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Many Amateur Radio operators enjoy sending radiograms. Amateur radiogram service doesn't compete with other communications services, because there is no fee or guaranteed delivery. Provided FCC and international regulations are complied with, messages may be accepted from anyone for sending by Amateur Radio. What constitutes legal messages can be found in FCC regulations sections 97.112, which forbids any kind of compensation for use of an amateur station; and 97.114, which details certain prohibitions on third-party traffic. Unimportant personal, non-business messages may be exchanged between different countries after a special agreement has been reached between the countries. A list of countries with agreements with the US appears frequently in QST and Amateur Radio electronic mail services. In addition, most countries don't object to actual emergency radiograms being handled if government or commercial facilities are not available at the time.
Amateurs handle radiograms in a number of different ways. Some handle messages on individual schedules without using nets. Most participate in nets of various kinds. The largest organized system of nets is the ARRL National Traffic System.
| Originating Radiograms |
Any amateur can originate a radiogram on behalf of other individuals, whether the individual is a licensed amateur or not. It is the responsibility of the originating amateur to see that the message is in proper form before its first transmission, because under most circumstances it is improper for a relaying or delivering station to make changes.
Each radiogram should contain the following parts in the order given:
| Counting Words in Radiograms |
The amateur radiogram "check" is the number of words in the text only. The count is determined by the spacing used by the operator in sending the text. The first operator to transmit the radiogram enters the check in the preamble; this check should carry through to destination. The relaying operator has no authority to change the check unless it is determined that the check is incorrect. Then it should be confirmed with the transmitting operator before making the change. But the original check should remain in the preamble (example: an original check of 10 corrected to 9 would be sent "10/9". The check allows for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of your copy. It indicates to the receiving operator how many words the radiogram will contain.
Numbers count as one, regardless of length. Don't use punctuation or fractions. "X" or "X-ray" is used in place of a period or semicolon and is counted in the check. Here are examples of word counts:
| New York City | 3 words |
| 527B | 1 word |
| NYC | 1 word |
| Fifty six | 2 words |
| H O Townsend | 3 words |
| W1YL/4 | 1 word |
The ARRL-recommended procedure for counting the telephone number in the text is to separate the number into groups, with the area code counting as one word, the three-digit exchange one word, and the last four digits one word. (860 594 0301counts as three words and 594 0301 as two words). Separating the phone number into groups minimizes garbling.
A few rules have to be observed in sending words:
In copying traffic by pencil or typewriter, it is quite easy to count the words in the text as you copy. When using pencil, copy five words to a line. At the end of the radiogram, you can easily figure the number of words by the number of lines (plus how many words over) you copied. By typewriter, it is more convenient to copy ten words to a line--this can easily be done by copying five words, hitting the space bar twice instead of once, copying five more words, then line spacing to begin a new ten-word line. At the end of the message a glance at the number of lines will show you how many words you copied. You can then question the sending operator if your figure doesn't agree. When message traffic is heavy, it is not advisable to query a check unless you believe that a mistake was made in sending or copying.
| ARL Check |
Messages containing ARRL numbered radiogram texts (see form FSD-3) have the same form as any other radiogram, except that the symbol ARL (not ARRL) is used before the check. This symbol indicates that a spelled-out number in the radiogram refers to a complete text on the ARL list. When delivering a message with an ARL text, you must deliver the complete text. It is therefore very necessary that the symbol ARL be included with the check to avoid the possibility of delivery of a meaningless number to the addressee.
