[continued from previous message]   
      
   "With a Category 5 storm threatening the Suncoast, we were glad to have their   
   expertise on hand to help communicate internally with our teams and external   
   relief agencies if our normal communications systems failed," said Kim Savage,   
   public information    
   officer for Sarasota Memorial Health System. "Fortunately, we did not need to   
   utilize their services, but we thank them staying with us throughout the   
   storm."   
      
   Both SRQARES and the hospitals continuously monitor the weather, entering   
   "standby" status should a tropical storm pose a threat. SRQARES's   
   fully-trained volunteer operators arrived at each of the system's four sites   
   along with the hospitals' hurricane    
   response teams, providing 24/7 coverage from Sarasota in the north to North   
   Port in the south, across an area of 40 miles. Each operator brought a "GoBox"   
   dual-band VHF/UHF radio pre-programmed with more than 30 duplex repeaters and   
   simplex frequencies.    
   In addition to voice capabilities, each GoBox, when paired with a laptop,   
   supports Winlink e-mail-by-radio to transmit and receive e-mail, spreadsheets,   
   etc. Naturally, all transmissions must be HIPAA compliant.   
      
   Through the existing partnership, robust antennas are on top of each hospital   
   facility, with coax cable fed to a radio operator position in each facility,   
   so that on arrival one can be operational within minutes via plug-and-play. In   
   addition to the    
   rooftop antennas, infrastructure utilized by SRQARES includes repeaters at   
   several locations in Sarasota County provided by the Sarasota Emergency Radio   
   Club. The Venice-based Tamiami Amateur Radio Club also makes its repeater in   
   Englewood available in    
   an emergency.   
      
   SRQARES is proud to serve Sarasota Memorial, the region's only public,   
   community-owned health system. Contact for SRQARES: Scott Smith, KO4SQK,   
   Public Information Officer [ mailto:pio@srqares.org ]   
      
   Essential Guide to Two-Way Radio Communication   
      
   By Scott Read, KM6RFB   
      
   Shorthand expressions and codes are useful for radio communication, especially   
   when you need to transfer information quickly. It's important to make sure   
   that everyone's on the same page with the terminology you're using and what it   
   all means, so make    
   sure all radio users know and understand all the terms in advance. You may   
   decide to just use plain language, or use just a few of these terms instead of   
   all of them - whichever helps your team to communicate effectively.   
      
   Common terminology in radio communication is crucial because it ensures clear   
   and concise information exchange between individuals or groups, especially in   
   critical situations like emergencies/disasters, by eliminating confusion   
   arising from different    
   interpretations of words or phrases, allowing for swift and effective action;   
   essentially, everyone on the same radio channel understands the meaning of   
   each term used, leading to better coordination and response times.   
      
   In amateur radio, we tend to use terminology that has been applied to and   
   accepted in our community, deeply rooted in our long history, particularly   
   from the historic use of telegraphy with Morse code stemming from the 1850s.   
      
   In the world of the public safety community we serve, however, amateur radio   
   operators need to shift our mindset to using its language of public safety,   
   understand agencies' requirements and how they communicate. Public safety   
   workers generally do not    
   understand our jargon, nor have the time to learn it. Under presidential   
   directive after 9/11, the whole community needed to adopt common language,   
   which ultimately embraced the NIMS/ICS terminology set.   
      
   A good example is the Q-signals table, a system of radio shorthand as old as   
   wireless and developed from even older telegraphy codes. Q-signals are a set   
   of abbreviations for common information that save time and allow communication   
   between amateur radio    
   operators. But public safety professionals are almost totally unfamiliar with   
   it. Just the opposite is true with public safety and the use of Ten Codes,   
   with which we as hams are mostly unfamiliar. Examples for police radio: 10-0   
   Use Caution; 10-1 Weak    
   Signal; 10-2 Good Signal; 10-3 Stop Transmitting; 10-4 Affirmative; etc. Read   
   the police 10-codes [ https://copradar.com/tencodes/tencodeg.pdf ] . Even   
   worse, they may not even be clear between public safety agencies. This can   
   impede the flow of    
   information between served agencies in a timely process.   
      
   Key points about the importance of common radio terminology:   
   â-¢Reduces miscommunication: Using standardized terms minimizes the risk of   
   misunderstandings that could have serious consequences in emergency scenarios.   
   â-¢Improves interoperability: When different agencies or teams use the same   
   radio language, it facilitates collaboration and information sharing across   
   groups.   
   â-¢Efficiency in communication: Standardized phrases and codes allow for   
   faster transmission of information, particularly when time is critical.   
   â-¢Safety enhancement: Clear and consistent communication is essential for   
   ensuring safety in situations like search and rescue operations or industrial   
   work environments.   
      
   Examples of common radio terminology:   
   â-¢Roger: Acknowledgment of a message received.   
   â-¢Over and Out: Indicates the end of a transmission and requests a response   
   â-¢Mayday: Emergency distress call   
   â-¢Affirmative: Yes   
   â-¢Negative: No   
   â-¢Go ahead: I am ready for your message   
   â-¢Say again: Repeat all of your last message   
   â-¢Say all before/after: Repeat all before/after a certain phrase or word if   
   you didn't catch part of the message   
   â-¢Out: Conversation is finished, no answer is required or expected   
   â-¢Radio check: What's my signal strength? Can you hear me?   
   â-¢Read you loud and clear: Your transmission signal is good; I can hear you   
   fine   
   â-¢Wilco: Abbreviation of "I will comply", means the speaker will complete the   
   task that's been asked of them   
   â-¢Break, break: Interruption to a transmission to communicate urgently   
   â-¢Emergency, emergency: Distress call, only to be used when there is an   
   imminent danger to life and immediate assistance is required   
   â-¢Stand by: Wait   
   â-¢Wait out: Waiting period is longer than I expected, I will get back to you   
   as soon as possible   
   â-¢I spell: The next word will be spelled out using the phonetic alphabet   
      
   The ITU or NATO phonetic alphabet is internationally recognized and used. If   
   you've ever tried to spell a word over a radio, you'll understand why-it makes   
   things much simpler. Read the ITU phonetic alphabet list [ https   
   //life.itu.int/radioclub/rr/ap14.   
   pdf ] .   
      
   In conclusion, we need to keep in mind that at the end of the day we work for   
   the served agency. We should think of them as our client and the citizens we   
   serve as our customers. It is also important to remember how we integrate into   
   their operation and    
   not the other way around. [Scott Read, KM6RFB [ mailto:Southbfd@sbcglobal.net   
   ] , is a COML, COMT, AUXCOMM cert holder, and SKYWARN operator]   
      
   Upcoming Conferences   
      
   IWCE 2025 Conference [ https://iwceexpo.com/why-attend ] , March 17-20, 2025   
   (Las Vegas, NV) â-" Four days of content and networking and two days of   
   exhibits to explore. IWCE is a unique event that brings together professionals   
   working in mission-   
   critical and business-critical communications from across multiple verticals   
   and geographies.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)