humboldt wings
	Hang Gliding and Paragliding in Humboldt County, Northern California	General Radio Information and Use Tips

Thanks to Jeff Morgan for pulling this stuff together and allowing me to not only steal it, but bend the tar out of it ....

So you are gonna take a radio flying with you:

Gear List:

1.     Radio with proper antenna(s). Some pilots carry an extra long one for out landings.

2.     Your Radio Manual with your flight gear.

3.     Charged Spare Radio Battery - or spare battery pack that takes AA's. (Optional, but a good idea.)

4.     PTT (Push to Talk Finger Switch and Helmet headphone/speaker system)

5.     Car Charger (Keep in vehicle - charge on the way if necessary, or just top off. It is better to have some charge than none at all...)

6.     Cell Phone

 Minimum Tasks you should be able to perform on your radio:

1.   How to lock and unlock your radio controls.   

2.   Manual entry of a new frequency.

3.   How to set tone squelch.

4.   How to change between high and low power transmission.

CTCSS, PL, Tone Squelch

Long ago and not so far away, Motorola came up with a way to get more than one Land Mobile customer on the same frequency at almost the same time. They figured that different customers could coexist on the same frequency if they did not have to listen to each other routinely. They invented Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System or CTCSS for short and patented it as "PL" short for "Private line". Other manufacturers, finding that the system was absolutely necessary to stay competitive came up with "Channel Guard," "Quiet Channel," "Call Guard," and many other names for the same thing to avoid lawsuits for marketing a patented system.

The manufacturers of amateur equipment seem to have settled on "tone" for encode only and "tone squelch" for encode/decode. Most of the amateur VHF and UHF equipment manufactured in the last ten years has at least encode capability (standard or optional) and many have decode capability (standard or optional).

CTCSS does not alleviate RF interference. If two FM signals are on the same frequency at the same time, there will still be a heterodyne or beat note (unless one is 6 dB stronger than the other). But if CTCSS is being utilized and both systems use different CTCSS tones, they will not have to listen to the other system's traffic.

This is an example of a Tone Chart found in a HT radio setting manual:

ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio

Amateur radio information, study material, and local clubs:  http://www.arrl.org

http://www.arrl.org/catalog  "Now You're Talking!" ARRL Study Guide -The Classic that everyone gets...

OR run an internet search for "Amateur Technician Online Study Guide"

See how easy it is to get your license: http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl   Practice Test.

Radio Tips and more from Chris Santacroce for XC event:

Everyone will be on the same frequency for the most part. This offers us the best chance of receiving last minute reports as pilots land and best chance of using pilots who are in the air to relay messages to drivers etc.

Say your name, glider and color, altitude, distance from the tow road (via GPS) heading and intentions. For example; "Chris on a white Gangster at 10'500, 10 miles out heading North East".

Don't come on and say, "Does anyone copy?"  Just say what's on your mind. Sometimes you have to say things twice, so you might as well start by saying it once and pick up the pieces from there.

If you are giving conditions reports then be scientific. For example; "I am topping out at 10.500; thermals up to 1500 feet per minute, gliding down to 1000 agl in between thermals."

If you are sinking out, your final transmission should happen at about 500 feet minimum. Say, name, position, landmarks, intentions and then say your name again along with the color of your glider. For example: "This is Chris on the white Gangster landing at twenty miles out on a significant paved road right near a farm house with a windmill next to it, this is Chris on the White Gangster."

Check in after you land and coil up your glider. A glider that is laid out means that you need help.

After you land, if you have cell phone coverage, check in with 'the base' at a number to be decided.  If you don't check in, we will look for you until we find you. No cell phone, stop at a farm house, borrow a phone, have some cash.

Land near significant landmarks so that it will be easy for drivers to find you.

Keep your radios on low power until you land and then increase to full power after you land if you have trouble communicating.

Land with other people

Follow roads; all these things lend to an easy and quick retrieve that can yield you additional flights and more camaraderie.

Drivers please have a cell phone, GPS, compass and a radio with a charger. Did you know that in order for a 2 meter radio to best communicate with another, the respective antennas need to be at similar angles? Announce your name, vehicle type, position and intentions on a regular basis. To identify yourself, you can go down a dirt road and stop, sideways in the road. Pilots may be able to see where you are via this technique. Don't be afraid to do some donuts in the dirt to show wind direction or to help convey your position. Announce landmarks as you see them. For example; "This is Donnne Doo Dah in the Red Gremlin, going east bound on highway 69. A semi truck just passed me going the other way. It's the only vehicle I've seen out here. There's a silo on my right and I am going to pull over and light a tire on fire so that you know where I am."

If people sound faint on the radio, then they might be far away. If they are loud, they may be on the ground. If you think that you are close to someone, honk your horn and see if they can hear it. Pay attention to the people who are getting low in funny places away from the road. If they are landing near pavement or they are still high, then you ought to pay attention to others who are in more desperate situations.  Call the 'base' phone number that we designate on a regular basis, say what town you are in, which pilots are with you etc. Have a note pad and write down some position reports as you hear them on the radio. The general plan is; if it is early in the AM or late in the PM and you are picking up people who are close to the tow road, then bring them back to the tow road fairly quickly. If it is the middle of the day, at least one drivers plan will be to follow the pilot who goes the farthest and pick up the rest on the way back. Pilots, keep this in mind. There will be other vehicles that will do shorter retrieves.

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Page Created: 20 January 2006