TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATERUS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 11.25 DATE: June 19, 2011
SUBJECT: IDENTIFY WHEN TESTING
Did you know the Federal Communications Commission requires that you identify your station anytime you key your transmitter or transceiver, even when you're just testing?
The rules are a lot easier then they used to be. At one time, to make a call, you had to give the callsign of the station you were calling and then your callsign. If there were several stations in a conversation, or "roundtable", each station had to give their callsign, and the callsigns of all stations involved in the conversation every ten minutes.
The rules have been relaxed a lot. Now the only time you have to identify your station is at the end of your transmission, or series of transmissions. If a conversation lasts an extended period of time, then you have to give your callsign every ten minutes, and at the end of the conversation.
Testing a radio is not excluded from identifying your station. If you just key up your radio to see if it's working, or if a repeater comes back to you, you're required to identify your station.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV