Radiotelephone Operating Practices and Station Logs
Voice procedure
Use the ITU phonetic alphabet (ALFA, BRAVO, CHARLIE…) to spell names and call signs. Procedural words have precise meanings: ROGER means received; WILCO means will comply; OVER means the transmission is finished and a reply is expected; OUT means finished with no reply expected. There is no such thing as 'over and out.' SAY AGAIN, I SPELL, CORRECTION, STAND BY, and BREAK round out the vocabulary.
Identification
Identify at the beginning and end of each exchange, and at least every 15 minutes during a long one, using vessel name and call sign. Identify before transmitting anything else - an unidentified transmission is a rule violation, not merely bad manners.
Choosing a channel
Channel 16 is the distress, safety, and calling channel: make initial contact, then move to a working channel (68, 69, 72, or 78A for recreational traffic). Channel 9 is an alternate calling channel in busy areas. Channel 13 is bridge-to-bridge navigation safety; vessels required to carry it keep a listening watch and use the lowest power, typically 1 watt. Channel 6 is intership safety; Channel 22A carries Coast Guard marine safety information.
The radio log
Vessels required to keep a radio log enter items chronologically: date and time, station identification, channels or frequencies used, and the text of distress, urgency, and safety communications. Never erase or remove pages; strike an error with a single line and initial it. Keep the log aboard and available for inspection, and never falsify an entry.
Worked example:
HERON: Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Blue Heron, WDC1234, Channel 16, over. CG: Blue Heron, this is Coast Guard Group X, switch to Channel 22A, over. HERON: Coast Guard Group X, this is Blue Heron, WDC1234, switching Channel 22A, out.
Note the identification on every transmission and the prompt shift off Channel 16.