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Radio Guide


zebrex

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Radio communication can be a great asset in Milsim airsoft. It can also be a huge pain in the butt.

 

general Operation of "Push-Talk" Radio

-Push the “transmit” button. Wait 2 seconds before speaking.

-Announce your Squad #, then the Squad # of who you wish to transmit to.

-Give your info and get off the air.

(Note: If the radio features an automatic "OVER" beep, do not say "over")

-Wait for the full reply to be transmitted, signaled by an "over" or "over-beep", before transmitting again.

-When finished with all conversation, say “no further”

 

 

General Guide to Radio Preparation

1. Have a functioning radio and be sure of it's operational capabilities.

2. Ensure your batteries are charged/new, and your PTT mic and earpieces are functioning.

3. Estabilish useable channels prior to engagement and establish rules for "listening in" on OPFOR radio channels.

4. If using an amatuer HAM radio, be sure to notify repeater owners of mil-sim use at least one week prior.

 

 

Radio Etiquette

-When communicating via radio, remember the phrase: “Silence is golden”.

-Keep unnecessary radio traffic off of the air. Always think before you break the radio channel, “Is this traffic going to be beneficial?".

-Always communicate as if someone else is listening. If possible, do not give locations other than map coordinates.

-Do not shout, holler, or scream over the radio. Always speak in a clear, concise, professional tone of voice.

-Always inform the other Squads/Squad Leaders of your movement. If your moving to assist, be sure it is needed.

-NEVER use swear words or phrases that could be offensive. Not only are the inproper etiquette, it is ILLEGAL.

 

 

Commonly Used Jargon (Military/AARL)

QSL = Understood (Yes).

QSL? = Do you understand?

411 = SITREP requested (SITREP- Situational report).

Bogey Dope = Request info on OPFOR.

"Pull the plug" = Commence radio silence.

QTH = What is your position (location)?

Commit = Cleared for operation.

Cleared hot (or "Hot) = Cleared to continue objective with minimal engagement.

No Factor = Not a threat

Tango Charlie = Time check

Oscar Mike = On the move

 

 

Phonetic Alphabet

A Alpha

B Bravo

C Charlie

D Delta

E Echo

F Foxtrot

G Golf

H Hotel

I India

J Juliett

K Kilo

L Lima

M Mike

N November

O Oscar

P Papa

Q Quebec

R Romeo

S Sierra

T Tango

U Uniform

V Victor

W Whiskey or Water

X X-ray

Y Yankee

Z Zulu

 

Contribution added by Firecrafter. Thank you Firecrafter.

"Just a heads up, "whiskey" has been changed to "water." Excerpt from Wikipedia Contrails (USAFA Cadet Manual) article:

Recital Time (Minimum) of the following is six seconds. International Phonetic Alphabet

 

 

Sir, The International Phonetic Alphabet is Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Water, X-Ray, Yankee, Zulu, Sir. Lima is LEE-Ma, Quebec is KAY-Bek, The newest change is Water, previously Whiskey."

 

Numerical Prowords

0 Nada NAH-DAH zero ZAY-ROH

1 Una OO-NAH one WUN

2 Bisso BEES-SOH two TOO

3 Terra TAY-RAH three TREE

4 Karte KAR-TAY four FOWER

5 Panta PAN-TAH five FIVE

6 Soxi SOK-SEE six SIX

7 Sette SAY-TAY seven SEVEN

8 Okto OK-TOH eight AIT

9 Nove NO-VAY nine NINER

 

Voice Procedure:

"Hello" = Alerts the radio net that someone is about to call someone else.

"This Is (insert callsign)" = Identifies who is calling.

"Over" = Pro Word, meaning that a transmission has finished, and that a response is expected.

"Out" = Pro Word, meaning that a transmission has finished, and that a response is NOT expected.

NOTE: The Pro Words Over and Out are NEVER to be used together, i.e. "Over and out". The two Pro Words are mutually exclusive.

"Send"= I am ready to receive your message.

"Say Again = Means that you didn't hear the message, and, obviously, you want the sender to repeat the message.

"Roger" = Means several things. These include, but are not limited to, "I understand", "Received, understood, and I will do as you say", and so on. Use common sense!

"Execute" = Normally used with a code word, this means that a pre-planned set of actions (orders) are to be performed.

"Out to you" = This means that you have finished talking to the first call sign, and are about to call another call sign.

 

Fire Control Orders:

Remember GRIT

Group...Example: Fireteam

Range...Example: 100 feet

Indication...Example: One o'clock, sniper in the first floor farmhouse window

Type...Example: Rapid Fire

 

Types of fire

-Deliberate Fire: Careful, aimed shots each time.

-Rapid: Single shot, but very quick fire.

-Bursts: Short three-to five round automatic burst fire.

-Automatic: or more commonly called Rock 'n' roll!

 

 

Direction Indication

Firstly, you need to know the 'clock ray' method of indicating direction. The clock ray method of giving directions is based, unsurprisingly, on the face of an analogue clock. The point of origin is always "12 o'clock", and directions are given relative to this. For instance "eleven o'clock", "Four o'clock", and so on. Giving a field signal over a radio is simple, if you think about it. Where you would normally point, you give a clock position. Where you would normally signal distances, you say the distance. For uniformity North could always be 12 o'clock"

clockr10.gif

 

 

 

 

Report of Signal Strength

5 = LOUD Your signal is very strong.

4 = GOOD Your signal strength is good.

3 = WEAK Your signal strength is weak.

2 = VERY WEAK Your signal strength is very weak.

1 = FADING Your signal strength fades to such an extent that continuous reception cannot be relied upon.

 

Report of Readability

5 = CLEAR Excellent quality.

4 = READABLE Quality is satisfactory.

3 = UNREADABLE The quality of your transmission is so bad that I cannot read you.

2 = DISTORTED Having trouble reading you because your signal is distorted.

1 = WITH INTERFERENCE Trouble reading due to interference.

 

 

Prowords

From the earliest days of wireless communication, the Morse code letter R (dit-dah-dit) has been used to indicate 'O.K. – understood.' So 'Roger' was the logical voice-phone equivalent. Also from “I Hear America Talking” by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976). “Roger! A code word used by pilots to mean ‘your message received and understood’ in response to radio communications; later it came into general use to mean ‘all right, OK.’ Roger was the radio communications Morse code word for the letter R, which in this case represented the word ‘received.’ ‘Roger Wilco’ was the reply to ‘Roger’ from the original transmitter of the radio message, meaning ‘I have received your message that you have received my message and am signing off.” Wilco implies “I will comply”.

In addition to “R” Roger, early CW (Cable and Wireless) use for “correct” was Morse “C”, this carried over to the phone circuits as “Charlie”. This is still used by Morse ops and can still be heard on some military voice circuits as in “That's Charlie” or “That's a Charlie readback”. Usually following a readback of a message and meaning 'that is correct'. One will also see the occasional reference to FOXTROT messages as in the “DO NOT ANSWER” also encountered on military circuits. This is also from the CW “F” meaning 'do not answer'.

Prowords speed the handling of radio messages by abbreviating single word or phrases to replace common words, phrases, sentences, and even paragraphs. Among other things, knowing and using Prowords help to reduce radio traffic by performing radio transmissions efficiently. The following table contains the most common Prowords used.

Figure C: Common Prowords

Proword Meaning

RADIO CHECK What is my signal strength and readability, i.e., how do you hear me?

ROGER I have heard and understood your transmission.

WILCO I have heard and understood your instructions, and will comply with them.

OVER I have finished my transmissions and turn the channel over to you to transmit.

CLEAR I am finished with this communication and am standing by on the channel.

OUT I have completed transmission and am completely finished and closing this station or switching to another channel.

AFFIRMATIVE Yes.

ALL AFTER The portion of the message to which I make reference is all which follows.

ALL BEFORE The portion of the message to which I make reference is all which comes before.

BREAK I hereby indicate the separation of text from other portions of the message.

CORRECT You are correct, or what you have transmitted is correct.

CORRECTION An error has been made in this transmission. Transmission will continue with the last word correctly sent. The correct version is…

ETA Estimated time of arrival.

ETD Estimated time of departure.

ETR Estimated time of return or repair.

FIGURES

FROM The originator of this message.

I SPELL I shall spell the next word phonetically.

OPS NORMAL Used to say the patrol is normal in all respects, “operations normal”.

OUT Used following the last line of the message transmitted, signifying the end of the transmission and nothing follows. No reply is required or expected.

OVER Used following a transmission when a response from the other station is necessary. It is an invitation to the other station to transmit.

NEGATIVE No.

ROGER I have received your transmission satisfactorily.

I SAY AGAIN I am repeating transmission or the portion indicated

REQUEST YOU SAY AGAIN you should repeat your transmission or the portion indicated.

SILENCE (Spoken 3 times and pronounced SEE LONS) Cease all transmissions immediately. Silence will be maintained until lifted. Used to clear routine transmissions from a channel only when an emergency is in progress.

SILENCE FINI - (Pronounced SEE LONS FEE NEE) Silence is lifted. Indicates the end of an emergency and resumption of normal traffic.

THIS IS This transmission is from the station whose designator immediately follows.

TO The addressees immediately following are addressed for action.

UNKNOWN STATION The identity of the station which you are trying to establish communications with is unknown.

WAIT I must pause for a few seconds.

WAIT OUT I must pause longer than a few seconds.

WORD AFTER The word to which I have reference is that which follows.

WORD The word to which make reference is that which BEFORE precedes.

WRONG Your last transmission was not correct. The correct version is…

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  • 3 months later...

-NEVER use swear words or phrases that could be offensive. Not only are the inproper etiquette, it is ILLEGAL.

 

Just noticed this. How is it illegal? I mean, I know the F in "FRS" stands for Family, but illegal?

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I don't want to say this in a way that sounds rude but, because the FCC says so. It's on their "Not Permitted" list of things you're allowed to do over open freqs. Whistling, playing music, etc,... They setup these guidelines so that anyone who may come across a channel in use will not be offended, annoyed, or have their ears destroyed by something over the waves.

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I don't want to say this in a way that sounds rude but, because the FCC says so. It's on their "Not Permitted" list of things you're allowed to do over open freqs. Whistling, playing music, etc,... They setup these guidelines so that anyone who may come across a channel in use will not be offended, annoyed, or have their ears destroyed by something over the waves.

 

I see. I wasn't even aware that there were any real regulations for channels 1-14. I figured the range was small enough that it didn't matter.

 

 

Edit:

And I have a potty mouth. The feds are gonna come for me. :(

Edited by Sloth
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  • 2 weeks later...

Not sure where the change of W from Whiskey to Water came from, but the NATO and ICAO spelling alphabet still uses Whiskey. If they did change it to Water, nobody in the aviation world is using it at least. The only place I know Water is used in place of Whiskey is in commerciall/ private aviation operations in some Arab countries where alcohol is forbidden and English is used as the primary communication method (Dubai, Saudi Arabia).

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet

http://www.indiana.edu/~afrotc/Resources/Cadet_Handbook.pdf (page 7)

http://www.icao.int/icao/en/trivia/alphabet.htm (this is from the official ICAO website)

 

-jester

Edited by Jester
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  • 1 month later...

we've sworn over comms before but it happens.

also...never say "REPEAT" over comms. in artillery, that to us on the gunline means to do the fire mission over again. that can get people killed. do not say "FIRE" either.

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  • 2 months later...

I'd like to bump this thread, so everyone who experienced the shitty comms at Blind Fury knows what they did wrong.

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  • 1 month later...

Cursing on comm is wasting time necessary for pertinent info to be relayed. Nobody thinks your cool for cussing and yes it's against FCC regs.

  • Upvote 1
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  • 1 year later...

Our team does this to reach someone:

Their callsign twice, then yours once. They reply by saying Go for *Their Callsign*. For example

Kermit - "Zippo, Zippo, Kermit"

Zippo - "Go for Zippo"

 

EDIT: WOOPS, Necropost. My bad.

Edited by Kermit
Necropost
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  • 2 months later...

To use channels 1-7 and 15-22 you need to apply for licence with fcc and at that point you can register and recieve your call sign. Its 120 dollars a year

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To use channels 1-7 and 15-22 you need to apply for licence with fcc and at that point you can register and recieve your call sign. Its 120 dollars a year

Now not to start any trouble on this one, but for the store bought ones at 1 watt or less the fcc does not really go after people, those rules was written many years ago before anybody could go by a radio from best buys, also IMHO you can also get a more powerfull radio (5 watts) and as long as you don't switch over to (official professional) channels, and stick to 1-22 you should also be ok, but hey, I have been know to break a few rules in this world :P, I have heard of a few people getting busted over the years in the US, but most was severely abusing the guidelines.

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  • 2 years later...

Can I just go ahead and say thanks for this? Never before seen a decent thread on getting a radio setup together, so this is going in the bookmarks.

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Can I just go ahead and say thanks for this? Never before seen a decent thread on getting a radio setup together, so this is going in the bookmarks.

While we appreciate your enthusiasm, we must ask that you pay attention to the date of the last post. This thread has long since been dead, and what you've done is necroposting. Please try to refrain from posting in threads that have been quiet for over 90 days.

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