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Level up: Habits of Good Operators (including breaking pileups) and Common Mistakes (and Fixes).
Radio

HF Operating

How to actually make contacts on HF: finding activity, calling CQ, answering, and logging.

Written in Lethbridge, useful anywhere in Canada. The rules here follow ISED’s national amateur radio regulations, so they apply coast to coast. Local examples, like the VE6DOK repeater and exam arrangements, are for southern Alberta; your local club can point you to the equivalents near you.

Before you transmit

  • Check PropMap for which bands are likely open right now.
  • Tune across the band and listen. Activity on a band is the best sign it’s open.
  • Make sure you’re in the part of the band your licence and mode allow. CW and digital sit at the bottom of most bands; voice is higher up.
  • Tune your antenna or tuner on a clear frequency, at low power, and briefly.

Answering a CQ

The easiest first contact is answering someone else. When they finish their CQ, give your callsign once or twice, phonetically: “VE6XYZ, Victor Echo Six X-ray Yankee Zulu.” Then listen. A typical first exchange is a signal report, your name and your location.

Calling CQ

  • Find a clear frequency and ask, “Is this frequency in use? This is VE6XYZ.”
  • If nobody answers, call: “CQ CQ CQ, this is VE6XYZ, VE6XYZ, calling CQ.” Keep calls short and listen between them.
  • If nobody answers after a few tries, the band may be closed in your direction. Try another band, or try again later.

Signal reports

On voice, reports use the RS system: readability 1 to 5 and strength 1 to 9, so “5 and 9” means perfectly readable and strong. Be honest. A real report is more useful than an automatic “59.”

Logging

Keep a log: date, time in UTC, frequency, mode, callsign, report. Online logs like QRZ and Logbook of The World make confirming contacts easy, and the log is the first thing you’ll want when you start chasing countries or awards.

When it’s not working

  • Nobody hears you? Check PSK Reporter on FT8 to see where your signal is actually getting to.
  • Lots of noise? Try a different band, or turn off the house electronics one at a time to find the culprit.
  • Strong signals, but nobody answers? You may be in the skip zone. Try a lower band for closer stations. See NVIS vs. Skip Zone.

Last updated October 2026.

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