What is a typical telephony radio connection (FM/SSB/AM QSO)?

First steps on the air of telephony

Do you remember the thrill when you passed the class 2 exam and stood in front of the radio station? Having forgotten about studying for the test, you now have to put everything into practice yourself. Your hand trembles slightly and you don’t dare press the transmit button. Horror!

It may be funny to you now, but you didn’t feel like laughing at all then… Or maybe you’re taking this exact step now? Don’t worry, everything is very easy. This „stage fright“ has passed through each of us. What should I do now? Won’t my voice sound stupid? Won’t the old amateurs laugh at me?

Be sure that you will cope! No one will make fun of you – on the contrary, your colleagues will be happy to hear a new person and will help you because they have been through the same path. Amateur radio is like driving – theory gives you the right, but mastery comes with the first kilometers (or the first connections).

Here’s how to get through them confidently.

Stage 1: Preparation – Before you press the PTT button

1. Get to know your equipment

Get to know your radio station’s manual as much as possible. You should feel confident that you know it.

• The antenna: Connect it carefully. Even if you have a portable one, it is advisable to use an external antenna, mounted as high as possible – on the roof or at least on the balcony. Contact local amateur radio operators – they will certainly help you with advice or installation. Make sure the SWR is within the limits (below 1.5 – 2.0) to protect your transceiver. The “rubber band” (portable antenna) is a compromise only for when you are on the move.
• Measurement: Set up the external antenna well. The SWR should be as low as possible for the desired frequencies. If you don’t have a meter (SWR meter), the community will help you – this is the “secret” of our hobby.

• On, off, lock, frequency, power, squelch (noise suppressor):Learn how to set all these things. First, research what is on the air in your area. Set a frequency. Start with low power, especially if you are on a repeater. Set the squelch so that the noise disappears, but does not “cut off” weak signals. Pay attention to whether you need to set a tone to unblock the squelch if you are setting up your radio to work through a repeater. Along with power, read about how your radio locks and unlocks – a useful feature that you may turn on unintentionally.

Step 2: Listen, Record, Learn

Step 2: Listen!

It is extremely bad manners and „lack of manners“ to call a frequency without listening to it. Walk around the entire range, listen to how and what others are talking about. Learn to write down the callsigns, names and location (QTH) of the speakers. Choose a frequency, make sure it is in the allowed range for you and that you are not disturbing anyone.

Extremely important rule: Listen for 10 minutes, speak for one.

Stage 3: Conducting a radio call – practical examples

Step 3: Identify yourself and announce your intentions

The big moment has arrived. Introduce yourself clearly and distinctly. Follow what you learned on the exam – spell your initial. Don’t abbreviate it.

• On simplex (direct): “CQ, CQ, CQ! This is Lima Zulu Three Alpha India (LZ3AI). LZ3AI calls everyone and goes to receive.”
• On repeater: “LZ3AI on R1. Good evening everyone, how do I get through the repeater?”

Step 4: The Conversation and the “Round Table”

When you are answered, give your rating, name, and location. You may add details about the equipment, antenna, and time. The answer is expected to include the same information.

Working in a Group (Round Table)

If you hear a group of people, wait for a pause and say only your initial. When invited:

1. Be brief.
2. Follow the established speaking order.
3. Always pass the microphone to the next person or to the group leader, if there is one.

Example: „…I’m passing the microphone to Ivan, LZ1XXX. This is LZ3AI and group.“

Signal Rating

The rating varies depending on the method of operation:

• Through a repeater: The Q1 to Q5 scale (quality rating) is used. Q5 is perfect quality, Q1 is barely intelligible signal.
• Simplex link (direct): The RS system is used (e.g. 59). The first number (1-5) is for intelligibility, the second (1-9) is for strength. Example: „59“ (Five-nine) means a perfect link.

Step 5: International Spelling (Phonetic Alphabet)

To be understood correctly, especially in the presence of noise or interference, use the standard spelling words for the whole world. This is required when pronouncing the initial, name, QTH or other important information during the connection:

Step 5: Etiquette and Code of Conduct

• Identification:Say your initials often enough (every 5-10 minutes), but without being annoying with every line.
• Forbidden topics: In amateur radio, politics, religion, or race are not discussed, as well as any topics that could potentially cause conflict. Business is not discussed, except for buying and selling amateur radio equipment, although even in these matters, information exchange by phone or email is preferred.
• Language: In Bulgaria, we speak Bulgarian, but for international relations, English is the standard. Don’t worry about your accent and the mistakes you make – on the air, it’s the information that matters, not the grammar.

Step 6: End the conversation and write in the diary

Wish yourself the traditional 73 (best wishes). End with SK (Full end) or announce that you are quitting work (QRT).

Keep a ham-log! A log is kept during the radio call itself. No matter how soon you have heard everything, due to excitement or something else, you may not remember important things such as initials, name, QTH and after the radio call it may be too late. Write down the initials, frequency, mode, time (UTC), ratings and the name of the correspondent. The log is your story on the air. Most radio amateurs record the time in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC) to ensure uniformity worldwide. It is a matter of preference whether to record the start, end, start and end, or another time from the radio call itself.

Years ago, there was some decision not to record contacts made via a VHF (VHF or UHF) repeater. I suspect that some colleagues also do not record contacts that have developed into a „talking room“ on any number of issues, but I think that at least on HF, everyone is recorded. This is somewhat a personal choice, but good practice requires that everything be recorded in the logbook. Let’s not forget that the entries in the logbook may even turn out to be important evidence in some legal proceedings or may even have historical significance.

Concluding remarks

The essence of radio amateurism is in social contacts. Join a local club – getting to know the people you talk to „in person“ changes everything. Respect the traditions of the community and be respectful.

TOP 10 Amateur Radio Abbreviations (Q-codes and others)

These short codes help for faster and more accurate communication.

1. QTH – Location of the station (e.g. „My QTH is Sofia“).
2. QSL – Confirmation of the connection or information („QSL, I got it all“).
3. QRM – Artificial interference from other stations or electrical devices.
4. QSB – Signal attenuation (common in HF links).
5. QRZ? – „Who’s calling me?“ (used when you hear someone but don’t understand their initials).
6. QRT – I’m quitting, I’m turning off the station.
7. QSO – Radio contact (e.g. „Thanks for the nice QSO“).
8. 73 – Best wishes (traditional ending of any contact).
9. DX – Distant station (usually outside your continent).
10. CQ (C-Q) – General call to all („Calling all stations“).

Question to readers:

Do you remember your first radio contact and who was your first „teacher“ on the air? Share your story in the comments – it could be the inspiration a new colleague needs right now!

73 and see you on the air!

Материалът What is a typical radio telephony connection (FM/SSB/AM QSO)? е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.

Basic one-time settings for Yaesu FTDX-10

I am not claiming that these are the best, most important or „only“.

These are the settings that I have made and with which I work successfully. They are made once and generally do not need to be changed, which is why I have called the publication „Basic one-time settings for Yaesu FTDX-10„. Some are simply initial or most frequently used values, it does not prevent them from being changed operationally.

Anyone who wishes can check which setting does what exactly or ask in a comment. I don’t plan to write this here, so as not to unnecessarily burden the publication. I will try to answer everyone.

I will separately publish the operational settings for operation in the different modes, and I will also put references here.

I am sure that you will quickly get used to the way it is written and what it means – the writing is analogous (or at least similar) to that in the operating instructions.

General basic settings

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <MY CALL> – home screen – callsign – up to 12 characters

[FUNC] <EXTENSION SETTING> <DATE&TIME> – date and time setting

(more about these two settings you can read here)

[RF/SQL] on the far right position

(maximum gain on HF – this does not mean that it should always be there – in any situation on the air, another position may be better and the audibility – also better, i.e. it is good to try it out operationally. But it is a good „initial“ position.)

Recommended initial settings related to the display

[CS] continuously {LEVEL} – for easy adjustment of the „grass“ with [CS]

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <SCOPE> <SCOPE CTR> <CARRIER>

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <SCOPE> < 2D DISP SENSITIVITY> <HI>

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <SCOPE> <3DSS DISP SENSITIVITY> <HI>

Basic CW listening settings

[FUNC] <BK-IN DELAY> <200 ms> delay when returning to receive

[FUNC] <BK-IN> <OFF> must be turned on manually when transmitting CW

[FUNC] <CW PITCH> <750 Hz> (according to preference)

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW BK-IN TYPE> <SEMI>

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW FREQ DISPLAY> <PITCH OFFSET>

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW INDICATOR> <ON>

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <PC KEYING> <OFF>

[FUNC] <CW SPEED> <14> (this is 70 zn/min – according to preferences)

<CW OPERATION>

Basic settings for CW/DATA from external software via USB cable

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <DATA MOD SOURCE> <REAR>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <REAR SELECT> <USB>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <RPORT GAIN> <12>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <RPTT SELECT> <RTS>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE PSK/DATA> <TX BPF SEL> <100-2900 Hz>

[FUNC] <OPERATING SETTINGS> <GENERAL> <CAT RTS> <OFF>

[FUNC] <OPERATING SETTINGS> <GENERAL> <CAT TIME OUT TIMER> <10>

[FUNC] <OPERATION SETTING> <GENERAL> <CAT RATE> <38400bps>

Setting the <PRESET> button for operation in digital modes

<MODE> <PRESET> and <DATA-U>

<MODE> <PRESET continuously> until the PRESET functions appear:

<PRESET> <CAT RTS > <OFF>

<PRESET> <CAT RATE > <34800bps>

<PRESET> <CAT TIME OUT TIMER> <10ms>

<PRESET> <LCUT FREQ> <100Hz>

<PRESET> <HCUTFREQ> <3200Hz>

<PRESET> <TX BPFSELECT> <100-2900Hz>

<PRESET> <REAR SELECT> <USB>

<PRESET> <RPORT GAIN> <12>

<PRESET> <RPORT SELECT> <RTS>

<PRESET> <AGC FAST DELAY> <160ms>

<PRESET> <AGC MID DELAY> <500ms>

<PRESET> <AGC SLOW DELAY> <1500ms>

<PRESET> <LCUT SLOPE> <18dB/oct>

<PRESET> <HCUT SLOPE> <18dB/oct>

<FT8-FT4-PSK-DATA OPERATION>

Installing software on the computer connected to the radio

A USB isolator is placed on the USB port in use for protection.

Install the FTDX-10 drivers from the Yaesu website https://www.yaesu.com.

Install and configure your preferred software (personally, I use JTDX Enchanced most often and prefer it – it is not suitable for competitions).

Additional software for accurate time is mandatory. (For example, NetTime http://www.timesynctool.com – I would not say that I recommend it, but I use it and I am satisfied).

Turn off the automatic time update from Windows itself.

Basic settings for SSB, AM, FM, PSK, DATA operation

[FUNC] <AMC LEVEL> <60>

[FUNC] <MIC EQ> <OFF>

[FUNC] <MIC GAIN> <30>

[FUNC] <OPERATING SETTINGS> <TX AUDIO> <AMC RELEASE TIME> <FAST>

[FUNC] <PROC LEVEL> <12>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE SSB> <SSB MOD SOURCE> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE SSB> <TX BPF SEL> <200-2800Hz> ? <50–3050 Hz>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE AM> <TX BPF SEL> <50-3050Hz>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE AM> <AM MOD SOURCE> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE FM> <FM MOD SOURCE> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE PSK/DATA> <TX BPF SEL> <100-2900Hz>

<SSB-AM-FM OPERATION>

SSB mode when using USB cable, software and speech from computer

(if this mode is not used, the values ​​are in orange)

<MODE> <DATA-U>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <SSB MOD SOURCE> <REAR> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <REAR SELECT> <USB> <DATA>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <RPORT GAIN> <50> (according to software) <50>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <RPTT SELECT> <RTS> <DAKY>

I would be happy if you could share in a comment what the differences are with your settings, and also why you prefer them.

73!

Материалът Basic one-time settings of the Yaesu FTDX-10 е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.