I loved this wonderfully articulated and expressed information! I have spent the last two days in some sort of confusion due to a bodily infection. Echo chambers for dreams, and conversations will with “What did you say?” So, I have not turned to my beloved radios at this time because I know that I’ll run into a bunch of guys, all younger than I usually, unable to process anything repeated beyond a clean clear statement. I am writing this because you are hitting on a lot of issues we have all the time, what? do you need the time?, and I write comments sometimes but seldom for the reason I am writing this to you. In my foggy state it was so wonderful to hear your clarity. YOUR CLARITY! You’re a Mark Anthony of a Richard Burton of a Ham! In the states I was an English major in my youth, communications always the emphasis, and you delivered a little therapy to me okay Glenn N5MCH

This is great advise. What really kills me is when someone says "your 5 and 9" and then I have to repeat everything I say 4 or 5 times. 73 K4ECA

This is so completely obvious now that you explain it and as a new ham I totally do this. Thanks, this is great stuff.

I'm a new commer to radio but every one of your videos has pearls of wisdom and usable tips. Thanks again

This is hands down the absolute best bit of advice for a ham radio operator. Spot on, Cal !! It's annoying as hell if I am the one trying to get the callsign sorted out, when they keep giving the whole callsign instead of the letter(s) I am missing. If the shoe is on the other foot, and I have to repeat a letter or part of my callsign, I will do it twice with the appropriate phonetic name and a third time using the DX phonetic alphabet. Sometimes it's easier to pick Mexico Washington Denmark out of the noise than Mike Whiskey Delta.

This is amazingly true and I hear folks messing this up all the time. Just answer the other stations question. Keep it simple and Learn to LISTEN!

Tell you what pees me off you call a station on hf and the station comes back asking to repeat your callsign AGAIN AGAIN Yet gives you a 5/9 signal report.😂😂😂

Great video. I don't hear folks talking about topics like this. It's something that comes more naturally to some than others

Thanks for the practical advice. Not all of us have friends that we can learn good operating procedures from. I for one find these kinds of tips very useful. Thanks again.

These little "tip" videos are great for the old as well as the new hams. Advice you may have forgotten or just didn't get along the way. Thanks Callum!

Fully agree! Another thing that might be helpful is if more hams would learn the difference between a prefix and a suffix. I listened to literally dozens of calls during the last big contest where a station would repeatedly ask for a repeat of the suffix, and the other station would respond by constantly repeating the prefix (or vice versa). People like this is why I don't use a voice activated headset...

Excellent video and a topic I’ve had to learn the hard way. I travel and operate frequently with a lot of added prefixes and suffixes. For instance I operate in Poland as SP/K4OGO. In hundreds of QSOs I’ve only had a couple get it the first time, rather frustrating but I understand it’s a mouthful. Great advice. 73, Walt K4OGO

Great tips, Callum. I think that practical advice on how to behave on the air is very important and necessary. You have found a great direction for interesting videos. Thanks for the content. I also learned a new word from this video - "Temptation" 😆

Cal, the more I listen to you, the more I am hooked. You talk common sense and allow the hobbyist to improve. I started watching when I was looking for a good, affordable HF antenna, now I listen no matter the topic. Love the channel, love the material. Brilliant - KE2ALN from Brockport, NY. Hope to make contact someday. BTW, I’ll have a DXCommander order in very soon :). Spring’s coming!

Good point. In addition, how about those hams that are into speeding through their callsign? In the army we were taught to speak at a moderate speed enunciating as clearly as possible, not trying to sound like an auctioneer. Thank you for your very informative videos. Check-in with you every day.

Useful advice, thanks! In a hobby based on communicating, I'm always staggered that people concentrate on the technical side and ignore effective, practical procedures.

It isn’t just new licensees who struggle with this, another good one Cal

It is a lot different when somebodies life is on the line, When my team and I are at work, I ask for a repeat of my orders and vise versa . I ask everyone when using the radios, to be clear, not talk fast and to repeat message. As that tells me my message or vise versa was understood. As my team and I work on telecommunication / broadcast towers, which heights could be from 100 feet high to over 1200 feet in height. Now you have to include climbing around whilst working and hoisting up tools and equipment . And don't forget about the winds, which can sometimes make it very difficult for radio communications . So when it come to the teams communications, we will repeat until the message is understood ... I understand that this is a hobby for most, however I take radio communication very seriously. Great videos, and I do understand your frustration !

If this information is obvious, then the video isn't for you. But it's great advice to those that need it. It's good RT procedure, especially in a known format construct such as amateur radio callsigns. Great work, Cal.

Great advice. This also goes for non amateur radio conversations.

Studying for my ham here in the states, any and all advice like this is welcomed and appreciated. Thanks Callum!

What he said, What you think he said, What he thinks you heard him say, What you wanted him to say, what he actually said! I'm forever telling people "Negative" and repeating only the bit they got wrong

True. Both sides of the QSO should be using these skills. Ask for what you need, and provide what they are asking for. This makes the effort a tad easier during difficult conditions.

I've been on the HF bands for just about 2 months and I'm so glad that I heard this, I've been not realizing what trouble I can be causing. Cheers!

Thank you for putting this out in the universe! I've been baffled as to why some folk would repeat stuff that the calling station has already verified. Also...when there is a pileup I hear some of the big stations repeating their callsign like three times all over the top of one another...quite obnoxiously...but anyway...great videos, thank you! 73, KN4FTT

YES! Listening is more important than transmitting. Also, the DX hunter should make sure the he/she has the complete call of the DX station. I remember an american expat in Belize, V31BB (SK), would be heard on 10m into North America daily; always a big signal! If he answered your call and you asked for his full call, he would say "no contact"! Why? He said his call at the beginning of every contact and CQ! I loved the way he handled his pileups!

I have been using this method since the 1990s with absolutely no knowledge. It works.

Amazing advice, I’m new to radio and this is excellent demonstration. I shall follow this ruling in future

Spot on. This has happened to me while doing a POTA activation. I ask "Last letter pls" then I got a complete call sign and I was out in left field.

One exception, operators need to learn to repeat back what they hear to get quicker QSLs. Some contest operators say something catchy like "North America Radio" for a NAR suffix instead of "November Alpha Romeo". Then a roger roger QSL gets the suffix acknowledge done. I totally agree with you Cal. Information that is NOT necessary to repeat can quickly lead to a missed opportunity, especially in pile ups. 73 from Ontario Canada. Love your videos.

Thanks Callum. Your content is so imformative and I subbed.

This is very true and practical. I’m new to HF , I’ve only been an upgraded general class about 6 months , so if they’re having trouble hearing me , I just bail out and let someone have a go . I’m only running 100 watt radio and a dipole on 20/40 meters . So until I upgrade , I’m not gonna waste the air time for someone who has a much better setup . It doesn’t frustrate me , so I just sit back and listen and learn

Thanks Callum, a Wonderful tips ..... Having been a Signaller in the Artillary ..... I Still have the habit of NOT Saying... " REPEAT " .... This in Artillary or Gunner/ Mortar terms means ' Repeat the last Salvo " .... :-) :-) :-) .... I Still use .... " SAY AGAIN " .... :-) :-) :-) Thanks for All your Great Vidclips.... So Informative and Great Entertainment ... Cheers from ChCh, NZ ZL3KEI

My good mate Angus McYaesu from the Outer Hebrides holds that callsign and concurs with everything you've said but added that it isn't the conditions, the deep QSB or the frequent power cuts that cause the most problems but his strong Scottish brogue that most ops struggle with.

i am the bloke that said i was a bit worried about speaking to strangers, you kindly said, dont worry. and then i saw this vid and became horrified again, both by the fact the interaction was so governed by nuance and ethics, and that i just realised i seem to be expected to memorise a massive list of q codes, or i'll appear daft.

It is funny because I run into the same thing with my on the phone customer service work from home job. It is really just understanding that a conversation is a back and forth flow and not a forced one way waterfall. Thank for this

Hi! New ham here. Your information is gold. Thank you for your videos. I have learned so much to jumpstart my entry into amateur radio. 73 KF8AUV

iam only using CB radio in lack of licens, BUT i get alot of people who wants signal reports etc. This videos has helpt me alot last 6 months 👌🍺🥳

Who's on first!! 😆 Great advice. Thanks Callum!

Hello MM7MWD here. My name isn’t Roger…. ;-) Well explained. Have a great weekend Cal

Absolutely right Callum, I tried telling this to people when I was doing a special event. I said "if I am right give me a ROGER!" Then they would not give me a roger and just repeat their call again leaving me unsure yet again even though in the end it turns out I had it all along! All they need to bloomin say is roger roger ROGER!!!

At one time US Hams could be cited by the FCC for giving less than a full callsign. This happened to my shop teacher who was licensed before there were country prefixes. He had been 9ABC (not his real call) and became W9ABC sometime in the middle 1920s when the country prefixes were added. In the 1950s when he was my mentor and teacher, he ID'd our school club station as 9JBL (vice W9JBL) and got a violation notice from one of the FCC monitoring stations.

sooooo, so funny, ur video, becuz I've laughed at this for so many yrs, probably for many decades; so mni tnx for addressing it, as we continue to hear this excess & unneeded verbage all too often! 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸 dit dit 🤓

This is so correct, I'm often on the other side, big pileup/contest... stations calling over etc.. I give out the callsign I'm answering, so often I hear 59 and the callsign again... then my thinking is - why did he repeat the callsign ?? and one thing - when doing fast contesting , your brain is expecting something - so you are not really listening for the repeat of the callsign after the report - so you will need to call - please confirm etc.. so rate goes down - and often the pileup just is back on top and the caller missed any chance of repeat.

Greetings from Sweden! You,Sir, just got yourself a new subscriber.

Such great advice. Keep exchanges simple for weak signal work and follow the standard QSO flow. Why does this content bother some people?

This happens all the time! People need to see this video.

In summary: 'empathy'

I just started listening to the space station repeater when it passes over, and have come to the conclusion that it's just a bunch of people getting each other's call signs all mixed up and you can't tell who's trying to correct who, and who's got it right or wrong. Then three minutes later the transmissions fade out, then you wait another 90 minutes, then you wait another 3 days, and try it all over again.

Another pearl of wisdom Cal.

LOL. Abbott and Costello 'who's on first?'

Another pet peeve going along with the topic is the old codger that repeats EVERYTHING.... You're in a contest or POTA or whatever and you hear "Mike mike seven mike whiskey delta, mike mike seven mike whiskey delta, name here is Bob, name here is Bob. QTH is Arizona, QTH is arizona, county is Rabbithash, county is Rabbithash and you're 5/9, 5/9. OMFG.

Love this...I was getting frustrated just listening to this.

I did this yesterday lol. Will try to just give the partial in the future

Love the advice and the purple nail! We need more nail polish in radio!

SWL from Norway, working on license I guess I could say something like "There's a discrepancy somewhere, repeat last two letters?" Then rectify it, like you said last two letters.. Mostly cuz older calls are LAXX and newer being LBnXX a-z for letters and 0-9..

Great advice!!!! At 2:19 in the video you said that he said - MW7MWD. I think you meant to have him say MM7MWD. If he actually came back with MW7MWD, wouldn't you say negative & repeat the correct prefix: MM7 MM7 MM7 73 from N7RLV

Great video Callum you are absolutely right. Roger Roger Roger. I am nearly on the air. I have picked up a Ft817 also have a 10m DX commander just need to sort a battery and a antenna then boom. Motters M7TRS 73 👍🏻

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure if I have done this in the past but I will definitely be more aware of it for the future.

Hey, you're that bloke with the antennas. 👌

Absolutely true and excellent advice

To repeat what he's missing, I would have used the unofficial secondary Nato phonetic like this.. Mike Whiskey Delta, Mike Washington Delta , Mike whiskey delta, QSL? and then confirmed it with "QSL, QSL, QSL!" ..it's served me well down the years. The unofficial secondary Nato phonetics that I can think of are: America, Canada, David, Fukoshima, Honolulu, Japan, Kilowatt, London, Mexico, Ontario, Santiago, Uruguay, Washington, Yokohama, Zanzibar. John EI5JS

Wow, so true! It can really go downhill in a hurry! 🤣

Great information Callum. Nice Les Paul on the wall.

Very often weak stations calling me, they hear me well but in some cases low power etc. i got 5/9 from them and i hear them 4/3. But the key is they are talking much too fast. So keep in mind give ur callsign slow then it is much easier to understand the call the first time !!! And remember there are some other who calling, so you are not alone, give the full callsign and not Fantasy Names :-) 73´s from DH1KJ Joe

When I run POTA on their first call to me I typically only type the first half of the call into my log and I ask them to repeat the rest. 8 times out of 10 they give me the whole call again instead of just what I asked for. Listen to what the station on the other end is saying and only give them what they asked for.

For me, the worst are the guys who insist on spelling out their call signs and their names when they are talking on digital modes. Typically, there is no interference and the signal is louder and clearer than a phone call. I already know how to spell John and everyone would understand the call without the spelling.

I don't say 'yes'. I say 'affirmative'. The longer 'radio' word is expected and the listener need only hear part of it to know what is meant. The word 'yes' can disappear completely in a noise pop. BTW, if they can't quite hear me, I just reduce power. Works every time. :)

That is good advice, I'd never thought of it in that way and I'll certainly take it on board 73's MM3KVV

Roger, Roger, Roger! The other problem which occurs in contests is when you've put out your contest call and then the responding station repeats your call back to you before stating theirs....You end up starting to type your own callsign into your contest log before you realise....🙄

Very clear Callum, got it. Thanks for this reminder. 73 😉

Gd bit of advice which i have done sins getting my hf radio. Also u seem to get a 5.9 back after all the back and forward.

Definitely great advice. Here’s one more I can’t stand when they say kilowatt my brain automatically types K W instead of just K. Does this happen to anyone else.

A wild game of hangman

Short and to the point!

It’s like when people leave contact phone numbers on an answering machine by rattling it off at 50 words/sec! If it takes multiple go’s to get the number, then they’ve failed in communication. I tell all my students to speak slowly (no too slow to make you sound 3 standard deviations to the left of the IQ curve) with rhythm at about two numbers/sec, clearly, and chunk the info into sets of three. Then repeat again. The same for callsigns, keeping to the standard phonetic alphabet. The aim of the game is ‘COMMUNICATION’.

I got the popcorn ready for the comment section.

Great advice, can also apply to conversations with YF. TY! 73 (in trouble as usual)

There is an over use of callsigns sometimes as in always repeating the other station's callsign after the contact is established, over after over.

Nice Les Paul by the way!

Good advice Cal. I have dared to repeat once or twice after they have my callsign. By the time I have repeated again they are already QRZ again. Mark, 2E0MSR.

An intelligent man

Amen. Roger Roger ,,,Roger Roger. Nothing else. People should be made to compete in 2 contests a year. At least a few hrs.

to true, i all ways say YES THAT IS CORRECT, that way they get the yes or the correct of both yes and correct :D great advice dude, 73, mike.... charlie. tango......

I always tell hams I don't have a call sign because I'm unlicensed. It's brilliant fun listening to their melt downs. I'm a naughty girl. 😘

Okay. Umm can you repeat this?

LMAO I was gonna hafta say something about that purple fingernail. I was hoping the answer was "grand daughter" or something similar LOL man gotta take care of the kiddos

Thanks for the tip, really useful info. PS this video will ensure that no one in Scotland will ever chose the call sign MM7MWD :)

This goes for telephone numbers. Just listen. It’s only 7 to 10 digits. So many people want to repeat it back to you when you’re trying to give it to them.

I agree with this

Nailed it !!!!!! Thank you for saying this.

When I work really weak (like S0 basically not there) stations, and I say something to the effect of " if I have that correct give me your strongest yes yes yes". In my opinion it's poor operating on my part to not ask for exactly what I want and the way I want it. Especially from new operators that might not know better.

Also: don't mix up 2 different lots of phonetics on one over. "Mike Whiskey Delta, Mexico Washington Denmark". Just no.....

You can also double your letters when you reply: Mike Mike Whisky Whisky Delta Delta spoken at a slower pace and enunciating as much as you can… works most of the time 👍 Stay safe my friend

The issue here is saying yes or Roger. Would you say yes, yes, yes? Or would you say Roger, Roger, Roger? Once the station gets your call correct after having a hard time, you need to reply like this. MM7MWD is that correct? At that point, you reply with QSL, QSL. or even maybe QSL, QSL, QSL, over. Using yes or Roger may not be sufficient. Especially if the station you are working is a non native English speaker.

I've definitely made this mistake before. Thanks for the good advice.

Thanks for the vid! Is that a fender Mustang bass behind you on the wall?

correct.. one of my pet peeves, just give them what they ask for

DX Commander, It can get like an Abbot and Costello skit.....Who's on first, What's on Second and I Dont Know is on Third... Understood... Thank You

You don't have to apologize for the nail polish, Cal, it's 2022, it's ok for a guy to be pretty too.