Radio protocol

Introduction

We use over 200 radios at the event and they can be a vital tool to coordinate teams or call for help, so it is important ensure that crew only use a radio if it is assigned to them and everyone uses proper radio protocol.

Allocation Pick-up and Drop-off

Radios are pre-allocated to teams in advance of the event - please check with your team leader or head of department if you need a radio or if you need any radio equipment e.g. headsets.

Pick-up

• Most teams will pick up radios from the Radio Shack (located near Monster) from Thursday morning (unless you are on the list below) and these need to be signed for - check with your team leader if they will hand these out or if you should collect in person.
• The Radio Shack may be self serve for large parts of the event but there will be numerous signs to help guide you.
• Depending on stocks there may be headsets available at the Radio Shack but please remember to bring your headset if you already have one.
• Teams that collect radios from Ali's compound instead of the Radio Shack:
  • Hygiene
  • Infrastructure
  • Tents
  • Trader Liaison
  • Traffic Management

Replacing batteries

• Charged batteries are available at the Radio Shack
• It is suggested to replace your battery at least once a day (unless you have one of the larger batteries) as the radio will become less effective on low charge (sometimes before you get a warning message)
• Please avoid taking a spare battery as we do not have enough extra batteries for everyone to do this and it can lead to other people not being able to use their radio when their battery runs out.

Drop-off

• Please return all radio equipment to the same location you picked it up from - except covert headsets which you should take home with you.
• Do not leave radios in ISO containers, the temperature and humidity changes are not good for electronics and the batteries are a fire risk.
• Please turn the radios off and remove the batteries to make packing up easier

Damaged Radios or Batteries

Take to the Radio Shack, deposit in the area provided (normally labelled Sad Radios) and clearly label any faults that are not immediately obvious.

Radio Protocol & Use

The below are the minimum standards we expect from all radio users, further down the page there are some guidelines that may be useful and explain some of the terminology some people may use

• Before transmitting move away from loud sources of background noise and if windy shield your microphone. If you have just changed channel then pause to check if someone else is mid conversation.
• Press the speak button, wait a second (it takes a moment to engage) and then say your name clearly and your message. You are limited to 60 seconds so make your message clear and concise.
• Take care you do not accidentally lean on the transmit button or allow the headset lead to work loose - this can tie up the channel. If this occurs the person transmitting cannot hear any radio calls so check neighboring radio holders rather than try to use the radio to find them.
• Several channels have high levels of use - do not hold a long conversation on any channel that is for contact purpose. Use the contact channel to locate the person you want to talk to and then then go to an adjacent conversation channel to communicate with them.
• Avoid swearing on the radio and do not make personal comments, radio is not the place to have 'sensitive' discussions.

Emergencies

Any emergency at an event should be reported by radio to the relevant head of department. If your radio channel is being used to convey emergency information then do not use that radio channel for any other reason. Keep the channel clear so that the crew who are responding to the emergency can use it.

Radio Channels

Number	Channel	Use
1	Site Contact / Emergency channel	All site teams including sparkies, hygiene and the people controlling vehicle movements
2	Site Conversation	Spare channel for longer conversations
3	God/Gate	Contacting God, Gate or Weapons Check
4	Traffic Management	Contacting the traffic management team
5	Ref Contact	Contacting referees in Anvil, plus IT or radio issues
6	Ref Conversation	Spare channel for longer conversations
7	Plot + Plot Production	Contacting plot and plot production teams
8	Matt Cave	Contacting the Game team
9	Egregore contact	Contacting Egregores or the Game Director
10	Egregore Conversation / Academy	Contact for the Academy team and spare channel for longer conversations
11	Skirmish Command	Contact the skirmish or battle plot teams
12	Battle 1	Contacting skirmish or battle referees
13	Battle 2	Contacting skirmish or battle referees
14	Civil Service	Contacting the Civil Service
15	First Aid	Contacting the Medic team
16	Security / Conduct / Participant Welfare	Contacting Security, Conduct or Participant Welfare teams

Extra Channels - New Radios Only

Channel	Use
17	Spare 1
18	Spare 2
19	Spare 3
20	Spare 4

Common radio terminology and etiquettes

The below terms and etiquettes are quite common and while you are not required to use them it is useful to understand what they mean and why some people use them

• "<your name> to <their team or name>", or "<their team or name> from <your name>" - getting someone's attention before starting a conversation (sometimes repeated for clarity/urgency), it is always recommended to wait for the other party to respond to ensure they are on the same channel and listening
• "Over" - I have finished speaking and am expecting a response
• "Out" - I have finished the conversation and do not expect a response
• "Returning to channel <your channel>" - I have finished the conversation and am returning to my normal channel
• "Roger" - I received and understood your message
• "Wilco" - I received your instructions and will comply
• "Say Again" - please repeat your last message
• "Voxing" or "Keying" - someone is accidentally transmitting
• NATO phonetic alphabet - using names for letters when accuracy is required

Radio handsets

Our current handsets are mostly Baofeng UV-5R (new radios) or Baofeng model BF-888S (old radios). Their headset connector is a Kenwood K1 (sometimes sold as K01, K001, etc.): any headset with that connector should work with them or search for headsets compatible with one of the model numbers.

All radios should have a green sticker (for UV-5Rs this will likely be behind the battery) to indicate they have been programmed with the correct PD channels, this will be either a green smiley face or a unlocked padlock (which means the radio will not autolock the keypad). If the radio does not have a sticker it may not be on the right channels and should be swapped at the radio shack (please put the unlabelled one in the Sad Radios box)

UV-5R (New radios)

These do not have a channel selector knob and instead you use buttons on the front to switch between channels, the instructions below are also on the channel lammy attached to the radio

• Change Channel – Press and hold the # key (bottom right) until lock symbol disappears, then use up and down keys
• Avoid tapping the # after unlocking as this changes the power. Power will reset when switching channels
• Frequency Mode (to be avoided) – VFO/MR button is pressed while unlocked, press this button again to exit.

BF-888S (Old radios)

Your radio should tell you which channel you're on; if it's beeping instead, follow this procedure to get voice prompts back:

1. Turn it off
2. Switch to channel 10
3. Hold down the push-to-talk button and the orange button with two pips on, next to the push-to-talk button
4. With these held down, turn the radio on
5. The radio should greet you with "Power on, ten"
6. You can let go of the buttons now

This is a toggle; if you actually prefer the beeps, follow the same procedure.

If you find your radio is speaking Chinese, follow the same process but use channel 15 instead of 10.