CIS Radio Stream

Radio Voice Procedure for CIS Instructors

What is the Purpose of Admin Voice?

The old RN training manuals describe the purpose of AV procedure as

“Provide a concise and definitive language whereby voice communication

may be conducted accurately and rapidly”

Put simply it means that everyone from Lands End to John O’Groats can, using AV procedures be understood ‘instantly’.

These procedures are very similar to

those used by the RN and NATO though they are slightly different in detail!

Learning the correct procedures, we can ensure that every operator on a SCC circuit understands what is being said or asked of them. This then promotes accurate and quick communication.

When operating, it is possible for you to be called by a station that may not be another SCC Unit. As MOD owns the frequencies we use it is possible for a Warship, Aircraft or foreign force to call you.

By using AV and by speaking clearly and intelligibly successful communication will be made much easier.

Remember, AV should be made available to all Sea Cadets and Staff regardless of their specialisation.

A Guide to Technique

.

Pitch: Voice pitched at a slightly higher level than normal conversation.

Volume: The microphone should be held a few inches in front of your mouth and square on to it. Don’t shout. Speak normally.

Clarity: All words/syllables should be spoken clearly. Difficult words or phrases should be spelled out.

Dialects: Modify your accent or dialect to make yourself understood better.

Speech rate: Speak as fast as the circuit allows. Take into account conditions, experience and training etc.

MicrophoneManner: Be alert and have a good knowledge of what is

happening when operating. Respond quickly to calls from other stations and concentrate on the task in hand.

Circuit Discipline Is essential on a net so that:

1: Individual stations can transmit in order, one at a time and don’t interfere with each other.

2: Any station transmitting knows its message has been received3: No time is wasted by unnecessary chat or misunderstandings4: More urgent messages can take precedence over Routine

messages.5: Corrections, repetitions and verifications can be made without delay or confusion.6. Addresses can write down messages as they receive them

without interruption.

Remember: Poor discipline quickly leads to confusion or even chaos!

All the following are strictly forbidden:

1: Transmission on a directed net without permission2: Excessive tuning and testing3: Unauthorised transmission of Place/Unit/Personal Name4: Profane, Indecent or Obscene language5: Use of excessive or unauthorised transmitting power6: Transmitting at speeds beyond the capability of the receiving operator7: Operating without a current Permit to Transmit except under the

supervision or the express permission of an Authorised Person8: Use of unauthorised callsigns except where local calls have been

approved9: Use of the Precedence ‘Flash’ by SCC stations

Phonetic Alphabet

With varying accents and ‘on-air’ conditions confusion would reign if we did not have some sort of standard for letters and numbers. As a

result the ‘NATO phonetic Alphabet’ with approved numeral pronunciation has been

widely adopted.

Numerals

With some exceptions numbers are always spoken digit by digit

1 WUN 2 TOO 3 THUH-REE

4 FOWER 5 FIFE 6 SIX

7 SEVEN 8 AIT 9 NINER

0 ZERO

Multiple Numerals

Exact multiples of thousands may be spoken as such except when they form part of a Time Group, Date Time Group or a position

10 WUN ZERO 1,500 WUN FIFE ZERO ZERO

1340Z TIME WUN THUH-REE FOWER ZERO ZULU

15,000 WUN FIFE THOUSAND

1,000,000 WUN MILLION

The Decimal PointThe decimal point in a sequence of numerals is pronounced DAY-SEE-MAL

Abbreviations and InitialsThese are spoken by letter using the phonetic alphabet e.g. CPO would be Charlie Papa Oscar but Chief Petty Officer would be just as correct. Personal initial should be proceeded by the proword “initials” e.g. G. H. SMITH would be Initials GOLF HOTEL SMITH or SMITH INITIALS GOLF HOTEL

Prowords or Procedure words or are words or phrases limited to radio communication procedure used to facilitate communication by conveying information in a condensed standard form i.e. BREAK meaning the beginning or end of subject matter, DISREGARD THIS TRANSMISSION meaning cancel or ignore the message I am sending. (Prosigns are used in Morse, Visual and DATA comms) Punctuation should not be used unless it is likely to cause confusion by changing the sense of a message. If needed it should be spoken normally e.g. FULL STOP, COMMA, COLON etc.

Callsigns

A callsign is a unique group of letters and numerals which identify a radio station. The law requires a transmitting station to identify itself during a transmission e.g. Radio1, BBC1. SCC callsigns are made up of three letters beginning with M indicating a British Station, F allocated to the SCC when the RNR relinquished control of our frequencies in the 1990’s and a third letter indicating the area where the station is based and two figures unique to each station.

An example would be MFL83

International Letter allocated Area Stations Unique letter to the SCC Letter number

M F L 83

Edmonton London Unit

PRECEDENCESPrecedences are used to tell operators how urgent messages are and how quickly they need to be handled.

Spoken as Written as Use

FLASH Z Not used in SCC

IMMEADIATE O Only for most urgent messages. Reporting of serious accidents/injuries,

Bad weather etc (30 mins) PRIORITY P Not as important as ‘O’ but

urgent enough to jump Routine traffic (3hrs)

ROUTINE R All normal traffic (Next Day)

Date Time Group

The DTG indicates the date and time at which a message was originated. It consists of six figures representing the Date and Time (24 hour clock) and a suffix letter indicating the Time Zone, three letters indicating the Month and two digits indicating the Year.

i.e. 061235Z JAN 01

The 6th day at 1235 UTC/GMT January 2001

and spoken as

TIME ZERO SIX WUN TWO THU-REE FIFE ZULU JANUARY ZERO WUN

IN SCC ‘ADMIN VOICE’ THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF

MESSAGE

PLAINDRESS MESSAGE

A message where the majority of the elements of the BASIC MESSAGE FORMAT are transmitted i.e. The call, Transmission Instructions (if Appropriate), Precedence, DTG, Address, Message Instructions, Breaks, Subject Matter, Final Instructions and Ending Sign. All Plaindress messages are to be written down preferably on a Message Form for transmission and receipt.

ABBREVIATED PLAINDRESS MESSAGE

A message where many of the Elements of the Basic Message Format are left out. Used much less formally than Plaindress messages.

Note: Most SCC Admin Voice are Abbreviated Plaindress.

SERVICE MESSAGE

A message between communications personnel pertaining to communications matters only. The format is usually Abbreviated Plaindress and the first word of the text is always to be Proword SERVICE

PROCEDURE MESSAGE

These are standard messages such as Radio Checks, Time Checks etc And the format is as an Abbreviated Plaindress Messsage.

OTHER TERMS

ORIGINATOR

The Command that initiates the drafting and sending of a message. In SCC terms ‘The Command’ can be a Unit, the person running an event or a stance at an event, a Commanding Staff Officer, a Training Centre etc

ACTION ADDRESSEE

The Command to whom a message is sent and who needs to take action on it. The term addressee does not refer to the radio operator

INFORMATION ADDRESSEE

A Command who needs to know the content of a message but who does not need to take action on it

EXEMPT ADDRESSEE

A Command who does not need to receive a message (This refers to messages where collective Callsigns have been used)

DRAFTER

The person who actually writes the original message before it is sent. In SCC terms this is often the Originator and may sometimes be the operator

RELEASING OFFICER

A person designated by Command to authorise the transmission of messages on behalf of that Command. This may be the Originator (i.e. Unit CO) or other designated members of staff. Formal messages are released by signature in the appropriate box on the Message Form. A releasing Officer are usually only authorised to release messages which concern their area of expertise. In SCC units staff members perform many roles and in these cases may be able to release messages about one or all of these areas.

ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATIONS

The first thing a good Radio Operator does when switching on his equipment is LISTEN. Usually a minute before a call is made. If no NET is established then a general call is made……..

MFM99 this is MFM33 OVER

or a call to a specific station…………

MFM01 this is MFM33 OVER

A station answering either of the above replies………..

this is MFM01 OVER

REPORTING INTO A NET

If a NET has already been established a station can become part of it by reporting in…………

MFP62 this is MFT95 REPORTING INTO NET OVER

this is MFP62 ROGER OUT

RADIO CHECKSIt is good practice to check conditions as early as you can when you first ‘Set Watch’ on a voice circuit. A RADIO CHECK will test the STRENGTH and READABILITY of your signal and that of the station you are working. A Radio Check can be carried out with a single station or many………

MFQ401 this is MFJ04 RADIO CHECK OVER

this is MFQ401 ROGER OVER

this is MFJ04 ROGER OUT

In RADIO CHECKS the Proword ROGER replaces LOUD AND CLEAR. If a signal is not loud and clear then a combination of the following can be used

Signal Strength Readability

LOUD CLEARGOOD READABLEWEAK DISTORTEDVERY WEAK WITH INTERFERENCEFADING INTERMITTANT

i.e. this is MFJ04 FADING AND DISTORTED OUT

CORRECTION PROCEDURES

Corrections can only be made by the station which has sent the message. This may be the originating station or a relay station.

Correction during transmission

“YOUR ASC WILL BE MOVED ‘CORRECTION’ MOORED AT OUR JETTY UNTIL NEXT SUNDAY”

Correction in final transmission if you notice a mistake and have not said “OVER”

…..MOVED AT OUR JETTY UNTIL NEXT SUNDAY BREAK CORRECT ‘WORD BEFORE’ AT MOORED OVER

If you have already sent a message after a receipt has been made, a new message must be sent giving details of the mistake

this is MFJ04 CORRECT MY 091703Z AUG 11 WORD BEFORE …..AT….. MOORED OVER

OR while communication is still established

BREAKCORRECT MY 091703Z AUG 11 WORD BEFORE …..AT….. MOOREDBREAKOVER

When operating and sending or receiving messages you can always ask for specific words or paragraphs or even the whole

message to be repeated using

SAY AGAIN WORD AFTER ??????? OVER

SAY AGAIN WORD BEFORE ????? OVER

SAY AGAIN ALL AFTER OVER

SAY AGAIN ALL BEFORE OVER

The operator giving the repetition willl use the Proword

“I SAY AGAIN WORD AFTER/BEFORE” etc

Sometimes when conditions are very poor it may be necessary to repeat what you are sending. WORDS TWICE procedure in

Abbreviated Plaindress, Service and Procedure messages is done like this…………

MFJ01 this is MFL82 MFL82 RADIO CHECK RADIO CHECK OVER

MFL82 MFL82 this is MFJ01 MFJ01

WEAK AND DISTORTEDWEAK AND DISTORTED OVER

MFJ01 MFJ01 this is MFL82 MFL82

WEAK AND FADINGWEAK AND FADING OUT

TIME CHECKS

Any station can ask another what the time is. But, to get an accurate time check so that every operator has exactly the same time, they must specifically request a TIME CHECK

L27H this is L27M REQUEST TIME CHECK OVER

this is L27H WAIT OUT

L27H this is L27M TIME CHECK AT 1812 ZULUWUN FIFE SECONDSWUN ZERO SECONDSFIFE FOWER THUREE TOO WUNTIME 1812 ZULU OVER

this is L27H ROGER OUT

BASIC MESSAGE FORMAT includes

FROM

TO

INFO

PRECEDENCE

DTG

MESSAGE TEXT

MFT95 this is MFT97 STANDBY ROUTINE OVER

this is MFT95 ROGER OVER

this is MFT97BREAKFROM MFT96TO MFT95R122021Z FEB 12BREAKREGRET SAILING ISCANCELLED THIS WEEKENDBREAKNO FURTHER TRAFFIC OVER

this is MFT95RECEIVED YOUR R122012Z OUT

CLOSING DOWNPermission must be obtained from the Net Controller before closing down for any length of time whether it is Free or Directed. A station may simply request permission to close down or may ask to close for a specific period of time.

On a National Net it is common practice, once permission has been gained, to transmit a Closing Down signal. This is not mandatory but good practice in case other stations have not heard the original request. They can be used on any SCC frequency or Net. They are always sent to Collective Callsigns (MFJ09 – HQ Staff Officers, Comms or MFT99 – All SCC Callsigns SW Area etc)

MFJ99 this is MFT67 CLOSING DOWN AT TIME 1830 ZULU OUT

If you control the Net then say

MFJ99 this is MFT67 CLOSING DOWN THIS NET AT 1830 ZULU OUT

LOGGING

It is a legal requirement that all radio transmissions are logged. The amount of detail to be kept can depend on the Net that is being run and the facilities at your unit.

1. A log must be accurate and easy to understand.2. Separate logs must be kept for MF/HF and VHF/UHF3. Homemade logs are acceptable4. The date and callsign are to be completed on every page5. All operators are to sign at the start and end of a watch

Name, Rank/Rate and their initial6. During quiet periods the time should be logged every 15 minutes and annotated ‘No Traffic’7. All Prosigns and Opsigs are approved for logging and the only abbreviations allowed

When you fill in the log or message form ALWAYS use black ink and capital letters. Any mistakes should have a line put through them and not just ‘scrubbed’ out.

Messages not written on a message form are to be written in the logbook IN FULL.

A well kept log is your first and possibly only line of defence if a complaint arises, especially if its concerning interference alleged by an outside party. If you are unable to produce your log to a relevant authority, SCC or Civil you may be liable to suspension or withdrawal of your Permit to Transmit

Any interference experienced, with the cause if known, strength and any other details is to be noted as are details of any unauthorised transmissions.

It is your responsibility as the ‘communicator in charge’ that your units logbook is filled in correctly.

The following are examples of an SCC logbook and SCC message form

SCC LOGBOOK

SCC MESSAGE FORM

Approved Abbreviations When Logging

1. Where a choice of Opsig, Prosign and or other abbreviations is shown,only one is to be used and this is at the operators

discretion though all efforts should be made to maintain consistency in the log.2. All Prosigns and Opsigs are approved for use in logging

where appropriate even if they are not shown on the lists you have been shown.

3. These are the ONLY abbreviations approved for use in the SCC radio operators logs.

4. Do not make abbreviations up. If your in doubt write entries longhanded.