What changed
Making your first contact — edited Sep 29, 2026 by NARA Master Administrator
This is the first recorded version, so every line is shown as added.
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Almost every new operator stalls here. The mechanics are simple and nobody is grading you.
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## On a repeater
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1. **Listen first** for at least a minute so you do not interrupt a conversation.
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2. To announce that you are available: *"KX4XYZ, listening."* That is all.
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3. To join an ongoing conversation, wait for a gap and say your call sign once: *"KX4XYZ."*
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Someone will invite you in.
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4. To respond when called: *"KX4XYZ here, good evening, my name is Sam in Chattanooga."*
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Some people would say Do not say "CQ" on a repeater; CQ is for simplex and HF, however calling CQ means "I'm looking for a contact or a conversation" The National Amateur Radio Alliance encourages you to call CQ on a repeater if having a conversation is your intention. Do not call CQ if you are merely testing your radio. If you do call CQ Testing for a radio check.
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## On simplex or HF
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Calling CQ: *"CQ CQ CQ, this is KX4XYZ, kilo x-ray four x-ray yankee, calling CQ and standing by."*
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Answering someone else's CQ: give only your call sign, phonetically, once or twice.
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## What a first exchange contains
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Signal report, name, location. On HF that is often the whole contact:
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*"You are 5 by 9, name is Sam, Chattanooga Tennessee."*
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See [signal reports](/wiki/reference/abbreviations-and-signal-reports) for what 5-9 means.
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## Rules you actually have to follow
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- Identify with your call sign **at least every ten minutes** and at the end of a contact.
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- Use plain English; there is no required script.
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- Leave a gap between transmissions so others can break in.
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## If it goes wrong
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Nothing happens. Say your call sign, take a breath, and try again. Every operator on the band was
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new once, and most of them remember it clearly.