HF radio for dummies
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HF radio for dummies
Hello all!
My company has Hf radio with selcal installed in some of our aircraft. We exclusively fly in areas with sufficient VHF coverage.
The only time the use of our HF radios is actually relevant is in case of some unforeseen occurrence where we would want to contact our HQ via a relay from Stockholm Radio.
Fortunately this happens rather seldom! The downside to that, however, is that my colleagues and I, really aren't that proficient in its use.
Unfortunately the documentation supplied from our company in regards to its use is virtually non-existent... So.... does anyone on this forum have access to a "HF radio guide for dummies" or something like it?
Thanks for your help!
My company has Hf radio with selcal installed in some of our aircraft. We exclusively fly in areas with sufficient VHF coverage.
The only time the use of our HF radios is actually relevant is in case of some unforeseen occurrence where we would want to contact our HQ via a relay from Stockholm Radio.
Fortunately this happens rather seldom! The downside to that, however, is that my colleagues and I, really aren't that proficient in its use.
Unfortunately the documentation supplied from our company in regards to its use is virtually non-existent... So.... does anyone on this forum have access to a "HF radio guide for dummies" or something like it?
Thanks for your help!
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In your case: switch your HF`s to ON/USB. Put appropriate Freq / in your case Stockholm radio. Select HF left or Right on your radio select panel. Press talk switch on yoke - you now hear a high tone - this is your radio tuning in. Once done!! Press talk again and call Stockholm Radio / say your call sign and freqency you are transmitting on. After: smile and be happy that you do not have to do this every day. Have fun.
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You could always ask your Captain to show you? If you are one, a training Captain, if you are one, the Fleet Manager, if you are it.....................................
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Fun with HF!
Fun things to try!
Set your watch by tuning either 5000, 10,000 or 15,000 and listening to the "tick tock" of the exact time.
Frequency choice will be roughly determined by the height of the sun. In other words, 5000 at dead of night, 10,000 morning or evening, and 15,000 at "high noon."
After your clock is set, using the above rule of thumb, choose an appropriate frequency for Stockholm Radio (low for night, high for mid-day) and check the weather in---let's say---Sydney!
Be sure to request a "SelCal" check using your four letter Selcal ID (e.g. "AB-CD, or EF-GH, ...you get the idea). You should hear a "ding-dong" and see a light. Silence it and then report, "Selcal OK."
Now you're all set to get contacted by your company.
No quarantees are made during periods of sun-spot activity or nuclear holocaust.
Good luck.
Set your watch by tuning either 5000, 10,000 or 15,000 and listening to the "tick tock" of the exact time.
Frequency choice will be roughly determined by the height of the sun. In other words, 5000 at dead of night, 10,000 morning or evening, and 15,000 at "high noon."
After your clock is set, using the above rule of thumb, choose an appropriate frequency for Stockholm Radio (low for night, high for mid-day) and check the weather in---let's say---Sydney!
Be sure to request a "SelCal" check using your four letter Selcal ID (e.g. "AB-CD, or EF-GH, ...you get the idea). You should hear a "ding-dong" and see a light. Silence it and then report, "Selcal OK."
Now you're all set to get contacted by your company.
No quarantees are made during periods of sun-spot activity or nuclear holocaust.
Good luck.
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I have to admit that I haven't asked ALL the captains I have ever flown with... but I have asked some... and none of them have been able to give me a walk-through. Maybe I should suggest to them to pass the question up through the chain of command as you suggest... i.e. Captain->training Captain->Fleet Manager->Head of Cabin Crew->ICAO President?
To Twin2040:
Thank you for your advice! I just talked to a fellow F/O about the matter and this is what we were able to piece together:
1. Find the appropriate frequency on your Jeppesen/Stockholm radio plate by entering your approximate geographical location.
2. Set the small switch to either SSB(Single Side Band) or the other option which I can't recall what is called (anybody remember??)
3.Push the talk switch i.e transmit a carrier wave (thank you Twin2040)
4.Push talk switch once more to call Stockholm Radio stating callsign (??), SELCAL callsign (??), and approximate geographical location (??)
What happens then?? Will Stockholm call me via SELCAL or answer directly via HF? Will I get a new and discrete frequency from Stockholm for further communication with my company?
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Check this out.
http://www.stockholmradio.com/aero/
1. Find the appropriate frequency on your Jeppesen/Stockholm radio plate by entering your approximate geographical location.
--Your geographic location is important but so too is the position of the sun due to the charging of the ionosphere (I think).
2. Set the small switch to either SSB(Single Side Band) or the other option which I can't recall what is called (anybody remember??)
--The other option was USB.
3.Push the talk switch i.e transmit a carrier wave (thank you Twin2040)
--You just click the PTT switch once very quickly (like when you click on a URL link) to "tune" the radio. When you're talking on the radio, any radio, then you're transmitting a "carrier wave" that's being "modulated" with voice. When ATC hears a transmission but no voice they often respond, "Carrier only, no voice." In other words, they hear a radio transmitting but the wave isn't being modulated.
4.Push talk switch once more to call Stockholm Radio stating callsign (??), SELCAL callsign (??), and approximate geographical location (??)
What happens then?? Will Stockholm call me via SELCAL or answer directly via HF? Will I get a new and discrete frequency from Stockholm for further communication with my company?
--You might have to scroll through a few different frequencies before you actually make contact with Stockholm. It might sound like this:
"Stockholm radio, Jetpilot Zero One, southern England, on 8930."
"Jetpilot Zero One, Stockholm radio, go ahead with your request."
"Stockholm radio, Jetpilot Zero One request latest Sydney METAR."
"Jetpilot Zero One, standby..."
(Metar follows...)
Then, "Stockholm Radio, Jetpilot Zero One, thank you very much and Selcal check please on Alpha Brava Charlie Delta."
"Roger, Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta..."
DING DONG (you'll hear them transmit over HF, then half a second later you hear the ding dong in the cockpit).
"Good Selcal for Jetpilot Zero One, good day."
"Stockholm radio out."
...now you can leave your HF tuned and if company wants to contact you they call up Stockholm who looks up your selcal and sends you another ding dong. When you hear the ding dong you select HF on your audio panel and answer "Jetpilot Zero One answering selcal."
Stockholm radio responds, "Message from company, advise when ready to copy."
"Ready."
"Jetpilot Zero One, Stockholm radio, company advises weather at destination is dog crap and weather at alternate is severe dog crap, divert to PlayaCalda, Espana and expect to remain there for three days and two nights. Write if you find work."
"Roger, Stockholm radio, good copy, Buenas Dias..."
1. Find the appropriate frequency on your Jeppesen/Stockholm radio plate by entering your approximate geographical location.
--Your geographic location is important but so too is the position of the sun due to the charging of the ionosphere (I think).
2. Set the small switch to either SSB(Single Side Band) or the other option which I can't recall what is called (anybody remember??)
--The other option was USB.
3.Push the talk switch i.e transmit a carrier wave (thank you Twin2040)
--You just click the PTT switch once very quickly (like when you click on a URL link) to "tune" the radio. When you're talking on the radio, any radio, then you're transmitting a "carrier wave" that's being "modulated" with voice. When ATC hears a transmission but no voice they often respond, "Carrier only, no voice." In other words, they hear a radio transmitting but the wave isn't being modulated.
4.Push talk switch once more to call Stockholm Radio stating callsign (??), SELCAL callsign (??), and approximate geographical location (??)
What happens then?? Will Stockholm call me via SELCAL or answer directly via HF? Will I get a new and discrete frequency from Stockholm for further communication with my company?
--You might have to scroll through a few different frequencies before you actually make contact with Stockholm. It might sound like this:
"Stockholm radio, Jetpilot Zero One, southern England, on 8930."
"Jetpilot Zero One, Stockholm radio, go ahead with your request."
"Stockholm radio, Jetpilot Zero One request latest Sydney METAR."
"Jetpilot Zero One, standby..."
(Metar follows...)
Then, "Stockholm Radio, Jetpilot Zero One, thank you very much and Selcal check please on Alpha Brava Charlie Delta."
"Roger, Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta..."
DING DONG (you'll hear them transmit over HF, then half a second later you hear the ding dong in the cockpit).
"Good Selcal for Jetpilot Zero One, good day."
"Stockholm radio out."
...now you can leave your HF tuned and if company wants to contact you they call up Stockholm who looks up your selcal and sends you another ding dong. When you hear the ding dong you select HF on your audio panel and answer "Jetpilot Zero One answering selcal."
Stockholm radio responds, "Message from company, advise when ready to copy."
"Ready."
"Jetpilot Zero One, Stockholm radio, company advises weather at destination is dog crap and weather at alternate is severe dog crap, divert to PlayaCalda, Espana and expect to remain there for three days and two nights. Write if you find work."
"Roger, Stockholm radio, good copy, Buenas Dias..."
Per Ardua ad Astraeus
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Well, CHL - if it is fitted to the a/c and working your Captains SHOULD know.
The point is that there is NO substitute for learning HF like doing it. As you have already discovered, you will get quite a few answers here, some of which will not be appropriate to your aircraft.
The point is that there is NO substitute for learning HF like doing it. As you have already discovered, you will get quite a few answers here, some of which will not be appropriate to your aircraft.
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Just to clarify about HF:
1.There is NO carrier wave on SSB transmission. It means that if you press the ptt button but not talking (assuming silent background) then your radio is not sending anything. It is sending only when you are talking to the mic.
2. The other option beside "SSB" is NOT "USB" but AM.
USB is the same as SSB.
SSB means Single Side Band.
SSB can be divided into USB - Upper Side Band
and LSB - Lower Side Band
AM is Amplitude Modulation - used on standard ATC freq range(118-137Mhz)
AM system has a carrier wave and two side bands and is less effective comparing to SSB therefore not used for long distance call.
Happy landings
1.There is NO carrier wave on SSB transmission. It means that if you press the ptt button but not talking (assuming silent background) then your radio is not sending anything. It is sending only when you are talking to the mic.
2. The other option beside "SSB" is NOT "USB" but AM.
USB is the same as SSB.
SSB means Single Side Band.
SSB can be divided into USB - Upper Side Band
and LSB - Lower Side Band
AM is Amplitude Modulation - used on standard ATC freq range(118-137Mhz)
AM system has a carrier wave and two side bands and is less effective comparing to SSB therefore not used for long distance call.
Happy landings
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Thanks for the feed back and taking the time to answer my question!
I'll give the HF radio a go next time I have a night flight to the former Eastern Block!
Though I will be severely disappointed if I do not end up on a three day lay-over in Spain as promised earlier in this thread!
Thanks again!
I'll give the HF radio a go next time I have a night flight to the former Eastern Block!
Though I will be severely disappointed if I do not end up on a three day lay-over in Spain as promised earlier in this thread!
Thanks again!
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CHL,
One of these things that gets easier with practice. Repition of HF calls will drum the standard calls into your head. Do it when you can as a practice so the one day when you have to rely on it, it comes naturally.
Also good for getting cricket/football scores!!
Enjoy the layover!!
One of these things that gets easier with practice. Repition of HF calls will drum the standard calls into your head. Do it when you can as a practice so the one day when you have to rely on it, it comes naturally.
Also good for getting cricket/football scores!!
Enjoy the layover!!
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Just to clarify about HF:
1.There is NO carrier wave on SSB transmission. It means that if you press the ptt button but not talking (assuming silent background) then your radio is not sending anything. It is sending only when you are talking to the mic.
[You are not receiving HF, either, when the mic is keyed.]
2. The other option beside "SSB" is NOT "USB" but AM.
USB is the same as SSB.
SSB means Single Side Band.
SSB can be divided into USB - Upper Side Band
and LSB - Lower Side Band
AM is Amplitude Modulation - used on standard ATC freq range(118-137Mhz)
AM system has a carrier wave and two side bands and is less effective comparing to SSB therefore not used for long distance call.
1.There is NO carrier wave on SSB transmission. It means that if you press the ptt button but not talking (assuming silent background) then your radio is not sending anything. It is sending only when you are talking to the mic.
[You are not receiving HF, either, when the mic is keyed.]
2. The other option beside "SSB" is NOT "USB" but AM.
USB is the same as SSB.
SSB means Single Side Band.
SSB can be divided into USB - Upper Side Band
and LSB - Lower Side Band
AM is Amplitude Modulation - used on standard ATC freq range(118-137Mhz)
AM system has a carrier wave and two side bands and is less effective comparing to SSB therefore not used for long distance call.
Like most other avionics systems, HF has evolved over the years, so there are some obsolete features found on some older control panels, such as LSB, which is used by the military, and not civil air transport. Likewise, there are compromises for aircraft use, such as the antenna which must be usable over the entire frequency range of 2 to 30 MHz.
Once upon a time the HF antenna was a long wire trailing out the tail that was reeled out to the length needed for the frequency in use: the lower the frequency, the longer the antenna. Of course, it had to be reeled in before landing. I still hear stories from WWII flyers about losing the antenna on landing.
Antenna tuners allowed the use of a fixed length antenna, and then the current-fed antenna which is now buried at the base of the vertical fin on most large aircraft. Electro-mechanical tuners that were universal, until newer ones became available in the late 1990s, require several seconds to tune the antenna to the frequency in use. Being tuned is not so important for receiving, but is critical for transmitting.
A change in frequency is signaled to the transceiver and tuner. The first time you key the mic after a frequency change, the transceiver transmits at reduced power AM to the tuner, which adapts the frequency to the antenna. The transmit is locked on until the tuner is finished (or times out after 30 seconds), and signals the transceiver "tune complete." The tune tone you hear is your notice of "tune in progress."
Keying the mic thereafter is similar to VHF: listen and talk. You may see two similar functions on the HF control panel: volume, and RF Gain (or Squelch). Radio Frequency Gain is just that: normally full ON (clockwise) unless a really strong received signal causes distortion. The Squelch, which is used as an alternative to RF Gain, is set just below the level where you hear background noise. You won't find both Squelch and Gain on the same control panel.
Before Satcom, HF was the sole means of communication beyond line of sight from ground stations. That includes oceanic and remote areas such as the Amazon. As we see from the recent midair, attempts to bridge remote areas with VHF and ATC radar have to be done correctly, and with redundancy.
GB
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Good discussion!
Lots of interesting points, thanks for "clarifying" some of mine.
This is a good point as well. I was instructed to use the hand held mic (rather than my headset boom mic) when using HF.
I'm not a loud talker so the larger mic seems to "amplify" my voice a little.
I'm not a loud talker so the larger mic seems to "amplify" my voice a little.
Last edited by zerozero; 10th Dec 2006 at 18:04. Reason: added a word.
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I may have missed someone's similar comment, but I'll add it here: TALK SLOWLY and concisely. Sometimes HF can be nearly as clear as VHF, and sometimes it is downright poor. Either way, try to assume the worst and help the radio operator on the other end who must listen to all that static all day long.
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BBC World Service
Please don't transmit - even for an antenna tune-up - on top of anyone else. You wouldn't do it on VHF and you can expect the antenna to be mis-tuned when you do move frequency to that of the Ground Station unless it is within a few kilohertz. Much better to tune to the Ground Station, move a few kilohertz either side in blocks of 3 to 5 until you find a clear frequency. Tune the antenna and then move onto the Ground Station frequency. The antenna will be more "in tune" as it is closer in frequency to that which you need.
Last edited by Aerials; 25th Jul 2011 at 21:14.
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Please don't transmit - even for an antenna tune-up - on top of anyone else. You wouldn't do it on VHF and you can expect the antenna to be mis-tuned when you do move frequency to that of the Ground Station unless it is within a few kilohertz. Much better to tune to the Ground Station, move a few kilohertz either side in blocks of 3 to 5 until you find a clear frequency. Tune the antenna and then move onto the Ground Station frequency. The antenna will be more "in tune" as it is closer in frequency to that which you need. Amateur Radio Rules OK!
Yes, verifying that the channel is open before tuning is excellent addition to this discussion.
GB
