Basic Communications

User Training
(BCUT)
New Hampshire Wing, CAP

Version 1-2
May 26, 2010

1Lt Tony Immorlica

Communications Training Officer
New Hampshire Wing

What is Communications?

Hand signals
Whistles
Light signals
Telephone
Texting
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Radios
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So, what is communications?

The meaningful transfer of
information

What is this course?

Basic Communications User Training

Authorizes the member to operate CAP radios

How to talk the CAP way
How to operate CAP radios
Introduce the other communications courses
Completion qualifies the student for a Radio
Operator Authorization (ROA) CAPF 76

Who is this course for?

Cadets Must have Curry Award
Seniors Must have Level 1
All Must have OpSec

What is CAP Communications?

Provide the commander with a reliable
means of commanding their troops and to
communicate with upper and lower
echelons.
Provide a reliable point-to-point and air-toground communications network.

Who regulates CAP communications?

National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA)
Authorizes Federal Agencies [including CAP] to
use specific frequencies

CAP Regulations are promulgated by

United States Air Force
CAP National, Region and Wing
Public stations are licensed by the FCC

Federal agencies [inc. CAP] are not allowed to use

services allocated exclusively to the public sector
This excludes the use of Amateur Radio and Citizens
Band for CAP business.

CAP Communications Regulations

CAPR 100-1 Primary rules and
procedures
CAPR 100-3 Radio Telephone Operations
CAPR 174-1 Property Management and
Accountability

Frequencies are all FOUO

For Official Use Only
What FOUO isnt
What is FOUO
A designation that there
is sensitive information
Used when frequency
documentation is
needed in the
document

Classification
For use on every single
document

UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Frequency information contained in this document is
designated by the Department of Defense (DoD) as For
Official Use Only (FOUO) and may
not be released to anyone without the prior permission of
NHQ and CAP-USAF.

CAP Radio Operator Authorization

Authorization is currently done in two phases:
1. Basic Communications User Training - BCUT
3-4 Hour Class on:
Standard Operating Procedures
Local Operating Procedures
Entitles CAP member to operate a CAP Radio
Issued a CAPF 76, Radio Operator Authorization by Wing or
higher headquarters

2. Advanced Communications User Training - ACUT

4-5 Hour Class

Pass the Advanced Communications User Test, CAPF 119
Entitles CAP member to be assigned a call sign
Required as part of the Communications Specialty Track

NOTE: BCUT and ACUT will soon be replaced by a new Introductory

Communications Users Training [ICUT] course; release date is pending
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Who can talk on CAP radios?

Anyone with a Radio Operator Authorization [ROA]
Anyone who has completed appropriate training AND is
listed on a Wing or higher Headquarters roster
Anyone who is supervised by someone with an ROA or
appropriate authorization

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Communication Basics

How to use Communications

Listen
Listen
Listen

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Im listening, when can I talk?

Be ready to respond, but dont transmit
unless you need to
When you do transmit, use discretion remember that there are other people
listening
Scanning enthusiasts
News Media
Other Federal agencies

No code words or jargon, use prowords

Be professional
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What are prowords?

A word or phrase

Over Im done, youre turn

intended to provide clarity

Conservation of speech
CAPR 100-3

to talk
Out Im done with this
conversation
Roger Understood
Wilco Will comply
Affirmative Yes
Negative No
Wait standby, will be right
back
Break Header done, body
of message follows
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What letter was that?

Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Gulf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima
Mike

November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu
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What number was that?

1 one
2 two
3 three
4 four
5 five

6 six
7 seven
8 eight
9 niner
0 zero (not oh)

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How to say things

Annunciate
Spell out words using the international
alphabet
Numbers: Use Prowords FIGURES,
DECIMAL, TIME, INITIALS

Less than 4 digits: say the numbers one at a time

CAPSTONE 43 - pronounced CAPSTONE FOUR THREE

4 digits: either group by 2 or say thousand

CHARTER OAK 3000 pronounced CHARTER OAK THREE
THOUSAND
CAP 9317 pronounced CAP NINTY-THREE SEVENTEEN

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I SPELL / FIGURES /INITIALS

Use I SPELL for pronounceable words
PIZZA
I SPELL PIZZA PAPA INDIA ZULU ZULU ALPHA PIZZA

Use FIGURE(S) AND INITIAL(S) for non-words

N516F
INITIAL NOVEMBER FIGURES FIVE ONE SIX INTIAL FOXTROT

CORRECTIONS
Use proword CORRECTION to correct a mistake
Example:
Turn right at next corner CORRECTION Turn left at next
corner

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SENDING NUMBERS
Use Prowords FIGURES, DECIMAL, TIME, INITIALS
Digit-by-Digit Not
Seven Fifty

750

FIGURES SEVEN FIVE ZERO

Niner
Not Nine

849

FIGURES EIGHT FOUR NINER

Decimal
Point

14.5

FIGURES ONE FOUR DECIMAL FIVE

Z Time

1635Z

TIME ONE SIX THREE FIVE ZULU

Initial And
Figures

E21

INITIAL ECHO FIGURES TWO ONE

One Figure
and Initial

3-A

FIGURE THREE DASH INITIAL ALPHA

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Call Signs

New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Maine
Vermont
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Northeast Region
National HQ CAP

Abenaki
Patriot
Down East
Vermont CAP
Narragansett
Charter Oak
Red Dragon
White Peak
Penn CAP
CAP Stone
HEADCAP

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Call Signs
Single digits

1 Commander
2 Vice Commander
3 Chief of staff
4 Director of Communications
5 Chaplin

The Call Signs 1 thru 20 are Issued to Wing

Directors.
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Call Signs
NHWG
CAP aircraft have the call sign CAP xxxx
First two digits are Wing Number
Second two digits are last two digits of aircraft
tail number
CAP 2800
N99100
CAP 2813
N913CP
CAP 2827
N827CP
CAP 2830
N9930E
CAP 2860
N360CP
CAP 2869
N169CP
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When calling a station

Say the station you are calling, then your
station
Abenaki 45, this is Abenaki 4 over

Wait a bit and try a second time

If there still isnt a response, say Nothing
Heard

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Nobody Hears Me!

Choose a Good Communications Site.
High ground (the higher the antenna,
the better).
VHF is line of site.
Stay away from interference
generators

High power lines

Power Transformers
Underground Cables
Computers (even in the field)
Other radios on different frequencies

Nobody Hears Me, STILL!

Common Problems & Solutions
Operator Failure! (This is the most
common cause!)
Make sure you are following normal procedures and briefings.

Check the radio

Is the radio turned on, correct channel, and volume up?

Is the battery good? (Replace with a charged battery)
Switch to a repeater, if available

Ask for a relay (from aircraft if available)

Move to higher ground or another location
If all else fails, find a telephone that works.

When answering a call

Say the station who is calling, then say
your station
Abenaki 4, this is Abenaki 45 over

Once communications are established,

you do not need to keep saying your call
sign

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When ending a call

Always end a transmission with OVER or
OUT - NOT BOTH!
Do not use Roger Wilco instead of Wilco.
Roger Wilco means Last transmission
received OK last transmission received
OK and I will comply.
On Closing the Contact
Abenaki 45 OUT
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5 Habits of a Good Radio

Operator

Speak clearly
Annunciate your words.
Speak slowly
Remain calm no matter what happens Never Panic
THINK - Use Your Head

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Prohibited Operating
Practices

Violation of Radio Silence

Personal Conversation
Transmitting in a Net without permission of NCS
Lack of identifying call sign
Excessive tuning and testing
Use of Amateur Radio or Citizens Band frequencies
for CAP business, and Vice-Versa.
FRS/GMRS may be used on missions only if search subject
may have such radios

Use of 10 codes or Amateur Radio Q Signals

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Radio Basics

Basics of Radio: Propagation

The path radio waves take dependent on frequency

VHF Very High Frequency - is only capable

of line-of-site communications

Buildings, mountains, leaves may interfere

Higher an aircraft, the wider coverage
2500 AGL has an effective radius of 50 Miles

HF - High Frequency - is capable of world

wide communication
Strongly dependent on frequency, antenna, time
of day
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Basics of Radio: Modes

The type of modulation
To send a signal via radio, you modulate or superimpose
voice on a carrier of radio frequency energy. AM, FM and
SSB are just ways of sending voice information.
CAP uses

AM amplitude modulation
FM - frequency modulation, and
SSB single sideband

along with some P25 digital modes.

Normally, we use:
AM on Aircraft Bands
SSB on HF
FM on VHF and UHF
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Basics of Radio: FM
Frequency Modulation

FM is used by CAP for VHF radios in vehicles,

aircraft, walkie-talkies and base stations, for

short range comms.
The advantage is less static from ignition
systems in vehicles, and excellent audio quality.
FM also has a capture effect where the
strongest station comes in over a weaker
station. That is good and bad.
CAP also uses FM in the ISR UHF radios.
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Basics of Radio: SSB

Single Sideband

CAP uses SSB on HF

SSB uses a very small bandwidth,

compared to AM and FM modes

Used for L O N G Distance Comms
HF Operation is specialized, but very
useful because it is very efficient
Seek Special Training in HF, not included
in this course. Ask your Comm. Officer
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Basics of Radio: AM
Amplitude Modulation
Used in aircraft radios to communicate with ATC,

tower, other aircraft, airport operations, etc.

Worldwide standard for aircraft communication
Very old type of modulation first used in early
development of radio
Tends to be noisy, easily interfered with. Allows lots
of static and ignition noise. Bad feature.
Allows two stations to be heard over one another
i.e. no capture effect as with FM. Good feature.
Both AM and FM are used on VHF in CAP
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Types of radios
EJ Johnson

Base Radio
Mobile Radio
Portable

Motorola
HF
ALE

ICOM

Aircraft Radios
Aircraft use two types:
AM used mostly by
pilots to communicate
with Air Traffic Control
FM used primarily by
Mission Observer to
communicate with
Mission Base

ISR

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Ask for and receive specific instructions for

each type of radio you will operate

Simplex vs. Duplex

Simplex
Transmit and receive on
the same frequency
Buildings, terrain, altitude

Single Frequency One Station at a Time

Duplex
Transmit on one frequency
and receive on another

Two Frequencies - One

Station at a Time

Repeaters Duplex mode

Used to extend coverage and
get over obstacles
Repeater increases the range of mobile
stations due to its high profile location
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Inside the Repeater

Repeater will turn on its transmitter only if the
Tone Decoder hears a repeater specific tone

Transmit
Frequency

Repeater
Receiver

Tone

Tone Decoder

The Tone Decoder

listens for tones on
the incoming signal

Voice
PTT

Repeater
Transmitter

Receive
Frequency

Mike Button
The Tone Decoder
presses the Push To
Talk (PTT) button to
turn on the transmitter.

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NHWG Communications

NHWG VHF Communications

NH Wing maintains 6 VHF repeaters at fixed locations plus
two portable units
Location of the fixed repeaters were chosen such that all
squadrons have access to at least one
Derry, Laconia, Ascutney, Lebanon, Littleton, Keene,

In addition we have:
Portable repeater currently based in Portsmouth
Highbird utilized by aircraft assigned by the IC*
VHF Frequencies [Channels] are programmed to show
the repeater location [Tag], not the frequency

* Requires an ACUT qualification

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CAP VHF Radio Frequencies

CAP Frequencies are FOUO
Thus, CAP radios are programmed to display the specific
designator for each programmed channel, for example
Designator: Function/Usage:
CC-1
Command/Control 1
CC-2
Command/Control 2
AIR-1
Air/Ground 1
AIR-2
Air Ops 2
CAPGUARD
Calling Channel
TAC-1 Tactical 1

When communicating, use designators, not a channel

number ex. This is Abenaki 45 on TAC-1
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NHWG VHF Channels / Zones

EF Johnson RS5300 Radios operates on 16 Zones, each having a
16 Channel capability
NHWG uses Zones 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7
Remaining zones are used nationally

Use of Zones:

Zone 2 primary analog channels

Zone 6 duplicate of Zone 2 in a digital mode [more secure]
Zone 3 Northeast Region repeaters
Zone 4 NH Forestry
Zone 7 - Coast Guard and Weather Channels

Zones/Channels to be used for a specific mission will be

assigned by the Incident Commander

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NHWG VHF Channel Plan

Zone 2

VHF
Channel
with
different
radioEach
models
The
following
examplePlans
is for : EFvary
Johnson
series
RS5300 radios.
Zone has
16 channels and the radio has 16 zones for a total of 256 channels!:
Channel
1
CC1
Command and Control
2
CC2
Command and Control
3
AIR 1
Aircraft Channel
4
AIR 2
Aircraft Channel
5
CAP GUARD Universal Calling Channel
6
TAC 1
Ground Channel
7
DERRY
NHWG Repeater
8
LACONIA
NHWG Repeater
9
ASCUTNEY
NHWG Repeater
10
LEBANON
NHWG Repeater
11
LITTLETON
NHWG Repeater
12
KEENE
NHWG Repeater
13
HIGH BIRD
Airborne Relay Station
14
PORTABLE
NHWG Repeater
15
Fish and Game
Used for Liaison only
16
SANFORD
Used for Fire Patrol

Aircraft Radios do not use Zones

channels are numbered sequentially from 1 to ~256
You must become familiar with the Channel Plan in the radio you
are operating!

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Aircraft use of CAP VHF

Frequencies and Repeaters
1. Primary mode of operation should be
simplex.
2. Only use the repeater if simplex is not
possible.
3. Within 75 miles of the Canadian border

Use of CAP VHF assigned frequencies

prohibited above 3000 ft. AGL

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Aircraft VHF-FM Radio Channel Plan *

Note: Aircraft Radios do not use Zones

CC1
CC2
AIR1
AIR2
TAC1

R67
R68
R69
R70
R63
R64
ALT R65
ALT R66

SIMPLEX

REPEATERS
[DUPLEX]

DERRY
LACONIA
ASCUTNEY
LEBANON
LITTLETON
KEENE
PORT PR1
PORT SEC
F&G CTC
CAPGUARD
WALTHAN
WORSTR
SANFORD
EQUINOX
MANSFLD

REPEATERS
[DUPLEX]

SIMPLEX

* Subject to change
Current as of 30 Jan 2010 for Technisonic TDFM 136 Radio

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CAP HF Channel Plan

All operations are simplex, SSB, lower sideband
Frequencies are designated by two alpha
characters
First letter denotes primary usage
A = National
N = Northeast Region
NE Region frequencies
NA, NB and NC

Frequencies can be found on-line

Password protected, FOUO

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Communications Exercise
May occur with a days notice, or less
Goal is see where the weaknesses are
Do not need to be formal pass traffic
instead of just checking

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QUESTIONS?

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