1 CAP Communications Radio Operator Authorization Course “Voice of Command” Revised 7 Jan 2010

2 CAP Radio Operator Authorization 1. Basic Communications User Training –2 - 4 Hour Class on: a. Standard Operating Procedures b.Local Operating Procedures c.Basic Radio Operations –Entitles a CAP member to operate a CAP Radio –Issuance of a CAPF 76, Radio Operator Authorization by a Group Communications Officer –Required for most ES specialties 2. Advanced Communications User Training –4 - 8 Hour Class –Hands on Radio Operations and Radio System Setup –Pass the Advanced Communications User Test, CAPF 119 –Entitles CAP member to be assigned a call sign for their radio –Required as part of the Communications Specialty Track Authorization is done in two phases:

3 CAP Radio Station Licensing CAP is a considered a federal agency, thus its Radio Stations are authorized by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public stations are licensed by the FCC Federal agencies are not allowed to use services allocated exclusively to the public sector for their business. This excludes the use of Amateur Radio and Citizens Band for CAP business. The regulation for all CAP Communications is CAPR 100-1

4 5 Habits of a Good Radio Operator 1.Speak clearly 2.Annunciate your words. 3.Speak slowly 4.Remain calm no matter what happens - Never Panic. 5.THINK - “Use Your Head”

5 Operator Responsibilities LISTEN Be Prepared to Assist Do NOT Transmit Unless You Have Something to Offer or Contact is Requested

6 Prohibited Operating Practices Transmission of false distress signals Violation of Radio Silence Personal Conversation Transmitting in a Net without permission of NCS Lack of identifying call sign Excessive tuning and testing Use of Amateur Radio or Citizens Band frequencies for CAP business, and Vice-Versa. Use of 10 codes or Amateur Radio Q Signals DO NOT use Profanity Violating operational security rules

7 PROWORDS THIS ISPreface to your call sign ROGERLast transmission received OK OVERI’m done, go ahead OUTI’m done, bye WAITI will be back in a few seconds SAY AGAINSay that again CORRECTIONOops! I really meant to say WILCOROGER and I will comply AFFIRMATIVEYes Refer to CAPR 100-3, Attachment 1, for the complete list Prowords are a special set of words used for clarity and brevity in communications. Some of the most commonly used prowords are: Reference: 100-3

8 Phonetic Alphabet AAlpha BBravo CCharlie DDelta EEcho FFoxtrot GGolf HHotel IIndia JJuliet KKilo LLima MMike NNovember OOscar PPapa QQuebec RRomeo SSierra TTango UUniform VVictor WWhiskey XX-Ray YYankee ZZulu

9 I SPELL / FIGURES / INITIALS Use “I SPELL” for pronounceable words –PIZZA »“I SPELL PIZZA PAPA INDIA ZULU ZULU ALPHA PIZZA” Use “FIGURE(S)” AND “INITIAL(S)” for non-words –N516F »“INITIAL NOVEMBER FIGURES FIVE ONE SIX INTIAL FOXTROT” CORRECTIONS  Use proword “CORRECTION” to correct a mistake Example: “… Turn right at next corner … CORRECTION Turn left at next corner…”

10 Numbers Pronunciation 1WUN 2TOO 3TREE 4FO-WER 5FIFE 6SIX 7SEVEN 8ATE 9NINER 0ZERO When writing the numbers, do not write them down the way they are pronounced. For example, do not write “one” as “wun” or “five” as “fife.” Write them as “1” and “5”.

11 Punctuation SymbolSpoken as.Day-See-Mal or Full Stop,Comma /Slant -- ? : Hyphen Question Mark Colon *Asterisk Symbol &Ampersand ~ Coda ( )Paren On - Paren Off [ ]Bracket On – Bracket Off

12 SENDING NUMBERS Use Prowords “FIGURES”, “DECIMAL”, “TIME”, “INITIALS” Digit-by-Digit Not “Seven Fifty” 750“FIGURES SEVEN FIFE ZERO” Niner Not Nine 849“FIGURES ATE FO-WER NINER” Decimal Point 14.5“FIGURES ONE FO-WER DECIMAL FIFE” Z Time1635Z“TIME ONE SIX TREE FIFE ZULU” Initial And Figures E21“INITIAL ECHO FIGURES TOO WUN” One Figure and Initial 3-A“FIGURE TREE DASH INITIAL ALPHA”

13 ZULU Time AKA Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Coordinated Time. Refers to the current time in Greenwich, United Kingdom. Zulu time is a system of timekeeping that refers to the same time, no matter what time zone you are in. Central Standard Time is Zulu – 6 Hours

14 Types of Stations & Tactical Call Signs GROUND AIRMOBILE TEXASCAP 2112 CAP 4247 TEXASCAP 6122 CAP VEHICLES TEXAS WING CALL SIGN EXAMPLES

15 Texas Call Signs TEXASCAP 1 – TEXASCAP 99 Wing HQ Staff -TC1=Wing Commander -TC2=Wing Vice Commander -TC3=Wing Chief of Staff -TC4=Wing Director of Communications -TC5=Wing Chaplain -TC6=Wing Director of Professional Development -TC7=Wing Director of Logistics -TC8=Wing ES Officer -TC9=Wing Operations Officer -TC10=Wing Headquarters Station -TC11=Wing Director of Cadet Programs -TC12=Wing Director of Personnel Assistants and staff officers working under a director will be assigned calls signs accordingly: Wing Communications staff will have calls in the 40 to 49 block, Operations staff in the 90 to 99 block

16 Texas Group call signs Wing HQ: Group 1 HQ: Units: Group 2 HQ: Units: Group 3 HQ: Units: Group 4 HQ: Units: * Group 5 HQ: Units: 5000 – 5999 * 42XX block is not assigned to reduce confusion with aircraft CAP42xx call signs

17 Calling Another Station Aircraft To Establish Contact –“TEXASCAP 2550 THIS IS CAP 4247 OVER” Response from the Ground Station –“CAP 4247 THIS IS TEXASCAP 2550 OVER” On Closing the Contact –“… CAP 4247 OUT” OR –“…TEXASCAP 2550 OUT” –Only the first station to finish must say this.

18 Calling Another Station cont Always end a transmission with OVER or OUT - NOT BOTH! Do not use “Roger Wilco” instead of Wilco. “Roger Wilco” means “Last transmission received OK last transmission received OK and I will comply.”

19 Radio Net Operation A Formal Net is established to control the flow of traffic on a single radio channel. The Net Control Station (NCS) maintains net discipline by controlling who is talking. Break Ins to the Net should be done only if you have emergency traffic. The NCS must be contacted first for permission to contact another station. Sample Net Check-in (TC2550 is the NCS): –“TEXASCAP 2550, THIS IS TEXASCAP 5181 with no traffic, over”

20 All transmissions must receive permission from the Net Control Station (NCS) Radio Nets - Contacting another Station TC5181 TC2550 NCS TC “TEXASCAP 2550, THIS IS TEXASCAP 5181 with traffic for TEXASCAP 582 OVER” 2 - “TEXASCAP 581, YOU MAY PASS YOUR TRAFFIC, OUT” 3 - “TEXASCAP 582, THIS IS TEXASCAP 581, OVER”

21 NET STATION CHECK-IN EXAMPLES Checking into a Net with no traffic during roll call: “This is TEXASCAP 5181 with no traffic OVER“ Acknowledgement of check-in: " I recognize TEXASCAP 5181 with no traffic OUT"

22 General Radio Controls Summary Common Controls: Volume Squelch Channel Selector Mike with Push to Talk Switch (Release to Listen) Radio Setup Radio Transceiver (VHF-FM, HF-SSB, SAR) Power Supply (110 VAC or 12 Volt DC) Antenna (Vertical, Magnetic Mount, Dipole) VS 1 Power Supply

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24 Civil Air Patrol Communications cont. Telephones - Landline and cellular telephones can be used in addition to radio communications. INTERNET - communications, information web pages, internet phone and other methods of communication over the internet. GOAL - To have a readily available and comprehensive communications network using a variety of assets.

25 Civil Air Patrol Communications Cont. Intersquad Radio (ISR) Military Ultra High Frequency channels Very short range Not CAP frequencies, may have to share with other Military users. May not be used in flight. 14 channels, named ISR 1 to ISR 14 Use standard CAP or ICS callsigns. Texas CAP numbers will be issued for these radios to support communications training. Use of ICS call sign (Ground Team 2) etc… is also permitted during operations.

26 Voice Operating Modes Voice Operating Modes SIMPLEX REPEATER Single Frequency - One Station at a Time SAME FREQ RT INPUT FREQ OUTPUT FREQ Two Frequencies - One Station at a Time

27 Repeater Operation INPUT FREQ OUTPUT FREQ *Repeater increases the range of mobile stations due to its high profile location*

28 Inside the Repeater INPUT FREQ Hz Tone Receiver Hz Tone Decoder Transmitter “Mike Button” Voice OUTPUT FREQ PTT Repeater will only turn on its transmitter if it hears the one site tone The Tone Decoder “listens” for the specific site tone on the incoming signal The Tone Decoder “presses” the Push To Talk (PTT) button to turn on the transmitter. When the specific tone is received Hz Tone

29 CAP Operational Security All CAP frequencies are FOUO – “For Official Use Only” Do not publicly release CAP radio frequencies. Do not release CAP radio frequencies over the air. Frequencies may be referred to by their designators: Example, one of the Southwest Region High Frequencies is called WB, or Whiskey Bravo. THE DESIGNATORS WILL BE USED ON THE AIR TO DIRECT STATIONS TO ANOTHER FREQUENCY, SUCH AS “ALL STATIONS CHANGE FREQUENCY TO WHISKEY CHARLIE, OUT” NEVER TRANSMIT THE DESIGNATOR OF THE FREQUENCY YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON!!!!

30 Extract from CAP/CC Memorandum of 20 Jan In addition, all documents containing frequencies will be marked “UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” (FOUO) at the top and bottom of each page. And, the following statement should be clearly displayed on the front page of any document containing FOUO information: UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Frequency information contained in this document is designated by the Department of Defense (DoD) as For Official Use Only (FOUO) and may not be released to anyone without the prior permission of the NHQ DOK and CAP-USAF.

31 CAP HF Radio Frequencies HF-SSB DESIGNATORS USE -- ADNational Calling Frequency – AENational Calling Frequency –WASouthwest Region HF –WBSouthwest Region HF –WBSSouthwest Region HF Secondary –WC Southwest Region HF Primary – –Each Region has a group of HF frequencies assigned. –Southwest Region has a total of 12 assigned HF freq’s

32 CAP VHF Radio Channels EF Johnson Mobile & Handheld VHF-FM -- Analog –Radio channel Designator Use –ZONE1 CH. 1CC1Primary Command –ZONE1 CH. 2CC2Alternate Command –ZONE1 CH. 3Air 1Aircraft to aircraft –ZONE1 CH. 4Air 2Aircraft to aircraft –Zone 1 CH. 5TAC 1Ground Teams VHF-FM -- Digital –Radio channel Designator Use –ZONE16 CH. 1CC 1PPrimary Command –ZONE16 CH. 2CC 2PAlternate Command –ZONE16 CH. 3Air 1PAircraft to aircraft –ZONE16 CH. 4Air 2PAircraft to aircraft –Zone 16 CH. 5TAC 1PGround Teams

33 TDFM-136 Aircraft Radio Indentifier Channel PositionIndentifier Channel PositionIndentifier Channel Position AIR 1003AIR 1P019TXLAW1050 AIR 2004AIR 2P017TXLAW2051 CC1001CC1P014TXLAW3052 CC2002CC2P015TXFIRE1053 TAC005TAC 1P019TXFIRE2054 Guard 1GD1Guard 1P018TXFIRE3055 R63010R63P024TXMED1056 R64011R64P025TXAIR2057 R67006R67P020USCG 6090 R68007R68P021USCG16091 R69008R69P022USCG 21A092 R70009R70P023USCG22A093 VCALL10058USCG 23A094 VFIRE21060USCG 81A095 VLAW31062USCG 82A096 VMED28061USCG 83A097 VTAC11059

34 Repeater Channels All Repeaters Have a Rxx Designator Fixed Repeater Designators Are R01 Through R62 Portable/Airborne Repeaters Designators Are R63, R64, and R67 Through R70 Digital Channels Have a P Following The Designator (e.g. R11P) Analog Channels –EF Johnson Radios Use Zone 8 – 11 –TDFM-136 (Aircraft) Radios Use Channels 101 – 164 Digital Channels –EF Johnson Radios Use Zone 12 – 16 –TDFM-136 (Aircraft) Radios Do Not Have Digital Capability –Except R63P, R64P, R67P- R70P and 6 simplex channels –Channels

35 Operational Repeaters in Texas as of 1 Jan 2010: LocationDesignator EF Johnson Analog EF Johnson Digital TDFM-136 Analog Only AmarilloR35Z10,CH3Z14, CH3135 BrownsvilleR09Z8, CH9Z12, CH9109 Dallas – NorthR11Z8, CH11Z12, CH11111 DecaturR44Z10, CH12Z14, CH12144 GranburyR01Z8, CH1Z12, CH 1101 Houston – NorthR14Z8, CH14Z12, CH14114 KerrvilleR50Z11, CH2Z15, CH 2150 King MountainR52Z11, CH 4Z15, CH4152 San Antonio – NR26Z9, CH10Z13, CH10126 San Antonio – SR57Z11, CH 9Z15, CH9157 Sulphur SpringsR60Z11, CH12Z15, CH12160 TylerR07Z8, CH7Z12, CH7107 VictoriaR27Z9, CH11Z13, CH11127

36 Portable/Airborne Repeaters Field Installable or Aircraft Mounted (In Repeater Configured Aircraft) Limited Power –10 Watts Airborne –20 Watts Ground Mounted Designator EF Johnson Analog EF Johnson Digital TDFM-136 Analog TDFM-136 Digital R63 R63P Z1,CH7 Z16, CH R64 R64P Z1, CH8\ Z16, CH R67 R67P Z1, CH9 Z16, CH R68 R68P Z1, CH10 Z16, CH R69 R69P Z1, CH11 Z16,CH R70 R70P Z1, CH12 Z16,CH

37 Aeronautical SAR Stations Aeronautical Search And Rescue Stations (SAR) Operate on two Aircraft Frequencies –122.9 MHz - TRAINING Only –123.1 MHz - ACTUAL Missions Only Contact ground teams by using VHF-FM –Air 1 or Air 2 - Air-to-Ground Simplex Base Call Signs assigned by geographical location –“THIS IS Spinks Mission Base OVER”

38 USE OF NON CAP FREQUENCIES CAP MAY USE STATE OF TEXAS INTEROPERABILITY FREQUENCIES WHEN SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED BY A STATE AGENCY TO DO SO. THESE FREQUENCIES ARE PROGRAMMED INTO JOHNSON AND NEW AIRCRAFT FM RADIOS. MARINE BAND: 8 MARINE BAND FREQUENCIES ARE PROGRAMMED FOR USE WITH COAST GUARD OR OTHER AGENCIES. THESE FREQUENCIES SHOULD BE USED ONLY FOR INTERAGENCY COMMUNICATIONS WITH STATE, COUNTY OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR AGENCIES. CAP WILL USE CAP CALL SIGNS AND STANDARD CAP PROCEDURE.

39 Narrow Band Transition VHF Narrow Band Transition Completed 31 Dec 2009 Use of Wide Band Frequencies Is No Longer Authorized Designators V1, V2, V3, V4 and Any Repeater Designator Beginning With a P are NOT To Be Used For Any CAP Operations

40 Questions?