3 Reasons for using Standard ITU Phonetics

When I was a signal soldier in the Army, we only used standard ITU phonetics. Standardized phonetics served some important purposes.

1. They reduced reception errors
2. They increased reception and overall traffic speed
3. They reminded us that formal traffic handling was serious business

I’m not saying hams should never use ‘more interesting’ phonetics with their call signs. I’m not saying that at all. Many times I can be heard signing with “King Edward’s 5 Ugly Toe Nails” for KE5UTN.

You won’t, however, hear me identify with this on any ARES net, or Traffic net. Those nets are not the place for anything other than standard ITU phonetics.

I understand it is easier to sometimes say calls by switching phonetic sounds, but those substitutions (if made enough) will become a bad habit, and here is why:

There have been times when my reception of traffic ‘hiccupped’ because someone threw a phonetic at me that my mind wasn’t ready to process. I thought, was that a letter or a word? Then I had to get a fill on the message stalling out the entire net.

You see, slow operators like me can be thrown off by non-standard phonetics. It’s similar to rearranging all the letters on a typists’ keyboard and expecting no change in typing speed.

I say have fun with your nonstandard phonetics, but please save them for rag-chews and round-tables.

Here are the Standard ITU phonetics. Please use them in traffic and ARES nets.
A-ALPHA
B-BRAVO
C-CHARLIE
D-DELTA
E-ECHO
F-FOXTROT
G-GOLF
H-HOTEL
I-INDIA
J-JULIET
K-KILO
L-LIMA
M-MIKE
N-NOVEMBER
O-OSCAR
P-PAPA
Q-QUÉBEC
R-ROMEO
S-SIERRA
T-TANGO
U-UNIFORM
V-VICTOR
W-WHISKY
X-X-RAY
Y-YANKEE
Z-ZULU