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I started learning for my technician test and I noticed one of the FCC guidelines is that you have to

Transmit your callsign at the beginning of radio contact, and every 10 minutes

  • How does transmitting your callsign every 10 minutes work?
  • What are you supposed to say? What does it sound like?

So you're like talking to someone on the radio and then ten minutes later you say your callsign again?

Would it go like

J: "Hey Bill."
B: "Hey John"
…
Ten Minutes later:
J: "By the way my callsign is KDSF12"

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    $\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? Calling a friend on simplex $\endgroup$
    – vu2nan
    May 2, 2020 at 9:46
  • $\begingroup$ It sounds most "normal" like this: "Hey Bill" "Hey John, You got that antenna working?" (~10 mins into the conversation:) "Yeah, adjusting that would help. K-M-9-F-Y-D." "Possibly. Or I could try a different feedline. K-N-7-N-H-J." (continue the conversation as normal) $\endgroup$
    – Galaxy
    Nov 21, 2020 at 1:22

1 Answer 1

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Better double check. There's no requirement to identify at the beginning of a communication (though it's common practice, and was required at one time), only every ten minutes and at the end of the communication.

The "every ten minutes" is often handled (say, on 2 meter or 440 band repeaters, which is where Technician licensees most commonly use voice communication) by identifying each time the repeater automatically does so. So, if I were in conversation with another local ham on my nearest repeater, a listener might hear:

"Okay, Donald, I'll try putting my antenna up in the oak tree when I have time."

"W-4-N-C Repeater!"

"K-X-4-Q-P. Yep, that antenna will work a lot better if you can get it even twenty feet up."

"W-N-4-Zed-P-H. Oh, I don't doubt that, but I thought it was supposed to work better than it is even just on the roof; I saw where someone had one in their attic and they were getting out okay."

And communication continues.

I also regularly hear things like "For ID, this is [call sign]", again, often prompted by the repeater ID or by the other party identifying.

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