Ham Radio Repeater Etiquette: How to Make Your First Contact Without Embarrassment
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Your First Repeater Contact — Without Looking Stupid
Repeaters are the best way to make contacts — but they have unwritten rules. Break them and experienced operators will ignore you. Follow them and you will be welcomed. Here is exactly what to do.
Before You Key Up
- Listen for 60 seconds. Is the repeater in use? Is there a net in progress?
- Check your offset and tone. Wrong settings = nobody hears you. Verify on RepeaterBook.
- Make sure you are in range. Key up briefly with your callsign — if the repeater responds with a courtesy beep or ID, you are good.
Making the Call
You: "[YOUR CALLSIGN] listening on the [name] repeater."
That is it. Do not say CQ on a repeater — it is for simplex and HF. Do not say "breaker" — that is CB. Just state your callsign and you are listening.
What NEVER to Do
- ❌ Kerchunk — keying up without talking. Rude and annoying.
- ❌ Monopolize — keep transmissions under 3 minutes. Other people are waiting.
- ❌ Play music or sound effects — illegal on ham bands.
- ❌ Use CB slang — "breaker breaker" will get you laughed at.
- ❌ Transmit without identifying — FCC rules require your callsign every 10 minutes.
When Someone Answers
Exchange callsigns, signal reports, name, and location. Keep it brief. "You are full quieting into the repeater. Name is [Name] in [City]. Thanks for the contact. 73."