Solar X-rays

Geomagnetic Field

Current Solar

Hello and welcome to the new Technician class support page.

Click on this link to search for your new call sign!

License Study Materials

MCARC Repeater Operating Practices

ITU Phonetic Alphabet

ARRL Communication Procedures

Amateur Radio Q-Codes

Technician:

General:

Extra:

Morse Code:

Please Observe These Operating Practices While Using The MCARC Repeaters

2. Identify your station. You must announce your call at least every 10 minutes and at the end of your conversation. You must identify yourself even if you are just testing.

3. PAUSE BETWEEN TRANSMISSIONS. Someone may wish to join the conversation or they may have an emergency.

4. Use discretion when breaking into a QSO.  Will you add to it or just annoy the original participant's. Don't interrupt a conversation to make a third party call unless absolutely necessary.

5. Other amateurs (and SWL's) are listening to your conversation. You advertise amateur radio for better or worse every time you transmit.

6. Many amateurs use this repeater on a regular basis. Long conversations by a few leaves little time for others. Hour long conversations are selfish and rude. They discourage others from their fair share of radio time.

7. Use simplex when it is practical. This allows other calls on the repeater.

8. Consider the needs of mobile radios during heavy travel hours. They may need to use the repeater. Give them a break.

9. Use minimum power necessary for repeater access. This FCC regulation lessens the possibility of turning on distant repeaters. Higher power doesn't make your signal louder. It just gets your transmitter hotter.

10. This repeater is not the place to conduct business or any conversation that sounds like business.

11. CHECK YOUR RECEIVE VOLUME BEFORE MAKING A CALL. If it is turned down you may transmit over someone else's conversation.

12. Amateur radio is no place for profane, obscene, or indecent language. It will not be tolerated on these repeaters.

13. Selective calling is discouraged. These tones are annoying to other listeners and are more like business radio than amateur.

14. If you hear a station alarm or if you hear flagrant misuse of the repeater, contact one of the repeater committee members. Station alarms are described in the repeater technical information.

15. The repeater costs money to operate. To help support it, you might wish to join the club. Membership is $15 per year for individuals and $20 for families with two or more amateurs living in the same house hold of which $4 goes to the repeater operating fund. Or you can contribute directly to the fund. This fund is separate from the general club treasury.

Send to:
Repeater Fund
Madera County Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 251
Madera, CA 93639

The ITU Phonetic Alphabet

This phonetic alphabet is used very frequently when giving your call sign accurately on the air. Also spelling out a word or letter can be relayed to another station accurately by using this standard phonetic alphabet. It is very important that you memorize it. 

Word list adopted by the International Telecommunications Union

The RST System

Readability

1--Unreadable

2--Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable.

3--Readable with considerable difficulty.

4--Readable with practically no difficulty.

5--Perfectly readable.

Signal Strength

1--Faint signals, barely perceptible.

2--Very weak signals.

3--Weak signals.

4--Fair signals.

5--Fairly good signals.

6--Good signals.

7--Moderately strong signals.

8--Strong signals.

9--Extremely strong signals.

Tone

1--Sixty cycle a.c or less, very rough and broad.

2--Very rough a.c., very harsh and broad.

3--Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered.

4--Rough note, some trace of filtering.

5--Filtered rectified a.c. but strongly ripple-modulated.

6--Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation.

7--Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation.

8--Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation.

9--Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind.

The RST system is used for giving signal reports to other stations. When using code (CW), use readability, signal strength, and tone. "5-9-9"

ARRL Communications Procedures