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How to Contact People on a Ham Radio

Ham radio is a rich and rewarding hobby that puts you in touch with millions of other "hams" all over the country and world. Making first contact with others on your ham radio is the most exciting and sometimes most anxious part of using ham.

Instructions

- 1
  Get your ham ticket ready so you can report your call sign quickly and clearly without causing a delay.
- 2
  Make a call by repeating, "CQ" between 1 and 3 times, and then say the letters of your call sign followed by the phonetic pronunciation ("alpha" for A, "beta" for B, etc.) of each letter of your call sign. Then repeat "CQ" up to three times. Repeat the whole transmission and then wait for a response.
- 3
  Reply to someone who responds to your call by addressing them by the letters of their call sign and then identifying yourself with your call sign (without the phonetic pronunciation). Tell your contact the readability of the transmission on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most readable, and then read the signal strength of the transmission off your ham radio's signal meter. Finally, tell your contact the city and state you are located in.
- 4
  Listen for your contact to tell you readability and signal strength on the other end and then continue to have your conversation.

Ham Radio