They transmit the same message up to two or three times and then ask the other person who received the message to read it back to corroborate that what they wrote is a copy of what was transmitted.

“If I sent you 25 words in the body of the message, you must have 25 words’. Those words are written down in the radiogram form,” Planas says. Radio amateurs do fact-checking like journalists. 

How To Fill a Radiogram

The standard radiogram consists of several parts, each serving a specific function in ensuring accurate transmission. 

Message Number: A unique number assigned by the sender for tracking purposes. If it’s your first message, simply write 1. 

Precedence: Indicates the urgency of the message such as Routine, Priority, Welfare, or Emergency. 

Station of Origin: The call sign originating the message. 

Check: The word count of the message text to ensure accuracy. 

Place of Origin: The location where the message originated. 

Time Filed: Optional, the time the message was submitted for relay. 

Date: The date the message was created. 

To: The name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number of the recipient. It could be any person. No ham license needed. 

Body: The message itself, brief and concise, with each of the 25 lines holding one word. It must match the word count in the “Check” field. 

From: The name and, if necessary, contact information of the sender, appearing at the end of the message text.

The kind of information that you can relay through radio with a ham or GMRS license includes: 

• Structure/damage status, including houses, buildings, public buildings, hospitals, clinics, labs, blood banks, schools, and landmarks affected by the natural disaster.

   

• Infrastructure/damage status, including roads (blocked or open), bridges, dams, ports, harbors, airports, power, internet and communication towers, cell phone reception, solar farms, windmills, water infrastructure, and cemeteries affected by the emergency.

   

• Environmental status, including flooding, landslides, and overflow rivers.

   

• Weather status, including rainfall, wind speed, wind gusts, surge and tidal well, rip currents, hail, NWS Advisories, warnings, and alerts, and reports from Skywarn® spotters, a volunteer program created by the National Weather Service in  the 1970s with up to 400,000 people trained to inform on severe weather in the US. These volunteers keep an active role in keeping their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the NWS. They focus on severe local thunderstorms.

   

• Assistance status, including shelters (available, open, or full); pet-friendly shelters; oasis locations and hours of operation; food banks locations and hours of operations, churches or religious groups providing assistance; medicines needed in hospitals, clinics, shelters or any other location; blood, platelet, and plasma needed in blood banks; health devices and health supplies needed in hospitals, clinics or any other location; kids supplies needed in any location, diapers for children and adults needed in any location.

   

• Professionals status as doctors, nurses, paramedics, dentists, midwives, psychologists, anesthesiologists, firefighters, caregivers, and vets, among others, are needed in any location affected by a natural disaster. Other professionals are needed like electrical engineers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, debris and garbage collectors, construction workers, cooks, mechanics, and/or volunteers for specific tasks.

   

• Population status, including towns or people isolated, number of people in need of rescue, details, and types of rescue or assistance needed: boats, trucks, tractors, cranes, time, date, etc.

   

• People’s status, like details and information about people trying to contact family members or to let them know about their welfare status in the US and all over the island.

   

• Welfare status, ham radio or GMRS operators can relay reporters’ check-ins and safety status to other reporters or people, as agreed and instructed. 

Be familiar with some standardized messages used on the National Traffic System. You can hear them on air or send them as listed below. 

• Everyone safe here. Please don’t worry.
  
  
• Coming home as soon as possible.
  
  
• Am in ____ hospital. Receiving excellent care and recovering fine.
  
  
• Only slight property damage here. Do not be concerned about disaster reports.
  
  
• Am moving to new location. Send no further mail. Will inform you of new address when relocated.
  
  
• Will contact you ASAP.
  
  
• Need additional ____ mobile or portable equipment for immediate emergency use.
  
  
• Additional _____ radio operators needed to assist with emergency at [location.]
  
  
• Situation here becoming critical. Losses and damage from ____ increasing.
  
  

How To Send Your First Message in the Aftermath of a Natural Disaster

1. Write Your Message on a Radiogram

Ensure you have your message written down or clearly thought out before transmitting, following the ARRL Radiogram explained before. Keep it short and simple – no more than 25 words per message. 

2. Tune to the Correct Frequency

Dial the frequency agreed with your newsroom, the active emergency frequency, or the net frequency as specified by your local ARES/RACES group or emergency management authorities.

3. Listen First

Before transmitting, listen to ensure the frequency is clear and you are not interrupting ongoing communication. This avoids interference and ensures your message is transmitted smoothly. If you have doubts, identify yourself with your call sign and ask if the frequency is in use. Wait for the response. 

4. Position the Microphone

Position the microphone about one inch from your lips. Speak in a normal tone of voice to ensure clear transmission.

5. Transmit

Press the Push-to-Talk (PTT) button on the microphone or use a foot switch on your radio. Hold the button down for a second before speaking to avoid cutting off the start of your message.

6. Identify Yourself and the Message Type

Begin your transmission by identifying yourself and your purpose. Here’s an example: 

“Net control, this is [Your Call Sign] with a welfare message for John Doe in [Location]. Message follows: ALL IS WELL. FAMILY SAFE AT SHELTER. Over.”

7. Wait for Acknowledgment

Release the PTT button after your message is complete and wait to receive acknowledgement from net control, the licensee monitoring the radio in your newsroom, or the receiving station that received it. They should confirm that the message was received.

8. Acknowledge the Receipt of Confirmation

When net control or the receiving station acknowledges your message, confirm receipt of their acknowledgment:  “Net control, [Your Call Sign], Roger.”

You can keep the conversation going. Keep it short in case another person tries to make contact to send emergency messages. 

9. Agree on Next Steps

Before ending the call, make sure you agree on the next steps and when and at what time you will call again. Remember, your location is experiencing a natural disaster. One recommended option is to follow the 3-3-3 method: Connect every three hours for at least three minutes on channel 3, which is usually used for emergencies. 

10. Log the Transmission

Log the message sent, including the time of transmission, the content of the message, and the acknowledgment received. Keep your Radiograms in a safe place. 

RST: Readability, Strength and Tone of Radio Signals

During ham radio communications, you will often hear operators say phrases like ‘Reading you at 5-9’ when starting a conversation. This refers to the RST system, which stands for Readability, Strength, and Tone. The numbers indicate the clarity and strength of the received signal. 

The Readability refers to how clearly the message is being heard and is rated on a scale from 1 to 5.

1: Unreadable

2: Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable

3: Readable with considerable difficulty

4: Readable with little difficulty

5: Perfectly readable

The Strength indicates, as the word says, the strength of the received signal and is rated on a scale from 1 to 9.

1: Very weak signal

2: Weak signal

3-4: Fair signal

5-6: Good signal

7-8: Strong signal

9: Extremely strong signal

The Tone part of the system is primarily used for Morse code transmissions to rate the quality of the tone, but for voice communication, only readability and strength are typically used.

Be familiar with the RTS system and remember to acknowledge the readability and strength of others when starting a conversation. 

Other Tips for Communication 

To be able to better communicate on air, it’s important to learn the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, the same used in airport control tower communications. It will help you spell words and understand call signs easily. 

Another essential thing to remember is that the Morse code is no longer a requirement to get any of these licenses. But remember that amateur radio operators use jargon or talk codes, such as saying “73” instead of best wishes or best regards at the end of a conversation. Or others like “Roger that” (yes, we all have heard this in movies) to say “message received” or “Mayday” (please don’t use it unless you are reporting an actual emergency). But there are others known as the 10-codes. To learn more about ham codes and terms, check the ARRL glossary or this article on radio lingo. 

And one last though: Always remember that private conversations don’t exist in the amateur radio spectrum.