Your very first transmission — Ham Radio

You have a handheld, you've programmed a local repeater, and you want to say something without it being weird.

Before you key up

  • Listen for at least a full minute first. Make sure nobody is mid-conversation.
  • Key up, then pause half a second before you speak. The repeater needs a moment to open, and the first syllable gets eaten otherwise.

What to say

You say: “your callsign in phonetics, listening.”

That's it. That is the entire transmission. You are saying 'I'm here and I'm available if anyone wants to talk.'

Or, if you want to be a little friendlier

“your callsign in phonetics, monitoring the repeater.”

What they will say back

Often nothing at all — and that's completely normal, not a rejection. Repeaters sit quiet for hours. If someone is listening, you'll hear something like: "their callsign, good afternoon, go ahead."

If it goes sideways

If nobody answers, wait a few minutes and try once more, then move on. Don't call repeatedly — it reads as impatient. Try again in the evening drive-time hours when repeaters are busiest.

Why it works this way

You never say "CQ" on a repeater. CQ means "anybody at all, anywhere" and it belongs on HF or simplex. On a repeater you're talking to a specific local group of people who already share the machine, so the convention is simply to announce that you're there. Saying "listening" instead of "CQ" is one of the fastest ways to sound like you know what you're doing on day one.

Open this in Pocket Elmer, with your callsign filled in

More things to say