Basic Communications User Training

(BCUT) New Hampshire Wing, CAP Version 1-2 May 26, 2010 1Lt Tony Immorlica Communications Training Officer New Hampshire Wing

What is Communications?

         Hand signals Whistles Light signals Telephone Texting Facebook Twitter Email Radios 2

So, what is communications?

The meaningful transfer of information

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What is this course?

 Basic Communications User Training  Authorizes the member to operate CAP radios  How to talk the CAP way  How to operate CAP radios  Introduce the other communications courses  Completion qualifies the student for a Radio Operator Authorization (ROA) – CAPF 76 4

Who is this course for?

   Cadets – Must have Curry Award Seniors – Must have Level 1 All – Must have OpSec 5

What is CAP Communications?

 Provide the commander with a reliable means of commanding their troops and to communicate with upper and lower echelons.

 Provide a reliable point-to-point and air-to ground communications network.

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Who regulates CAP communications?

 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) 

Authorizes

Federal Agencies [including CAP] to use specific frequencies  CAP

Regulations

are promulgated by  United States Air Force  CAP National, Region and Wing  Public stations are

licensed

by the FCC  Federal agencies [inc. CAP] are

not

allowed to use services allocated exclusively to the public sector  This

excludes

the use of Amateur Radio and Citizens Band for CAP business.

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CAP Communications Regulations

 CAPR 100-1 Primary rules and procedures   CAPR 100-3 Radio Telephone Operations CAPR 174-1 Property Management and Accountability 8



Frequencies are all FOUO

For Official Use Only What is FOUO  A designation that there is sensitive information  Used when frequency documentation is needed in the document  What FOUO isn’t   Classification For use on every single document

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 NHQ and CAP-USAF.

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CAP Radio Operator Authorization

Authorization is currently done in two phases: 1.

2.

  Basic Communications User Training - BCUT  3-4 Hour Class on:  Standard Operating Procedures  Local Operating Procedures Entitles CAP member to operate a CAP Radio Issued a CAPF 76, Radio Operator Authorization by Wing or higher headquarters Advanced Communications User Training - ACUT     4-5 Hour Class Pass the Advanced Communications User Test, CAPF 119 Entitles CAP member to be assigned a call sign Required as part of the Communications Specialty Track NOTE: BCUT and ACUT will soon be replaced by a new Introductory Communications Users Training [ICUT] course; release date is pending 10

Who can talk on CAP radios?

   Anyone with a Radio Operator Authorization [ROA] Anyone who has completed appropriate training AND is listed on a Wing or higher Headquarters roster Anyone who is supervised by someone with an ROA or appropriate authorization 11

Communication Basics

How to use Communications

Listen Listen Listen

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I’m listening, when can I talk?

 Be ready to respond, but don’t transmit unless you need to  When you do transmit, use discretion remember that there are other people listening    Scanning enthusiasts News Media Other Federal agencies   No code words or jargon, use prowords Be professional 14

What are “prowords”?

   A word or phrase intended to provide clarity Conservation of speech CAPR 100-3         Over – I’m done, you’re turn to talk Out – I’m done with this conversation Roger – Understood Wilco – Will comply Affirmative – Yes Negative – No Wait – standby, will be right back Break – Header done, body of message follows 15

What letter was that?

             Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Gulf Hotel India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike              November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whiskey X-ray Yankee Zulu 16

What number was that?

     1 – one 2 – two 3 – three 4 – four 5 – five      6 – six 7 – seven 8 – eight 9 – niner 0 – zero (not oh) 17

How to say things

  Annunciate Spell out words using the international alphabet  Numbers: Use Prowords “FIGURES”, “DECIMAL”, “TIME”, “INITIALS”  Less than 4 digits: say the numbers one at a time  CAPSTONE 43 - pronounced CAPSTONE FOUR THREE  4 digits: either group by 2 or say thousand  CHARTER OAK 3000 – pronounced CHARTER OAK THREE THOUSAND  CAP 9317 – pronounced CAP NINTY-THREE SEVENTEEN 18

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…” 19



SENDING NUMBERS

Use Prowords “FIGURES”, “DECIMAL”, “TIME”, “INITIALS” Digit-by-Digit Not “Seven Fifty” Niner Not Nine Decimal Point Z Time Initial And Figures One Figure and Initial 750 849 14.5

1635Z “TIME ONE SIX THREE FIVE ZULU” E21 3-A “FIGURES SEVEN FIVE ZERO” “FIGURES EIGHT FOUR NINER” “FIGURES ONE FOUR DECIMAL FIVE” “INITIAL ECHO FIGURES TWO ONE” “FIGURE THREE DASH INITIAL ALPHA” 20

Call Signs

          

New Hampshire Massachusetts Maine Vermont Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Northeast Region National HQ CAP Abenaki Patriot Down East Vermont CAP Narragansett Charter Oak Red Dragon White Peak Penn CAP CAP Stone HEADCAP

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Call Signs

 Single digits      1 – Commander 2 – Vice Commander 3 – Chief of staff 4 – Director of Communications 5 – Chaplin  The Call Signs 1 thru 20 are Issued to Wing Directors.

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Call Signs NHWG

 CAP aircraft have the call sign CAP xxxx  First two digits are Wing Number  Second two digits are last two digits of aircraft tail number       CAP 2800 CAP 2813 CAP 2827 CAP 2830 CAP 2860 CAP 2869 N99100 N913CP N827CP N9930E N360CP N169CP 23

When calling a station

 Say the station you are calling, then your station  “Abenaki 45, this is Abenaki 4 – over”   Wait a bit and try a second time If there still isn’t a response, say “Nothing Heard” 24

Nobody Hears Me!

Choose a Good Communications Site.

 High ground (the higher the antenna, the better).

  VHF is line of site. Stay away from interference generators      High power lines Power Transformers Underground Cables Computers (even in the field) Other radios on different frequencies

Nobody Hears Me, STILL!

Common Problems & Solutions  Operator Failure! (This is the most common cause!)  Make sure you are following normal procedures and briefings.

 Check the radio    Is the radio turned on, correct channel, and volume up?

Is the battery good? (Replace with a charged battery) Switch to a repeater, if available    Ask for a relay (from aircraft if available) Move to higher ground or another location If all else fails, find a telephone that works.

When answering a call

 Say the station who is calling, then say your station  “Abenaki 4, this is Abenaki 45 – over”  Once communications are established, you do not need to keep saying your call sign 27

When ending a call

Always end a transmission with

OVER OUT

- NOT BOTH!

or Do not use “Roger Wilco” instead of Wilco. “Roger Wilco” means “Last transmission received OK last transmission received OK and I will comply.” On Closing the Contact “… Abenaki 45 OUT” 28

5 Habits of a Good Radio Operator

     Speak clearly Annunciate your words.

Speak slowly Remain calm no matter what happens Never Panic THINK “Use Your Head” 29

Prohibited Operating Practices

       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.

 FRS/GMRS may be used on missions only if search subject may have such radios Use of 10 codes or Amateur Radio Q Signals 30

Radio Basics

Basics of Radio: Propagation

The path radio waves take – dependent on frequency  VHF – Very High Frequency - is only capable of

line-of-site

communications  Buildings, mountains, leaves may interfere  Higher an aircraft, the wider coverage  2500’ AGL has an effective radius of 50 Miles  HF - High Frequency - is capable of world wide communication 

Strongly

dependent on frequency, antenna, time of day 32

Basics of Radio: Modes

The type of modulation  To send a signal via radio, you modulate or superimpose voice on a carrier of radio frequency energy. AM, FM and SSB are just ways of sending voice information.

 CAP uses    AM – amplitude modulation FM - frequency modulation, and SSB – single sideband along with some “P25” digital modes.

 Normally, we use:  AM on Aircraft Bands   SSB on HF FM on VHF and UHF 33

Basics of Radio: FM

Frequency Modulation     FM is used by CAP for VHF radios in vehicles, aircraft, walkie-talkies and base stations, for short range comms.

The advantage is less static from ignition systems in vehicles, and excellent audio quality. FM also has a “capture effect” where the strongest station comes in over a weaker station. That is good and bad.

CAP also uses FM in the ISR UHF radios.

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Basics of Radio: SSB

Single Sideband     Used for L O N G Distance Comms HF Operation is specialized, but very useful because it is very efficient  CAP uses SSB on HF SSB uses a very small bandwidth, compared to AM and FM modes Seek Special Training in HF, not included in this course. Ask your Comm. Officer 35

Basics of Radio: AM

Amplitude Modulation  Used in aircraft radios to communicate with ATC, tower, other aircraft, airport operations, etc.

  Worldwide standard for aircraft communication Very old type of modulation first used in early development of radio    Tends to be noisy, easily interfered with. Allows lots of static and ignition noise. Bad feature.

Allows two stations to be heard over one another – i.e. no capture effect as with FM. Good feature.

Both AM and FM are used on VHF in CAP 36

   EJ Johnson    Base Radio Mobile Radio Portable Motorola  HF  ALE ICOM  ISR

Types of radios

 Aircraft Radios  Aircraft use two types:  AM – used mostly by pilots to communicate with Air Traffic Control  FM – used primarily by Mission Observer to communicate with Mission Base 37 Ask for and receive specific instructions for each type of radio you will operate



Simplex vs. Duplex

 Simplex  Transmit and receive on the same frequency  Buildings, terrain, altitude  Duplex  Transmit on one frequency and receive on another Single Frequency One Station at a Time R T Two Frequencies - One Station at a Time Repeaters – Duplex mode  Used to extend coverage and get over obstacles Repeater increases the range of mobile stations due to its high profile location 38

Inside the Repeater

Repeater will turn on its transmitter only if the Tone Decoder hears a repeater specific tone Transmit Frequency Tone Repeater Receiver Tone Decoder The Tone Decoder “listens” for tones on the incoming signal Voice PTT Repeater Transmitter “Mike Button” Receive Frequency The Tone Decoder “presses” the Push To Talk (PTT) button to turn on the transmitter. 39

NHWG Communications

NHWG VHF Communications

 NH Wing maintains 6 VHF repeaters at fixed locations plus two portable units  Location of the fixed repeaters were chosen such that all squadrons have access to at least one  Derry, Laconia, Ascutney, Lebanon, Littleton, Keene,  In addition we have:   “Portable” – repeater currently based in Portsmouth “Highbird” – utilized by aircraft assigned by the IC*  VHF Frequencies [Channels] are programmed to show the repeater location [Tag], not the frequency 41 * Requires an ACUT qualification

CAP VHF Radio Frequencies

   CAP Frequencies are FOUO Thus, CAP radios are programmed to display the specific designator for each programmed channel, for example      Designator:  CC-1 CC-2 AIR-1 AIR-2 CAPGUARD TAC-1 Function/Usage: Command/Control 1 Command/Control 2 Air/Ground 1 Air Ops 2 Calling Channel Tactical 1 When communicating, use

designators

, not a channel number –

ex. This is Abenaki 45 on TAC-1

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NHWG VHF Channels / Zones

    EF Johnson RS5300 Radios operates on 16 Zones, each having a 16 Channel capability NHWG uses Zones 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7  Remaining zones are used nationally      Use of Zones: Zone 2 – primary analog channels Zone 6 – duplicate of Zone 2 in a digital mode [more secure] Zone 3 – Northeast Region repeaters Zone 4 – NH Forestry Zone 7 - Coast Guard and Weather Channels Zones/Channels to be used for a specific mission will be assigned by the Incident Commander 43

NHWG VHF Channel Plan

VHF Channel Plans vary with different radio models The following example is for : EF Johnson series RS5300 radios. Each “Zone” has 16 channels and the radio has 16 zones for a total of 256 channels!: 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 4 5 6 7 8 Channel 1 2 3 CC1 CC2 AIR 1 AIR 2 CAP GUARD TAC 1 DERRY LACONIA ASCUTNEY LEBANON LITTLETON KEENE HIGH BIRD PORTABLE Fish and Game SANFORD Command and Control Command and Control Aircraft Channel Aircraft Channel Universal Calling Channel Ground Channel NHWG Repeater NHWG Repeater NHWG Repeater NHWG Repeater NHWG Repeater NHWG Repeater Airborne Relay Station NHWG Repeater Used for Liaison only Used for Fire Patrol 

Aircraft Radios do not use Zones



– channels are numbered sequentially from 1 to ~256



You must become familiar with the Channel Plan in the radio you

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are operating!

Aircraft use of CAP VHF Frequencies and Repeaters

1.

Primary mode of operation should be simplex. 2.

Only use the repeater if simplex is not possible.

3.

 Within 75 miles of the Canadian border Use of CAP VHF assigned frequencies prohibited above 3000 ft. AGL 45

Aircraft VHF-FM Radio Channel Plan *

Note: Aircraft Radios do not use Zones      CC1 CC2 AIR1 AIR2 TAC1         R67 R68 R69 R70 R63 R64 ALT R65 ALT R66 SIMPLEX REPEATERS [DUPLEX]                DERRY LACONIA ASCUTNEY LEBANON LITTLETON KEENE PORT PR1 PORT SEC F&G CTC CAPGUARD WALTHAN WORSTR SANFORD EQUINOX MANSFLD * Subject to change Current as of 30 Jan 2010 for Technisonic TDFM 136 Radio REPEATERS [DUPLEX] SIMPLEX 46

CAP HF Channel Plan

  All operations are simplex, SSB, lower sideband Frequencies are designated by two alpha characters  First letter denotes primary usage   A = National N = Northeast Region  NE Region frequencies  NA, NB and NC  Frequencies can be found on-line  Password protected, FOUO 47

Communications Exercise

   May occur with a days notice, or less Goal is see where the weaknesses are Do not need to be formal – pass traffic instead of just checking 48

QUESTIONS?

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