[Fourlanders] ITU Phonetics

Jim Worsham wa4kxy at bellsouth.net
Wed Oct 22 01:30:20 EDT 2003


Yes, this is one of my own personal pet peeves.  It drives me nuts when I
hear someone, especially during a contest, use some "cutesy" phonetics
especially when their signal is weak.

73
Jim W4KXY

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Johnny Wolfe" <JKWR at direcway.com>
To: <fourlanders at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 3:56 PM
Subject: [Fourlanders] ITU Phonetics


> From:
> EMCOMMWEST BULLETIN  20 October 2003
>
>
> ITU PHONETICS, WHY? - by D. W. Thorne, K6SOJ
>
> The use of ITU phonetics in EMCOMM and formal traffic handling is
essential
> to accurate and efficient communications. (I use them on a daily basis
just
> to keep in practice.) It is my experience that some hams simply haven't
ever
> researched "the why". Others just haven't ever taken the time to learn
them.
> And sadly, I have heard a few hams campaign against their use based upon
> some weird misguided resentment of "authority". (I sure hope they drive on
> the right side of the street as do most of us.)
>
> I have in my possession a list of many different phonetic alphabets, that
> have been used by one group or another, since the earliest days of
> radiotelephone traffic.  During WW II the British used one version, while
> the U.S. had another.  Others had even different phonetic alphabets.
> In 1947 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), adopted
rules
> and  procedures that included standard phonetics. The reason?  TO SAVE
> LIVES. There are documented incidents where aircraft (and lives) have been
> lost as a result of phone traffic being misunderstood or unreadable as a
> result of non-standard phonetics and thereby miss-communication between
> pilots (usually those whose primary language was not English) and ground
> control stations.
>
> In 1956 the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) adopted the
current
> phonetic alphabet.  Today (with a few rare exceptions) it is THE worldwide
> standard for military, naval, civilian aeronautical and maritime, search
and
> rescue groups, public safety, (law enforcement is an exception); AND, the
> A.R.R.L.  Even the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts teach them!
>
> Here are a few reasons that the ITU Phonetic alphabet is used by
proficient
> EMCOMM and NTS phone operators:
>
> 1) It is the INTERNATIONAL standard. Operators that do not have English as
> their primary language, can clearly spell out a word that may be difficult
> to  copy.  Not only due to poor conditions or static, but due to a foreign
> accent. I know personally, of an incident, where EMERGENCY traffic,
> originating from a foreign (visiting in the U.S.) mobile amateur operator,
> calling for assistance on 2 meters FM was boggled, because the responding
> ham did not know ITU phonetics.
>
> 2) In handling RADIOGRAMS, or other traffic, a skilled operator that is
> familiar with ITU phonetics will automatically recognize that a phonetic
is
> NOT part of the text of the message. If non-standard phonetics are used,
the
> receiving station may get confused, and require additional time consuming
> "fill".
>
> 3) It sounds..."professional" and efficient.
>
> ITU phonetics and correct pronunciation (use under poor conditions):
>
> A--Alfa      "AL-FAH"
> B--Bravo     "BRAH-VOH"
> C--Charlie   "CHAR-LEE" or "SHAR-LEE"
> D--Delta     "DELL-TAH"
> E--Echo      "ECK-OH"
> F--Foxtrot   "FOKS-TROT"
> G--Golf      "GOLF"
> H--Hotel     "HOH-TELL"
> I--India     "IN-DEE-AH"
> J--Juliet   "JEW-LEE-ETT"
> K--Kilo      "KEE-LOH"
> L--Lima      "LEE-MAH"
> M--Mike      "MIKE"
> N--November  "NO-VEM-BER"
> O--Oscar     "OSS-CAH"
> P--Papa      "PAH-PAH"
> Q--Quebec    "KEH-BECK"
> R--Romeo     "ROW-ME-OH"
> S--Sierra    "SEE-AIR-RAH"
> T--Tango     "TANG-GO"
> U--Uniform   "YOU-NEE-FORM" or "OO-NEE-FORM"
> V--Victor    "VIK-TAH"
> W--Whiskey   "WISS-KEY"
> X--X-ray     "ECKS-RAY"
> Y--Yankee    "YANG-KEY"
> Z--Zulu      "ZOO-LOO"
>
> Numbers pronunciation:
>
> 0 - "ZEE-RO"
> 1 - "WUN"
> 2 - "TOO"
> 3 - "TH-UH-REE" or "TREE"
> 4 - "FOW-ER"
> 5 - "FI-IV" or "FIFE"
> 6 - "SIX"
> 7 - "SEV-EN"
> 8 - "ATE" or "A-IT"
> 9 - "NIN-ER"
>
> DECIMAL = "DAY-SEE-MAL"
>
> ANOMALIES and IDIOSYNCRASIES:
>
> 1 - To distinguish "Z" from "C" on phone, is it a common practice to say
> "zed" (an old British phonetic) for "Z", especially when saying a call
sign.
> "Zed" is shorter (one syllable vs. two for "Zulu".)  However, in formal
> traffic, the ITU: "ZULU" is correct and proper.
>
> 2 - "ROGER" (an early phonetic) is still used for "received" (equivalent
of
> sending "R" in Morse) - It does NOT mean "yes" or "affirmative".  It only
> means:  "I have received your complete message".
>
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