Tips for clear communication & two way radio protocol

New to two way radios? Not sure what the correct protocol is when you’re using your radio? Here are some generally accepted rules of two way radio etiquette you might find helpful.

Be prepared

When you have the talk button pressed, no one else in your group can speak or be heard – two way radios are mostly a one-at-a-time system of communication, unlike telephones where you can interrupt and talk over each other. So it’s important to think about your message beforehand.

If you leave the talk button pressed while you compose your thoughts, not only are you preventing anyone else joining in the conversation, you might be blocking someone on your frequency with an emergency message to transmit. You’ll run down your radio battery faster, too!

Hot keying

Be careful not to accidentally keep the talk button pressed. This can happen when wearing a radio on your hip and getting in to a car. Or carelessly placing items on top of the radio when loading props or other items for transport. If a radio talk button is force held, you block the whole radio system. Do it more than once and your radio will probably be taken away from you.

Identify yourself and the recipient of your message

There may be a group of users all sharing the same radio channel, so it’s important (and good manners) to identify yourself immediately when you initiate a transmission. It’s also polite to get the attention of the person to whom your message is directed before relaying your message.

For example: “Dave, for Louise, OVER” or “Art department, for 1stAD, OVER”.

“OVER” is common radio lingo and lets the other people know you’ve finished speaking. There’s no point doing much more than identifying yourself and the recipient at this point. When you know you have the other person’s attention and they’re able to join the conversation, you can transmit the rest of your message.  They will usually respond with “Go for Dave” or Go for 1stAD. You may then communicate your message to them.

Be patient

The other person may not be able to respond immediately – be patient and give them time to reply before re-sending your call. They may respond with “Stand-By” in which case you should do just that.

Use short, clear and concise messages

As two way radios only allow one person to speak at a time, it’s best to keep your transmissions short, clear and to the point. This gives other users an opportunity to acknowledge your message or request further clarification before you carry on with your next point.  

Radio users often repeat a message to make it clear that they’ve heard and understood the information. For example:

1st AD: “Art department, this is 1st AD, I need you next to camera, OVER".

Art Department: "This is Art department, on my way to camera, OVER".

Pause before speaking

When you first press the push to talk (PTT) button, there can be a short delay before your radio transmits. This could result in your first couple of words being cut off, so wait a second or two before speaking to be sure your listeners receive your whole message.

Learn the lingo

It helps two way radio communication when everyone understands and uses similar language and etiquette, especially when there are more than two people using the channel.  

• Over – I’ve finished speaking
• Please repeat – Repeat your last message
• Stand-by – I acknowledge your transmission, but can’t respond right now.
• Go ahead – I can respond, go ahead with your message
• Copy or Roger that – message received and understood
• Affirmative / Negative – Yes / No
• Out – Conversation is finished, the channel is clear for other users.
• Go to – When someone calls for you to “Go to channel 8,” for example, they need to have a more detailed conversation with you than the AD channel will allow. Both you and the other party switch to channel 8 (in this example) and continue your conversation there…

The phonetic alphabet

It’s often necessary to clarify an important part of your message by spelling it out – literally. On two way radios, the common protocol to spell out critical words is to use NATO’s phonetic alphabet.

YOU NEED TO LEARN THIS LIKE A CHILD KNOWS THE ALPHABET. IT SPEEDS UP COMMUNICATIONS AND ELIMINATES CONFUSION.

More Common Phrases and Terms

10-1 – to go to the bathroom “number 1”

10-2 – to go to the bathroom “number 2”

10-4 – understood the message

20 – location; as in, “what’s your 20?”

“Eyes on…” – said when a person or object is spotted. Can be a question, “Does anyone have eyes on the camera tape?” or a statement, “I’ve got eyes on Steve.”

Flying In – said when a person or object is on the way to set

“Go for [name]” – a call or response for somebody specific on the radio.

Radio Check – a call that warrants a response such as “good check” when heard by somebody in the AD team.

Go easy on the jokes: You're hilarious and that's awesome, but keep the jokes to a minimum. Working on a film set can be super stressful and some crew members may not be in the mood for shenanigans! Possibly the person that pays you at the end of the week.

BIG NOTE: Channel 1  is also the emergency channel.

Jay Williams 1st AD: Over and out.

Walkie Channels:    1-Ads / Medic    2-AD Spare    3-Crowd    4-Stunts    5-Art Props Arms    6-Grips    7-Camera DIT    8-Electricians  9-SFX    10-Video Sound    11-VFX    12-Costume    13-Locations & Unit    14-Location Lock-Off    15-Action Vehicles    16-Transport.

You can make your own list. This is just how I do it.