Posted By Kate Graham I'm putting together some tips for effective radio communication during emergencies. I know some of what I want to include but does anyone know of a good brief guide that I could check against please? Cheers.

Posted By John Packer Hi Kate, do you use radio's as an everday part of your job?

Posted By John Packer Kate, What I'm trying to get to (and which Ray has also intimated) is the importance of clear communication. As somebody who frequently uses radio for communication during emergencies in a role outside of work the most important thing is practice, practice, practice. You shouldn't have to think about how to use the radio under these circumstances it should be instinctive. Over!

Posted By Kate Graham Ray, that's just the sort of thing I have in mind - what to say / not say and how to word it. I couldn't agree more about the benefits of practice - what I'm formulating at the moment is the learning we have had from drills (lots!), I'm making it specific to our site but I'm looking for something to check against to see what I may have left out. It's for both regular radio users and (more so) those who would mainly use a radio in an emergency or a drill.

Posted By Raymond Rapp Kate, pleased to assist. Some good points also posted by others. I would also add that any procedure should take into account strength of signal, handing over radio equipment, failure of equipment and back up eg mobile phone. Unfortunately, sod's law dictates that things go wrong with equipment/transmissions when you least want it to.

Posted By Kate Graham Thanks for all the advice so far. Yes, the situation is an emergency control room plus several other radios around the site (muster point, forward control point, security, etc) normally on an open channel. Scenario could be a major accident. Procedures are in place, I'm looking for a do say this / don't say that sort of list to compare against. And yes I do realise now I should have said all this in the first place!

Posted By John Packer Ok, I'm sure others are posting as I write so I expect there will be some repitition; Always start by calling the name (or call sign) of the person you are calling and state who you are. For example; "Hello Kate this is John. Over" Kate know nows that someone called John is trying to contact her specifically. Saying 'Over' at the end of your sentence indicates to the person you are talking to that you have finished and that it is their turn to talk. Always acknowledge the person who has called you with their name/callsign and confirm that you are the correct receipient by using your own. Example; "Hello John this is Kate. Go ahead over" John now knows that he has Kates attention and that Kate is listening intently. From this point on each would normally start each sentence only using their own name/callsign. Example; "From John. Can you let me know how many evacuees you have at your location? Over" Response; "This is Kate. I have 29 evacuees at my location" When asking detail questions like this it is best practice for the person asking the question to confirm the answer. Example; "From John. I understand you have 29 evacuees. That is two nine evacuees. Correct? Over" Response; "From Kate. Yes, Yes correct. Two Nine evacuees. Over" Now that John has the information he was after it is important to close the conversation so that Kate knows the conversation is over and everyone else on the net can start transmitting any messages or questions that they have. Example; "Ok Kate thank you. John to standby (or John Clear or John out)" Response; "Kate to standby (or alternative)" Do's Listen first! transmitting when someone else is already transmitting will usually result in nobody hearing anything! Speak clearly and don't rush! Keep it short and to the point! someone else on the net may be waiting to say something important! Tell everyone or the net controller if there is one if you are not going to be able to transmit for a while. Don'ts Swear! apart from being unneccessary its against the law. Butt in on another conversation. If you feel you have something to add, wait until the conversation has finished and then raise the query or add your point. Try to avoid using 'Roger' as a conformation. Especially if you have a radio operator called Roger.(it causes nearly as much confusion as "fire at Will"). Make sure everyone knows what channel they are meant to be operationg on. Then if the radio gets knocked off channel they'll be able to figure out why its all gone quite. And finally. If you need to make an announcement to everyone on the net then address it to; "All Stations on this net from Kate. End Ex. Out".

Posted By SNS Lots of good stuff so far. A fair guide is at http://www.aidworkers.ne...security/radioprocedures Radio discipline is one of the most important aspects otherwise no-one hears anything. If testing the newtwork allocate each operator a specific place in the order so that if one misses the call you will know who and where they are. Various standards exist for callsign allocation, you could use simple numbers or combinations of letters and numbers or names and numbers. Google has a few examples including those used by the police and some military type guidance. OK Out

Posted By John Richards It also depends on which particular system you will be using. I presume you will be using "off the shelf" PMR446 stuff. If so, get the ones with CTCSS (tone squelch) or DCS (digital coded squelch) installed. It makes life easier and enables more secure communication with less problems with other users of the system. Better still, use a commercial system.