COPY THAT: RADIO ETIQUETTE FOR OVERLAND TRAVEL

WHY DOES RADIO ETIQUETTE MATTER?

I've spent much of my life, since I was about 8 years old, using radios in all types of situations. From growing up crossing oceans and using the radio to call my Grandparents (from the middle of the Pacific Ocean for my 8th birthday, it was a "ship to shore" call via a marine operator), to my time working offshore as a "Hard Hat" diver, and more recently in my Search and Rescue missions, overland travel, and adventure tours.

Aside from understanding the basics of how your radio works, it's also very important to know when to use it and the etiquette involved, because it's not like talking on your phone. When you are talking on a two-way radio, you are using public channels, this means that anyone who has a radio scanner or who is already on that channel can hear what you are saying. Not only that, but even more importantly, they may need to use that channel at any moment for an emergency or other important transmission.

KEYS TO GOOD RADIO ETIQUETTE FOR OVERLAND TRAVEL

1. Listen for other "traffic" on the channel, don't just start talking unless it's an emergency.

   
   

2. Keep your sentences short and to the point, allowing short breaks between transmissions, in case someone else needs to break in.

   
   

3. Remember to keep your thumb off of the transmit or Push To Talk button (PTT) when you are not transmitting. It is also important to remember to store your handheld radio or microphone where the PTT button won't get inadvertently pushed or held down. When you push the PTT button, it blocks anyone else from transmitting on that channel and can cause serious problems in an emergency.

   
   

4. Because you are using a public channel, please keep your language "clean" and don't use people's last names, you never know who may be listening in on your conversation.

Using radios to talk between vehicles or to keep in touch with your kids when they are out playing is great, and can be a lot of fun, but only if we all respect radio etiquette for overland travel and allow for others to use the channels too.