Control station - An auxiliary station providing the point-to-point telecommand link from the control point to a distant remotely controlled amateur station. See Section 97.213(a).

Country - A geographical place accepted as a country for the ARRL DX Century Award.  See entity below.

CQ -  "Seek you"  A non-directed call for response by any other amateur station wishing to engage in a two-way exchange.  

Crossbanding - Intercommunications between stations transmitting on different channels.

DE - From, as in K3BNS de W3BE.

Duplex - A no-longer popular protocol of two AM stations intercommunicating using two channels with both carriers transmitting simultaneously.

DX - An amateur station situated at a great distance from the listener, usually in another country. 

DXer - An amateur operator who specializes in DXing.

DXing - Conducting two-way radio communications with DX. 

Entity - A geographical place accepted as a country for the ARRL DX Century Award.  See country above.

Extra bands - Those segments in the 80, 75, 40, 20 and 15 meter bands authorized exclusively to a station having a control operator who has been granted an operator license of Amateur Extra Class. See Section 97.301(b).

GOTA Operator -  A person listed on the ULS as a Novice, Technician, General, or Advanced Class operator license grant who is intercommunicating by amateur radio at a station with the frequency privileges of a control operator who is present and for whom the ULS shows as holding a higher class operator license grant.

GOTA Participant - A person not listed on the ULS as an amateur radio operator who is intercommunicating by amateur radio at a station with the frequency privileges of a control operator who is present and for whom the ULS shows as holding a higher class operator license grant. 

GOTA Principle - An operator or participant can compliantly originate the speech transmitted by an amateur as well as formulate and act upon judgments that are otherwise the responsibility of, and normally are carried out by, the SCO, at the discretion of the SCO.   

GOTA Station - Get-On-The-Air.  According to the Field Day 2010 rules, it is a club, non-club group or EOC station that may be operated by any person licensed since the previous year's Field Day, regardless of license class.  It may also be operated by a generally inactive licensee.  A non-licensed person may participate under the direct supervision of an appropriate station control operator.  The station must have a valid control operator present if operating beyond the license privileges of the participant using the station.

Gray area - An excuse for doing something that is non-compliant.  See Excuse No. 33 The Picture of Dorian in BE Informed No. 8.

Ham - As in ham operator  A person authorized to be the control operator of an amateur station.  See Section 97.7.

Hamcasting - An amateur station transmitting a one-way information bulletin. 

Hamfest - A gathering of amateur operators for the purpose of socializing, selling/buying apparatus, conducting informative forums, etc.

Hamvet - An amateur operator who has served, or is now serving, with the United States Military Services.

How-to-ism - The regulatory philosophy of codifying into the rules the exact method that must be used in order to satisfy some requirement.

ID the station - Causing or allowing the station to transmit the call sign identifying announcement by the person who is the station control operator.  See Section 97.119.  

IDer - A device that generates the station identification announcement automatically.

Incentive licensing - The authorization of greater spectrum privileges as a reward for upgrading to a higher amateur operator class license.  It can also mean the controversial 1968 Report and Order implementing the process.

LID -  An amateur operator using unappreciated over-the-air technique.   

Linear -  An RF amplifier that increases its instantaneous power output level proportional to its signal input without introducing unacceptable distortion.  

LoTW - Logbook of The World - A way to confirm two-way contacts hams have made and use the confirmations as credit toward various awards.

Machine - An amateur station transmitting under the special operations rules for a repeater station.  See Section 97.205.

Mobile - An amateur station transmitting from locations other than the mailing address shown for it on the FCC ULS and which can get underway without ceasing transmitting.

Moon bounce - A method of communicating by making use of the radio reflecting property of the surface of the Moon.

Net control - A station at which the emcee of a network of stations presides.

Non-licensed person or unlicensed person - Anyone for whom an amateur operator/primary station license grant does not appear on the ULS consolidated licensee database, or who is not authorized for alien reciprocal operation.  See Section 97.107.

Novice/Tech sub-band - That HF spectrum authorized to a station having a control operator who has been granted an operator license of Novice, Technician, or Technician Plus Class.  See Section 97.301(e).

Open repeater - A repeater that welcomes transient stations.

Operate - Can have several different meanings and, for that reason, should not be used.  Sometimes the reference is to the station control operator causing or allowing the station to transmit on amateur service spectrum.  Other times the reference is to a station that is transmitting.  Still other times, it is a confusing reference to someone, other than the control operator, participating in stating a first party, or their third party message by speaking, typing, telegraph keying the words of the message, pointing the video camera or by whatever means the message is generated.  See Section 97.115(b).

Phonepatch - The interconnection of an amateur station with the public telephone system for the purpose of exchanging voice messages.

Pirate station - An unauthorized station transmitting on our amateur service bands.

Portable - An amateur station transmitting from a location other than the mailing address shown for it on the FCC ULS and which can get underway only after ceasing transmitting.

Radio Inspector or RI - A no-longer-official title for field agents of former government agencies who were responsible for enforcement of radio regulations.  Sometimes refers to any current or former FCC employee. 

Remote base - A remotely controlled amateur station having a radio or wireline control link between the station and its distant control point. See Section 97.213(a).

RI - Radio Inspector.  Sometimes in reference to anyone working for the FCC.

Rig - The transmitting apparatus in an amateur station.

SASE -  Self-addressed stamped envelope.

SCO - Station control operator.  See Section 97.3(a)(13) for the definition, Section 97.7 for the requirement and Section 97.105 for the duties.

Simpatch - An amateur station single-channel capability that interconnects, through the use of audible tone code signaling, the user's amateur station with the public telephone system for the purpose of exchanging voice messages.

Simplex - The protocol of two or more stations intercommunicating by alternating turns transmitting on one channel.

SOS - A Morse code "procedural signal" or "prosign." Indicating distress and the need for help.  Its respective letters have no inherent meaning per se. 

Special event - Anything and everything as long as the block of 780 call signs allocated to the special event call sign system holds out.  See Section 97.3(a)(11)(iii). 

Use that call sign - Causing an amateur station to transmit the station identification announcement.  It indicates the holder of station license with that call sign has taken on responsibility for the station transmitting properly on our amateur service spectrum as the station licensee.  See Section 97.5(a).

VE exams and volunteer exams - Usually refers to an operator license examination session coordinated by a VEC wherein the written examination elements that must be passed in order to obtain FCC amateur service license grants are administered by volunteer examiners.  See Section 97.501.

August 29, 2010

Supersedes all prior editions