TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 15.28 DATE: July 12, 2015
SUBJECT: WHO'S THERE ? I CAN'T FIND MY LIST !
That time of the year is coming again when we start providing safety communications for various outside activities such as the Parkersburg Half Marathon, Bike races, Road races, Cross Country races, and such. It may be stumbling block for some, but the use of tactical callsigns help keep track of the Amateurs at various locations. It helps keep the traffic to a minimum and eliminate operators from having to remember who is at a certain location. Only remembering the locations such as mile markers, water stops, race control, follow-up vehicle, etc. is all that's needed. The use of such calls remains difficult for a few Amateurs who find it laborious to deviate from normal radio procedures.
Using Tactical calls is one of those operations that requires use and experience. The thing we need to force through our minds is to only identify with our FCC issued callsigns when completing our transmission. This also informs the station called when we have completed your message. Remember, the last thing that you should say at the end of your contact is your callsign.
In the past it's been witnessed the advantages of using tactical calls rather than our FCC callsign while assisting another organization with some of their events. Instead of using locations as a tactical call, and clearing with our legal calls, we still kept a list ready, listing the location, location number, and the callsign of the Amateur, or Amateurs at that location. This required changes to our papers every time a different amateur would take over one of the locations. Not to mention, when officials at our location would ask us something like, how is #3 doing? The operator who had only been at that location for a short period of time, had to refer to his list to see who to call at the location in question. Using a tactical call, such as #3, since the locations were numbered, would have eliminated the need to remember or write down who was at a certain location. It would totally eliminate the need to keep a list of calls at all, let alone change the paper if an operator at that location was replaced.
Tactical calls are easy, legal, and simplify operations by allowing us to remember locations only, and direct our calls accordingly. Changes in operators at any location does not cause a change our Tactical call. Which allows us to concentrate on what we are there for, and not "What callsign is at what location?".
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV