How to identify your station

How to identify your station
License needed	Any amateur license; almost every station must identify
Time	A few seconds per identification
Skill level	Beginner
You will need	Your call sign, the phonetic alphabet and a clock in view
US rule (§97.119)
When	At least every 10 minutes during a communication, and at its end
Voice	In English; phonetics encouraged
CW	Allowed wherever CW is authorized, whatever mode you are using; automatic CW IDs no faster than 20 wpm
Digital	May be sent in the digital mode in use
Indicators
Optional	/P, /M and similar, separated by a slash or a suitable word
Pending upgrade	KT, AG or AE after the call sign

How to identify your station is a practical guide to giving your call sign on the air. Station identification means transmitting the call sign of the station you are operating so that anyone listening knows who is transmitting, and in the United States you must do it at least every 10 minutes during a contact and again at its end. Identification is what keeps amateur radio accountable: a station that causes interference can be recognized and contacted. This guide shows how a correct ID sounds on voice, Morse code and digital modes, on repeaters and nets, and with indicators such as "/P". The rule itself is covered in Station identification. US practice comes first; other countries set their own rules.

Before you start

• Transmitting needs an amateur license. In the US the FCC issues it and the rules are in Part 97; for other countries, see Amateur radio licensing around the world.
• Identify with the call sign of the station you are operating, which is normally your own; a guest at a friend's or a club station gives that station's call. Transmitting without identifying, or with a call sign not authorized to that station, is prohibited.
• Learn your call in the phonetic alphabet until it comes out without thinking. W1ABC, a made-up example, is "Whiskey One Alfa Bravo Charlie."
• Keep a clock in view, or note the time in your log each time you identify.

Step by step

1. Know when to identify. A US station gives its call sign at the end of each communication and at least every 10 minutes during it. A two-minute contact needs one ID, at the end; a 25-minute ragchew needs at least three. A short test is a transmission too, so end it with your call. Only the station's own call is required, except at the end of an exchange of international third-party messages, when the other station's call must be given too; otherwise, giving the other station's call is a courtesy. The rule exempts only space stations and telecommand stations.
2. Speak clearly, in English. On phone (voice), the call sign must be given in English, and using a phonetic alphabet is encouraged. Say it at an even pace. Use phonetics on your first call, when signals are weak and whenever you are asked to repeat. Standard words such as "Alfa" and "Bravo" carry better than made-up ones.
3. On FM and repeaters. To call one station, give its call and then yours: "K9XYZ, W1ABC." To announce that you are available, give your call and "listening." To finish, give your call and "clear." A repeater is a station in its own right, so it must identify itself like any other station; its ID covers the repeater, not you. See How to use a repeater.
4. On SSB and HF. A typical CQ call on SSB is "CQ CQ CQ, this is W1ABC, Whiskey One Alfa Bravo Charlie, calling CQ and listening." During a long contact, give both calls each time you hand over and you will stay well inside 10 minutes. In a fast contest, keep giving your call between contacts, because the 10-minute rule still applies.
5. On CW. A phone station may also identify in Morse. A CW call takes the form "CQ CQ DE W1ABC W1ABC K," where DE means "from" and K invites a reply; the last transmission of a contact usually ends with SK. See Prosigns. An automatic CW identifier, such as a repeater's or beacon's keyer, may send no faster than 20 words per minute.
6. In digital modes. A station using a data mode may identify in that same mode. In FT8 the call signs are part of every standard message: "CQ W1ABC FN42" is a CQ, and "W1ABC K9XYZ EN52" is K9XYZ answering. Compound or special event call signs may be sent as a short hash code, shown in angle brackets, and the WSJT-X guide notes that the full call may need to go out in the CQ or 73 message to satisfy licensing authorities. On digital voice networks such as DMR, give your call by voice; a radio's ID number is not a call sign. In the US, identifying in the picture counts only for fast-scan amateur television that meets broadcast TV standards; a slow-scan (SSTV) station gives its call by voice or CW.
7. On nets and with tactical call signs. At public-service events and in emergencies, operators often use tactical call signs such as "Race Headquarters" or "Shelter 2," which name a job rather than a person. They don't replace your FCC call sign, which you still give at least every 10 minutes and at the end. A handy habit is to add it when you sign: "Shelter 2, W1ABC." The net control station identifies its own station at regular intervals, but that covers nobody else: each station that checks in still gives its own call. See Nets.
8. Add an indicator when one applies. An indicator is separated from the call by a slash or a suitable word, such as "W1ABC portable." Self-assigned indicators may go before, after or on both sides of the call, but must not clash with an FCC indicator or look like another country's prefix. On phone, "stroke," "slant" and "slash" are all acceptable. Some indicators are required. After passing an exam for a higher class, you may use the new privileges, holding your exam certificate, until the FCC acts on your application or 365 days after you passed the exam, whichever comes first. Until then, add the indicator after your call: KT for Novice to Technician, AG for an upgrade to General, or AE for Amateur Extra, as in "W1ABC stroke AG." Drop it once the new grant shows in the Universal Licensing System. When the control operator holds a higher class than the station's licensee, the control operator's call goes after the station's call.

If you can't remember when you last identified, identify now. A call sign takes three seconds, and giving it too often breaks no rule.

Common mistakes

• Kerchunking. Keying a repeater without saying anything is an unidentified transmission. A quick test with your call sign is fine.
• Losing track of time. Long conversations slide past 10 minutes easily. In 2014 the FCC's Enforcement Bureau warned two operators for failing to identify properly; one had transmitted for about 20 minutes without a timely ID.
• Signing with a tactical call or radio ID alone. Neither counts as your call sign.
• Mumbling or rushing. A call sign spoken too fast, or in improvised phonetics, has to be repeated.
• Forgetting or keeping an upgrade indicator. Use it only while the upgrade is pending.

Other countries

Each country sets its own identification rules, so check your regulator's. According to Radio Amateurs of Canada, Canadian stations must give their call sign when a contact starts and when it ends, and every 30 minutes while operating. In the UK, Ofcom guidance says a station must send the call sign Ofcom issued it; suffixes such as /P and /M are optional under the license and may be added provided the station can still be identified. A visitor operating in the US under reciprocal rules puts a US location indicator before the home call, or after it for a Canadian license, and gives the city and state at least once during each contact. When you travel, follow the host country's format; see Operating abroad.

See also

• Station identification
• Call signs
• Phonetic alphabet
• How to use a repeater
• Nets
• How to keep a logbook

External links

• 47 CFR § 97.119 at the Legal Information Institute
• Amateur Radio Service at the FCC
• Recommended Repeater Operating Procedures at Radio Amateurs of Canada