The overall privileges and limits of the use of radio communication may vary from organisation to organisation, however it is strongly advised that each organisation establish and develop its own policies for the proper used of radio, and disciplinary plans for misuse of radio equipment.

Channels

When using any network sometimes there are separate calling channels used to establish communication with other radio users, who then specify another dedicated channel. As soon as such communication is established both radio stations should move to determined talking channel to leave calling channel for other stations to establish contact. The use of calling channels is used especially in networks with high volumes of shared traffic, or in networks hosted by third parties such as UN repeater networks which multiple humanitarian agencies might use.

Etiquette

In general, there are rules that should be followed when communicating via voice using two-way radio.  These might include:

Use of Pro-Words

Procedural Words (Pro-Words) are a pre-defined set of short phrases with precise meanings that have been developed to help network users and operators keep their transmissions brief and prevent confusion and misunderstanding. It is important that one understands these words and their meaning, to be able to understand what is said on the radio network and to be able to send short and precise messages. The following are commonly used pro-words and their meanings:

Use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet:

The NATO phonetic alphabet is frequently used to remove ambiguity from radio communications. Voice commands over radio can be difficult to understand or signal strength than be weak. To work around this, radio users will frequently use the NATO phonetic alphabet when spelling out words or discussing single letter codes. As an example, a mobile ambulance vehicle might have the call sign “Mobile Ambulance 1” or MA1 for short. When pronounced using the phonetic alphabet, it would be spoken as “Mike Alpha 1”.

Keep messages short - Messages sent over the radio must be brief and to the point. If

longer conversations cannot be avoided, they should be broken into segments. Long conversations may block other users from accessing the network as well.

Use Radios for Official Business Only – Communication should be kept to official business. No personal business should be conducted over radio waves, including personal conversations.

Making Calls - Before making a call, always verify that the intended radio channel is not in use by listening in for a few moments. If needed, increase the audio output.

The general procedure for making a call is as follows, with a radio user with the call-sign BF3 calling another user:

Adapted from International Medical Corps

If for some urgent reason an ongoing conversation needs to be terminated, the procedure is

as follows:

Adapted from International Medical Corps

Call Quality - To determine the quality of the audio connection, or if the transmission is already difficult, users should ask “How do you read?” To clarify radio strength and clarity, users may state “I read you loud and clear” however users may also state “I read you "X" by 5” where “X” is a number between one and five. Five corresponds to a loud and clear transmission and zero means complete lack of communications/signal.

Common Problems with Radio Communication