Radio use
2m radios are currently not legal for use without the appropriate licence or from the air but are widely used within paragliding and hangliding. Whilst WingBeat cannot condone the use of radio transmission the following information is shared for those that may find it of interest
143.750 is often used locally.
Good Radio Voice Procedure
Radio VP(Voice Procedure) should be short, concise and most importantly to the point.
Listen to the message take time to digest its contents and form a reply before pressing the talk button - then speak clearly.
Don’t mumble, waffle, and send long messages that will most likely be broken up and inevitably lost.
Keep the airways clear, between transmissions, (chat between mates is not acceptable) there maybe an important safety message from someone on the ground or in the air to the group being blocked by the constant chat.
Opening a transmission/conversation - "Sean to Dave" wait 15 - 20 seconds then repeat. An instant reply may not be possible when someone has a drama or situation in the air, also landing and taking off can be issues that require a certain amount of concentration so be patient.
Send the invitation 2/3 times then move location and try again. After a maximum 6 attempts you are obviously wasting your time, so stop and keep the airways clear.
When receiving an invitation to transmit you should reply with something like this - "This is Dave go ahead Sean"
If sending instructions break them up into sections so each section can be understood and digested.
If two parties are not in a good position to send and receive from each other and you are in the air and as long as your are in a safe place and comfortable you can act as the be the intermediate between the two parties.
So this is how you could proceed "This is Sean send message through me over", once you have the message you can continue with "Dave this Sean from Tommy, (MESSAGE Content)"
This way things do not get mixed up. However I would avoid doing this unless it’s an emergency or safety message.
Some acceptable radio jargon:
Important
If you have a radio that has multiple functions please do not use it in VOX mode (VOICE ACTIVATED TRANSMISSION). This is one of the major cause of blocking the channel any small sound can activate a transmission. DO NOT USE VOX set it to PTT (PUSH TO TALK) this gives much better control and it also means nobody can hear you screaming with fear while flying.
It’s also unacceptable to use colorful language whilst transmitting.
Summary
We all know that radio waves are not very good at going around corners, and over large bumps (Called hills) so clear air between transmitting units is preferred. So when on the ground yes try your radio if possible however if no response then use your mobile and stop transmitting.
Sometimes it is good to keep radio on for monitoring others in air. It’ s important that once you are on the ground and have checked in, informed others of your status and location then decease transmitting, unless you have good radio coms with a retrieve person and its needed to direct the driver to your location.
