

5 Habits of a Good Radio Operator5 Habits of a Good Radio Operator• Speak clearly

• Annunciate your words.

• Speak slowly

• Remain calm no matter what happens - Never Panic

• THINK - “Use Your Head”

Prohibited Operating PracticesProhibited Operating Practices

• Violation of Radio Silence

• Personal Conversation

• Transmitting in a Net without permission of NCS

• Lack of identifying call sign

• Excessive tuning and testing

• Use of Amateur Radio or Citizens Band frequencies for CAP business, and Vice-Versa.

• Use of 10 codes or Amateur Radio Q Signals

CAP Communications cont.

• Telephones - Landline and cellular telephones can be used in addition to radio communications.

• INTERNET - E-mail communications, information web pages, internet phone and other methods of communication over the internet.

• GOAL - To have a readily available and comprehensive communications network using a variety of assets.

NTIA Deviation ChangesNTIA Deviation Changes

• Currently, 25Khz channel spacing and 5Khz deviation

• By January 1, 2008, the NTIA has mandated the Federal government to use radio equipment with 12.5kHz channel spacing and 2.5kHz deviation to allow for more channels and more users.

• If you purchase your own equipment, be sure that the equipment has the new 2.5 kHz deviation and that it is capable of the new channel plan. Make sure that the receiver will be selective enough to ignore stations that are 12.5 kHz away

Voice Operating ModesVoice Operating Modes

SIMPLEX

REPEATER

Single Frequency - One Station at a Time

Channel 3 or 4

R T

Two Frequencies - One Station at a Time

Repeater OperationRepeater Operation

100.0 Hz Tone

Note: All CAP Repeaters respond to the 100.0 Hz tone

Repeater increases the range of mobilestations due to its high profile location

Universal Access Tone used by low power stations only

Inside the RepeaterInside the Repeater

Transmit Frequency

123.0 Hz Tone

Receiver

100.0 & 123.0 HzTone Decoder

Transmitter

“Mike Button”

Voice

ReceiveFrequency

PTT

Repeater will only turn on its transmitter if it hears one of two tones:

1) Universal access tone (100.0 Hz) or

2) Repeater site specific tone (123.0 Hz for the Montgomery Repeater)

The Tone Decoder “listens” for either of the two tones on the incoming signal

The Tone Decoder “presses” the Push To Talk (PTT) button to turn on the transmitter.

• Primary mode of operation should be simplex.

• Only use the repeater if simplex is not possible.

• Selectively use a repeater through use of its assigned access tone

• Use of 100 Hz tone is prohibited since this will bring up multiple repeaters

• The key is to limit use to a single repeater

Airmobile use of RepeatersAirmobile use of Repeaters

CAP Radio FrequenciesCAP Radio Frequencies

• CAP Radio Frequencies are For Official Use Only (FOUO). Listings are available in CAPR 100-1 Vol. 1

Aeronautical SAR StationsAeronautical SAR Stations

• Aeronautical Search And Rescue Stations (SAR) Operate on two Aircraft Frequencies (see CAPR 100-1 Vol. 1 for frequencies).

• Contact ground teams by using VHF-FM

– Air-to-Ground Simplex

• Base Call Signs assigned by geographical location

– “THIS IS Montgomery Mission Base OVER”

Radio Operation SummaryRadio Operation SummaryCommon Controls: Volume Squelch Channel Selector Mike with Push to Talk Switch (Release to Listen)

Radio Setup Radio Transceiver (VHF-FM, HF-SSB, SAR) Power Supply (110 VAC or 12 Volt DC) Antenna (Vertical, Magnetic Mount, Dipole)

V S

1PowerSupply

Radio Net OperationRadio Net Operation

• A Formal Net is established to control the flow of traffic on a single radio channel

• The Net Control Station (NCS) maintains net discipline by controlling who is talking

• Break Ins to the Net should be done only if you have emergency traffic

• The NCS must be contacted first for permission to contact another station

• Sample Net Check-in (GR10 is the NCS):– “Goldenrod 10, THIS IS Goldenrod 404 with no traffic,

over”

• All transmissions must receive permission from the Net Control Station (NCS)

Radio Nets - Contacting another StationRadio Nets - Contacting another Station

GR 401

GR 10NCS

GR404

1

23

1 - “Goldenrod 10, THIS IS Goldenrod 401 with traffic for Goldenrod 404 OVER”2 - “Goldenrod 401, Contact Goldenrod 404 with your traffic, OUT”3 - “Goldenrod 404, THIS IS Goldenrod 401, OVER”

NET STATION CHECK IN ANDNET STATION CHECK IN ANDOPERATING EXAMPLESOPERATING EXAMPLES

• Checking into a Net with no traffic during roll call:“This is <YOUR CALL SIGN> with no traffic OVER"

• Requesting permission from NCS to send a message:" <NCS CALL SIGN> this is <YOUR CALL SIGN> with a <PRIORITY> message for <ADDRESSEE CALL SIGN> OVER"

• Acknowledging readiness to receive traffic:"This is <ADDRESSEE CALL SIGN>, go ahead with your traffic OVER"

• Acknowledging receipt of a message:"This is <ADDRESSEE CALL SIGN>, roger your message OUT"

Levels of PrecedenceLevels of Precedence• FLASH - Not used in CAP Messages

– HIGHEST PRIORITY

– HANDLED AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, AHEAD OF OTHER MESSAGES

• IMMEDIATE – MESSAGES RELATED TO SITUATIONS GRAVELY

AFFECTING THE SECURITY OF THE NATION.

– REQUIRES IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

• PRIORITY– USED FOR MESSAGES WHERE “ROUTINE” ISN’T FAST

ENOUGH

– PROCESSED AHEAD OF ROUTINE MESSAGES

• ROUTINE– MOST USED. DELIVERED IN ORDER RECEIVED.

Message ConstructionMessage Construction• MESSAGE HEADING

– The Originator (From)

– The Addressee (To)

– Precedence (Urgency)

– Date and Time Group

• TEXT– Information being sent.

– Separated from the heading and ending by the proword “BREAK” (may not be part of the text being passed)

• ENDING– Reserved for the Radio Operator’s Notes