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"LRod" wrote in message ... On Sun, 21 Sep 2003 08:15:24 -0700, "Caveat Lector" wrote: Ah phonetics Sorry to tag on this post out of sequence. The bottom line is communications. While it is true that by using a *standard* alphabet one maximizes the probability of being understood, in truth and in real practice, there are times when deviation may be necessary. First my qualifications: I was an air traffic controller for 30 years and a pilot for some years before that, thus I have been intimately familiar with the ICAO alphabet for nearly 40 years; using it on a daily basis for most of that time. When everyone is on the same page by official fiat, it is unusual to find the need for other than the standard words. However, in all the years I was DXing (on the way to Honor Roll), I found that my particular callsign (N9AKE at the time) had a couple of shortcomings in real world, difficult conditions. The "K" spoken as "kilo" was often and easily lost in QSB or QRN. However, whenever I used "kilowatt" there was a almost always complete understanding by the other party, and I was able to successfully conclude my QSO. The key here, however, is that "kilowatt" is almost universally understood by hams, being a part of the argot of the pasttime. I doubt I would have had more than a 50% success rate had I tried it at work. Similarly, it is unlikely that substitutions others might try would have as good a success rate unless they, too, were related to amateur radio. If one were to try to use xenophobic, for example, most hams (or other people) would choke on the word itself, since few are likely to have even heard of it. The argument made by someone that "kilowatt" could be confused for "kilo" "watt" is specious, since in real communications, the use of "kilowatt" is clearly a single word. If one were to use "kilo" and "watt" as phonetics for discrete letters, they would be spoken clearly and separately, whereas "kilowatt" is spoken almost as one syllable. Context and common sense are somewhat of a determinant in successful communications using phonetics. That is one reason why many DXers are very successful using America, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Guatemala, etc., as phonetics. Hardly a DXer exists who doesn't immediately recognize those words. Finally we are not a commercial service, and public service aside, we have no particular external requirement to get our communications completed. There is no "officially sanctioned" alphabet that we are required to use. Although, my skin crawls when I hear Bob say, "Broken Old Bottle," the fact remains he is perfectly legal in doing so. In amateur radio, success in communications is the only motive. If "Boston London" (remember him?) gets it done regularly and reliably, it's a good combination. If you don't want to have think one up, stick with the ICAO (NATO) alphabet. For the vast majority of cases it's a proven winner. LRod I would've never thought this would've been an issue. My *own* method has to generally adhere to the standard phonetics during message traffic, and anything goes in informal QSOs. For example, the first time I ever signed on years ago with KC4KWH, one of the guys on the local repeater remarked, "AH! It's 'kilowatt hours"! And the name stuck. But he was not the only one to think of it. When I "graduated" to HF, many times diverse hams ;picked up on those phonetics without any prompt-ing from me---even when I sounded the suffix as "kilo whiskey hotel", the guy was likely to respond with 'kilowatt hours'. During difficult conditions, I, too, have resorted to kilowatt hours, and it *seems* to be universally understood. One or two in the electrical industry said, "Boy, I wish I could 'buy' that call". LOL! So when Vanity came along, I just dropped the 'c' and became K4KWH. Bottom line is, aw c'mon guys, relax and don't be so serious! 73 Jerry K4KWH (Kilowatt Hours) |
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