Learn/ Technician course/Module 9 of 10
Technician Course, Module 9: On the Air
Covers NCVEC 2026-2030 Technician Pool, Subelement T2 (Operating Procedures). Three questions on your exam come from this material.
Ray slides the microphone across the bench, and this time he does not put his hand over it. "Everything is programmed. The repeater is quiet. Say who you are looking for and who you are."
Your heart rate disagrees with how simple that sounds. This module is the cure for mic fright: know exactly what to say, and saying it gets easy.
9.1Making the Call
The frequencies come first. The national FM simplex calling frequency on 2 meters is 146.520 MHz, the channel where any ham anywhere in the country can listen for a call. Simplex means transmitting and receiving on the same frequency, radio to radio, no repeater in between. The band plans set aside simplex channels so stations within range of each other can talk without tying up a repeater.
A band plan, by the way, is a voluntary guideline for using modes and activities within a band, organizing the space beyond what FCC privileges require. Following it is good citizenship, not law.
Repeaters listen on one frequency and transmit on another, and the repeater offset is the difference between those transmit and receive frequencies. The standards: plus or minus 600 kHz on 2 meters, and plus or minus 5 MHz on 70 centimeters. Your radio applies the offset automatically once programmed, which you did in Module 8.
Now the scripts, and there are only three:
- Calling a specific station: say their call sign, then identify with yours. "K4DIA, this is KJ4XYZ." Done. No "break break," no drama.
- Looking for anyone on a repeater: the custom is your call sign followed by "listening." Announcing yourself is enough; someone who wants to chat will answer.
- Looking for anyone on simplex: call CQ. CQ means calling any station. The procedure: repeat "CQ" a few times, say "this is" and your call sign, then pause and listen. Repeat as needed. And when you hear someone else calling CQ, answer with their call sign followed by your call sign, so they know both who you want and who you are.
Knowledge Check 9.1
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. What is the 2-meter national FM simplex calling frequency?
2. What is the standard repeater offset on 2 meters?
3. You hear a station calling CQ on simplex. How do you answer?
T2A the easy way: all 11 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
T2A01 What is a common repeater frequency offset in the 2-meter band?
Answer Plus or minus 600 kHz
Tip On 2 meters the repeater input sits 600 kHz off the output, plus or minus, so your radio shifts by 600 kHz to transmit.
T2A02 What is the national calling frequency for FM simplex operations in the 2-meter band?
Answer 146.520 MHz
Tip 146.520 MHz is the 2-meter FM simplex calling frequency, the spot you dial to find a direct contact.
T2A03 What is a common repeater frequency offset in the 70-centimeter band?
Answer Plus or minus 5 MHz
Tip The 70-centimeter band is higher, so its offset is bigger: 5 MHz, plus or minus, instead of 600 kHz.
T2A04 What is an appropriate way to call another station on a repeater if you know the other station's call sign?
Answer Say the station's call sign, then identify with your call sign
Tip Just say their call sign, then give yours. That tells them who you want and who is calling.
T2A05 How should you respond to a station calling CQ?
Answer Transmit the other station’s call sign followed by your call sign
Tip Answer a CQ by sending their call first, then yours, so they know you are coming back to them.
T2A06 What is an effective way to seek a call from any phone station when not using a repeater?
Answer Repeat “CQ” a few times, followed by “this is,” and your call sign, then pause to listen; repeat as necessary
Tip Call CQ a few times, say this is and your call, then pause to listen, and repeat as needed.
T2A07 What does the term "repeater offset" mean?
Answer The difference between a repeater’s transmit and receive frequencies
Tip Offset just means the gap between what the repeater hears and what it sends, its input versus output.
T2A08 What is the meaning of the procedural signal “CQ”?
Answer Calling any station
Tip CQ means calling any station, an open invitation for anyone listening to come back.
T2A09 Which of the following is a customary way to indicate a station is listening on a repeater and looking for a contact?
Answer The station’s call sign followed by the word “listening”
Tip To fish for a contact on a repeater, give your call sign and the word listening.
T2A10 What is a band plan, beyond the privileges established by the FCC?
Answer A voluntary guideline for using different modes or activities within an amateur band
Tip A band plan is a friendly agreement on where modes go, voluntary courtesy on top of FCC rules.
T2A11 What term describes an amateur station that is transmitting and receiving on the same frequency?
Answer Simplex
Tip Simplex means one frequency doing both jobs, transmit and receive on the same channel, no repeater.
9.2Repeater Craft and Fixing What Goes Wrong
Repeaters have their own toolbox, and knowing it separates smooth operators from confused ones.
Access tones first. Many repeaters ignore signals that do not carry a CTCSS tone: a sub-audible tone transmitted along with your voice that opens the repeater's squelch. Wrong tone, no repeater, even with a strong signal. DTMF is the other tone system: the telephone-style signaling that uses two simultaneous audio tones, used for controlling things like IRLP nodes from Module 6.
So when you can hear a repeater but cannot bring it up, the suspect list is exactly three items, and the exam accepts all of them: improper transceiver offset, wrong CTCSS tone, or wrong DCS code. Check all three before blaming the radio.
The reverse function listens on the repeater's input frequency. Why bother? Because if you can hear a station on the input, you can work them simplex and give the repeater back to everyone else.
Some repeaters are part of a linked repeater network, where signals received by one repeater are transmitted by all the repeaters in the network, turning a regional system into one big room. On DMR systems, two more settings from your Module 8 code plug matter on the air: the color code, an access code that must be programmed into your radio to access a specific repeater, and the talkgroup, an identifier DMR uses to organize traffic so that those who want to hear a group are not bothered by other traffic.
Operating problems and their answers:
- Your FM audio drops out on voice peaks: you are talking too loudly. Back off the mic.
- Two stations interfere with each other on the same frequency: the stations should negotiate continued use of the frequency. Nobody owns a frequency, and "I was here first" is not a rule.
- And two Q signals every operator uses whether they know Morse or not: QRM means interference from other stations, and QSY means changing frequency. "QRM here, let's QSY up five" is a complete, universally understood sentence.
Knowledge Check 9.2
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. You hear the repeater clearly but it never responds to you. Which is a possible cause?
2. What does the reverse function do?
3. Another net is already using your usual frequency. What is correct?
T2B the easy way: all 14 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
T2B01 What is the purpose of the reverse function on a VHF/UHF transceiver?
Answer To listen on a repeater’s input frequency
Tip Reverse lets you hear the repeater input, so you can check if the other station is close enough to work direct.
T2B02 What term describes the use of a sub-audible tone transmitted along with normal voice audio to open the squelch of a receiver?
Answer CTCSS
Tip CTCSS is a quiet tone riding under your voice that unlocks the squelch, often called a PL tone.
T2B03 Which of the following describes a linked repeater network?
Answer A network of repeaters in which signals received by one repeater are transmitted by all the repeaters in the network
Tip In a linked network whatever one repeater hears, they all send, so your signal reaches the whole chain.
T2B04 Which of the following could be the reason you are unable to access a repeater whose output you can hear?
Answer All these choices are correct
Tip Many things can block access you can still hear, wrong tone, wrong offset, out of range, so all are correct.
T2B05 Which of the following would cause your FM transmission audio to drop out on voice peaks?
Answer You are talking too loudly
Tip Talking too loudly overdeviates the FM signal, so the audio drops out on your loudest peaks.
T2B06 What type of signaling to a repeater uses two simultaneous audio tones?
Answer DTMF
Tip DTMF is the two-tone touch-tone pair from a phone keypad, used to send commands to a repeater.
T2B07 How can you join a digital repeater’s “talkgroup”?
Answer Program your radio with the group’s ID or code
Tip Join a digital talkgroup by programming its ID or code into your radio.
T2B08 Which of the following applies when two stations transmitting on the same frequency interfere with each other?
Answer The stations should negotiate continued use of the frequency
Tip If two stations clash on one frequency, talk it over and share, courtesy settles who stays.
T2B09 Why are simplex channels designated in the VHF/UHF band plans?
Answer So stations within range of each other can communicate without tying up a repeater
Tip Simplex channels keep nearby stations off the repeater, so short-range chats do not tie it up.
T2B10 Which Q signal indicates that you are receiving interference from other stations?
Answer QRM
Tip QRM is man-made interference from other stations stepping on you.
T2B11 Which Q signal indicates that you are changing frequency?
Answer QSY
Tip QSY means I am moving, a change of frequency.
T2B12 What is the digital color code used on DMR repeater systems?
Answer An access code which must be programmed into a DMR transmitter to access a specific repeater
Tip A DMR color code is an access number you program in to match and reach a specific repeater.
T2B13 What is the purpose of a squelch function?
Answer Mute the receiver audio when a signal is not present
Tip Squelch mutes the hiss when no signal is there, opening only when someone transmits.
T2B14 Which of the following is a “talkgroup”?
Answer An identifier used by DMR to organize radio traffic so that those who want to hear the group aren’t bothered by other radio traffic
Tip A talkgroup is a DMR label that sorts traffic so only those who want it hear it.
9.3When It Matters: Nets and Public Service
The pager on Ray's belt is a museum piece, but the habit behind it is not. "Someday the cell network will be down, and somebody will hand you a radio and a list of stations. This is how that works."
First, the legal frame: FCC rules always apply. There is no emergency exception that suspends Part 97, no FEMA mode, no special wartime footing. One narrow provision exists: a control operator may operate outside their license privileges only in situations involving the immediate safety of human life or protection of property. That is a break-glass rule, not a loophole.
Two organizations, constantly confused, cleanly separated:
- ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service): licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service. Join by volunteering.
- RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service): an FCC Part 97 amateur radio service for civil defense communications during national emergencies. Operating RACES requires certification of current enrollment by a civil defense organization. Join by being certified.
Ray's memory hook: ARES is volunteers, RACES is certified.
Directed nets run on discipline:
- The Net Control Station calls the net to order and directs communications between stations checking in. One voice runs the room.
- Your job as a participant: unless you are reporting an emergency, transmit only when directed by net control.
- Traffic means the formal messages exchanged by net stations, and formal messages have anatomy: the preamble contains the information needed to track the message, and the check is the number of words or word equivalents in the text portion, so the receiving station can verify nothing fell out along the way.
- Unusual words in a message get spelled using a standard phonetic alphabet, the same ITU phonetics from Module 1, now doing operational work.
One digital tool belongs in this section: Winlink, the system that relays messages using email addresses based on amateur call signs, moving real email over radio when the internet is gone.
Knowledge Check 9.3
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. During a declared emergency, which rules govern amateur operation?
2. Which requires certification by a civil defense organization?
3. In a radiogram, what is the "check"?
T2C the easy way: all 12 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
T2C01 When do the FCC Part 97 Amateur Radio Service rules NOT apply to the operation of an amateur station?
Answer FCC rules always apply
Tip Part 97 is always in force. FCC rules never switch off, even in an emergency.
T2C02 Which of the following are typical duties of a Net Control Station?
Answer Call the net to order and direct communications between stations checking in
Tip Net Control runs the show, opening the net and telling stations when it is their turn.
T2C03 What technique is used to ensure that voice messages containing unusual words are received correctly?
Answer Spell the words using a standard phonetic alphabet
Tip Spell tricky words with the standard phonetic alphabet so each letter comes through clearly.
T2C04 What is RACES?
Answer An FCC Part 97 amateur radio service for civil defense communications during national emergencies
Tip RACES is a Part 97 service for civil defense work during national emergencies.
T2C05 What does the term “traffic” refer to in net operation?
Answer Formal messages exchanged by net stations
Tip In a net, traffic means the formal messages stations pass along.
T2C06 What is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)?
Answer A group of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service
Tip ARES is volunteer licensed hams who signed up with their gear to serve in public emergencies.
T2C07 Which of the following is standard practice when you participate in a net?
Answer Unless you are reporting an emergency, transmit only when directed by the net control station
Tip In a net, wait for net control to call you before you transmit, unless it is an emergency.
T2C08 Which of the following relays messages using email addresses based on amateur callsigns?
Answer Winlink
Tip Winlink carries email over radio using addresses built from amateur call signs.
T2C09 Are amateur station control operators ever permitted to operate outside the frequency privileges of their license class?
Answer Yes, but only in situations involving the immediate safety of human life or protection of property
Tip You may step outside your privileges only when human life or property is in immediate danger.
T2C10 What information is contained in the preamble of a formal traffic message?
Answer Information needed to track the message
Tip The preamble carries the tracking details that let a message be followed through the system.
T2C11 What is meant by “check” in a radiogram header?
Answer The number of words or word equivalents in the text portion of the message
Tip Check in a radiogram is the word count of the message text, a tally to confirm nothing dropped.
T2C12 Which of the following requires certification by a civil defense agency?
Answer RACES
Tip RACES is the one that needs certification by a civil defense agency before you operate.
Review: every Exam Anchor from this module
T2A 2-meter national FM simplex calling frequency: 146.520 MHz. Simplex: transmitting and receiving on the same frequency; simplex channels exist so nearby stations do not tie up repeaters. Band plan: voluntary guideline beyond FCC privileges. Repeater offset: difference between transmit and receive frequencies; 600 kHz on 2 meters, 5 MHz on 70 cm. Call a known station: their call, then yours. Repeater availability: your call sign followed by "listening." CQ means calling any station: repeat CQ, give your call, pause, repeat. Answer a CQ: their call, then your call.
T2B CTCSS: sub-audible tone that opens a repeater's squelch. DTMF: two simultaneous audio tones. Hear a repeater but cannot access it: wrong offset, wrong CTCSS, or wrong DCS (all of these). Reverse function: listen on the repeater's input. Linked network: one repeater's receive goes out over all of them. DMR color code: access code programmed to reach a specific repeater. Talkgroup: DMR identifier organizing traffic; join by programming the group's ID. Audio dropout on peaks: talking too loudly. Shared-frequency interference: negotiate. QRM: interference from stations. QSY: changing frequency. Squelch (from Module 8): mutes audio when no signal is present.
T2C FCC rules always apply; operating outside privileges is allowed only for the immediate safety of human life or protection of property. ARES: volunteers registered for public service duty. RACES: FCC Part 97 service for civil defense, requiring civil defense certification. Net Control calls the net to order and directs communications; participants transmit only when directed unless reporting an emergency. Traffic: formal messages. Preamble: tracking information. Check: word count of the text. Spell unusual words with standard phonetics. Winlink: email relayed via call sign-based addresses.
Before you move on
You keyed up. Whatever happened next, you are now an operator, and the scripts in this module work the same on your ten-thousandth contact as your first. You know the calling frequency, the offsets, the tones, the Q signals, and the discipline of a directed net.
One module remains, and Ray saved it for last on purpose: the one about going home with the same number of fingers you arrived with.
© 2026 Anthony Pelfanio, K4DIA. All rights reserved.