Radio Call format?

Most rule books, TTSI's will have a prescribed format, for using the radio. MOST places, I have seen, use the following format: (user) identify yourself, with "unique" ID type, i.e.: loco number/job ID, etc., then make your transmission, naming the unique ID, of the person/location you are tryimg to contact. Looks something like this: "UP 5433, calling the Spring Dispatcher, over" The place I'm at now, does it very differently, though. The conversation here, would look like this: "Spring Dispatcher, UP 5433". It is confusing, at times, trying to understand who is contacting whom, when you are listening to it. I know, who initiates the call, when they ID themselves, and who they want, when they request that person/location. Since we are a railroad, not an airport, fire department, etc., it doesn't matter what "they" do. The railroad is the railroad. The rulebook is very firm, on the format used, along with the TTSI, on your property. Any other means of initiating/answering a transmission, could, be used, to assess discipline. Radio rules infractions are, in fact, the easist violations to write up (you don't have to leave the office, to rack up the "busts") and on some properties, they outnumber all other write-ups, for compliance testing, in numbers as high as 50/1. They carry little or no "level" advancements, and I have never seen a person lose time, for them, but over-zealous managers, can create a sizeable report, on test failures, in a very short time, with radio rules, alone. Just a thought.............

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:"Spring Dispatcher, UP 5433". It is confusing, at times, trying to understand who is contacting whom, when you are listening to it.

To me, this is an easier method to understand. Short and to the point. Of course, I was a professional pilot for five years, been licensed for 20. Aviation uses this format which is easy to understand once a person is accustomed to the procedure.

In aviation, at least, radio brevity is critical. If aviation used the railroad method of communications, with all the extra words, an already bogged-down radio comm system would come to a complete halt. Ask any airline pilot flying into Chicago/New York/LA airspace. Talk is fast and short. At O'Hare in Chicago, pilots taxiing just listen for their callsign from ground control and don't reply. Just keep moving otherwise the crew will get yelled at by the controller.

The railroad could change their methodology to match aviation - it would just take time and training.

Hi All,

As a former member of W2HJ, ham radio station club, might I just remind you that it all started with Ham Radio. Rules and regulations, etc. were all started there. This all started,as was mentioned, to cut down on the amount of time on the air. Can't taxi a plane, or move a train, or get your Ham Radio station on the proper frequency or whatever while you are "chewing the fat." As we would say in Ham Radio parlance, Lids not welcome. 73.

I guess it can kind of depend on on where you are.
I'm from the public safety end and we always call using unit ID to location. So if I was to call the station it would be South Hampton 728 to Rock, and the base would acknowledge.

Some of the former military guys, and one fire department around here calls location first then ID and we consider them backwards. My understanding for the way they call the station is that it eliminates possible operator error in that when the operator starts speaking before he keys the mic and therefore you may miss the station , but get the unit ID, where doing it our way (and it SHOWS with some people) you don't get the unit number and just "dispatch" or "rock" or "exeter" and the station has to answer with "unit calling". With Motorola units displaying the ID on the P25 units, its not really required, but done for SOP and safety sake.

My dept is strictly 10 codes, because of the simple fact that it cuts down on radio chatter. However APCO is pushing for interoperability by encouraging departments to go to "plain english" which as pros and cons. Pros is that not all states or even neighboring departments use the same 10 codes, and cons with the added radio chatter.

I like aviation practice better than the RR way. Okay, on a sleepy
subdivsion or mainline there is more radio time due lack of trains.
However, in congested areas such as Newark (Dock Tower), the
radio chatter is endless. If we took the rule word for word you can't
get a word in edgewise. Most radio users skip the "I am calling you-
respond please." Rather they initate the call with who they are,who they
are calling, and the their request or need. This speeds up the
process without a drawn out dialogue. Like "Amtrak train 194 to Dock
stopped at Hunter on 2..over", whereas Dock will respond "Roger 194,
Dock Out."