Introductory prowords alert the receiving operator to a special type of group to follow, such as initial(s), figure(s), mixed groups, or amateur call signs... i.e. things which are not normally English words.

  • Always spoken BEFORE the relevant group(s)

  • Implies that the next group is going to be sent one character at a time, letters phonetically if present

The Introductory prowords are:

INITIAL(S)

  • Identifies one or more letters to follow

  • Used for non-word letter groups

  • Voice each letter phonetically

  • Leave a pause after the last letter to help separate it from groups that follow

INITIAL(S) Examples

  • James T Kirk

    • Spoken: “James <pause> INITIAL tango <pause> Kirk”

  • ARRL handbook
    • Spoken: "INITIALS alpha romeo romeo lima <pause> handbook"
  • EOC credentials
    • Spoken: "INITIALS echo oscar charlie <pause> credentials"

FIGURE(S)

  • Identifies one or more numerals to follow

  • Voice each digit separately

FIGURE(S) Examples

  • Send 5 dozen jelly donuts right away
    • Spoken: "Send FIGURE five <pause> dozen jelly donuts right away"
  • 100 containers
    • Spoken: "FIGURES one zero zero <pause> containers"

SYMBOL(S)

  • Identifies one or more symbols to follow

  • Voice each symbol separately

SYMBOL(S) Examples

  • Replace all ? with a value
    • Spoken: "Replace all <pause> SYMBOL question-mark <pause> with a value"
  • This != that
    • Spoken: "This <pause> SYMBOLS exclaimation-point equal-sign <pause> that"

MIXED GROUP

  • Indicates that a group containing at least two of the three types of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) will follow, beginning with a letter

  • Voice each character separately, letters phonetically

  • Includes amateur calls with “/...”

  • Mixed groups that contain letters and symbols and are commonly pronounced like words may be better handled with I SPELL

    • Words containing apostrophes: they’re, aren’t, ...

    • Hyphenated words: well-being, government-mandated, state-owned

    • Portmanteau words: PackItForms, spork, ...

MIXED GROUP Examples

  • Ford F150 truck
    • Spoken: "Ford <pause> MIXED GROUP foxtrot one five zero <pause> truck"
  • W3CTK/2
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP whiskey three charlie tango kilo slash two"
  • high-temp (OK, but may be better voiced with I SPELL)
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP hotel india golf hotel hyphen tango echo mike papa"
  • abc-123/$% (this is not a word, so the "-" is a "dash", not a "hyphen")
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP alpha bravo charlie dash one two three slash dollar-sign percent-sign"

MIXED GROUP FIGURE(S)

  • Indicates that a group containing at least two of the three types of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) will follow, beginning with one (or more) number(s)

  • Voice each character separately, letters phonetically

MIXED GROUP FIGURE(s) Examples

  • 2C
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP FIGURE two charlie"
  • 2/C
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP FIGURE two slash charlie"
  • 146.595 simplex
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP FIGURES one four six decimal one one five <pause> simplex"
  • 14,135 people
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP FIGURES one four comma one three five <pause> people"

MIXED GROUP SYMBOL(S)

  • Indicates that a group containing at least two of the three types of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) will follow, beginning with one (or more) symbol(s)

  • Voice each character separately, letters phonetically

MIXED GROUP SYMBOL(S) Examples

  • -10 degrees
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP SYMBOL minus-sign one zero <pause> degrees"
  • -32°F outside
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP SYMBOL minus-sign three two degree-sign UPPERCASE foxtrot <pause> outside"
  • $32 each
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP SYMBOL dollar-sign three two <pause> each"
  • !,*28#
    • Spoken: "MIXED GROUP SYMBOL exclaimation-point comma asterisk two eight pound-sign"

TELEPHONE FIGURES

  • Identifies a telephone number to follow

  • Best to request that the message author include the area code for clarity

TELEPHONE FIGURE(S) Example

  • 484-639-9393 or (484) 639-9393 or 484.639.9393
    • Spoken: "TELEPHONE FIGURES four eight four <pause> six three nine <pause> nine three nine three"
  • +1-484-639-9393
    • Spoken: "TELEPHONE FIGURES plus-sign one <pause> four eight four <pause> six three nine <pause> nine three nine three"

GPS COORDINATES

  • Identifies a set of GPS coordinates to follow

  • Used when a set of numbers, written as a pair of latitude/longitude values, contain one or more of the coordinate "marker" symbols:

    • ° (degrees), ‘ (minutes), “ (seconds)

    • N (north), S (south), E (east), W (west)

  • Voice the “marker” symbols where they appear

  • But don’t add them, if not already part of written message.

  • Voicings differ from our usual, but follow standard usage

  • Send as a single group, even if written across multiple “slots”

  • You may need to make adjustments to fit the “5 words at a time” rule

  • If the numbers look like coordinates, but don’t contain any “marker” symbols, just send them as FIGURES

GPS COORDINATES Examples

  • 41° 24.20', 2° 10.44'
    • Spoken: "GPS COORDINATES four one DEGREES <pause> two four decimal two zero MINUTES COMMA <pause> two DEGREES <pause> one zero decimal four four MINUTES"
  • 41°24'12.2"N 2°10'26.5"E
    • Spoken: "GPS COORDINATES four one DEGREES <pause> two four MINUTES <pause> one two decimal two SECONDS NORTH <pause> two DEGRESS <pause> one zero MINUTES <pause> two six decimal five SECONDS EAST"
  • 32.30 N, 122.61 W
    • Spoken: "GPS COORDINATES three two decimal three zero NORTH comma <pause> one two two decimal six one WEST"
  • 32.30°, -122.61°
    • Spoken: "GPS COORDINATES three two decimal three zero DEGRESS comma <pause> minus-sign one two two decimal six one DEGREES"

AMATEUR CALL

  • Identifies an amateur call sign to follow

  • Voice each character phonetically

AMATEUR CALL Examples

  • W3CTK
    • Spoken: "AMATEUR CALL whiskey three charlie tango kilo"

EMAIL ADDRESS

  • Indicates an email address to follow

  • Implies each character will be voiced phonetically

  • Has the format of “<localpart>@<domainpart>”

  • "@" is voiced "AT SIGN", "." is "DOT", "+" is "PLUS SIGN"

  • Although discouraged and rare, <localpart> may be case-sensitive

    • Example: HermanMunster@... MAY be different from hermanmunster@...
    • Use UPPERCASE and LOWERCASE when in doubt
  • <domainpart> is always case-insensitive

EMAIL ADDRESS Examples

  • w3ctk@delcoares.net
    • Spoken: "EMAIL ADDRESS whiskey three charlie tango kilo <pause> at-sign <pause> delta echo lima oscar alpha romeo echo sierra <pause> dot <pause> november echo tango"
  • Herman.Munster+inbox@TheMunster.TV
    • Spoken: "EMAIL ADDRESS UPPERCASE hotel LOWERCASE echo romeo mike alpha november dot UPPERCASE mike LOWERCASE uniform novmeber sierra tango echo romeo plus-sign india november bravo oscar x-ray at-sign tango hotel echo mike uniform november sierra tango echo romeo sierra dot tango victor"

PACKET ADDRESS

  • Indicates a packet address to follow

  • Implies each character will be voiced phonetically

  • Has the format of: <callsign>@<bbscall>.#<region>.<state>.<country>.<continent>
    • Looks like an email address, except contains "#"
  • "#" is voiced "POUND SIGN"; see EMAIL ADDRESS for the rest
  • Some parts may not be present (right to left)
    • <callsign>@<bbscall>.#<region>.<state>.<country>
    • <callsign>@<bbscall>.#<region>.<state>
    • ...
  • Packet addresses are NOT case-sensitive

PACKET ADDRESS Examples

  • w3ctk@delco.#epa.pa.us.noam
    • Spoken: "PACKET ADDRESS whiskey three charlie tango kilo at-sign delta echo lima charlie oscar dot pound-sign echo papa alpha dot papa alpha dot uniform sierra dot november oscar alpha mike"

INTERNET ADDRESS

INTERNET ADDRESS Examples


  • https://www.delcoares.net/
    • Spoken: "INTERNET ADDRESS hotel tango tango papa sierra colon slash slash whiskey whiskey whiskey dot delta echo lima charlie oscar alpha romeo echo sierra dot november echo tango"