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T1D12

COMMISSION'S RULES · Authorized and prohibited transmissions; Sale of equipment

T1D12§ 97.119(a)T1D →

Which of the following is required when making on-the-air test transmissions?

  1. AIdentify the transmitting station
  2. BConduct tests only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time
  3. CNotify the FCC of the transmissions
  4. DAll these choices are correct
Why FCC rule 97.119(a) requires every amateur station to transmit its call sign at least every 10 minutes during a communication and at the end of it, and that applies to test transmissions too. There is no such thing as an anonymous carrier or tune-up on the air; if you key the transmitter, you identify. This is what keeps unattended or unidentified signals off the bands and lets others know who is causing a carrier.
Watch out The idea of a restricted time window or of notifying the FCC sounds like formal test procedure, but Part 97 sets no hours for testing and requires no advance notice; identification is the only condition.
If it radiates, it identifies: call sign every 10 minutes and at the end, tests included.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
47 CFR 97.119(a) Station identification.

(a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.

(b) The call sign must be transmitted with an emission authorized for the transmitting channel in one of the following ways:

(1) By a CW emission. When keyed by an automatic device used only for identification, the speed must not exceed 20 words per minute;

(2) By a phone emission in the English language. Use of a phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is encouraged;

(3) By a RTTY emission using a specified digital code when all or part of the communications are transmitted by a RTTY or data emission;

(4) By an image emission conforming to the applicable transmission standards, either color or monochrome, of § 73.682(a) of the FCC Rules when all or part of the communications are transmitted in the same image emission

(c) One or more indicators may be included with the call sign. Each indicator must be separated from the call sign by the slant mark (/) or by any suitable word that denotes the slant mark. If an indicator is self-assigned, it must be included before, after, or both before and after, the call sign. No self-assigned indicator may conflict with any other indicator specified by the FCC Rules or with any prefix assigned to another country.

(d) When transmitting in conjunction with an event of special significance, a station may substitute for its assigned call sign a special event call sign as shown for that station for that period of time on the common data base coordinated, maintained and disseminated by the special event call sign data base coordinators. Additionally, the station must transmit its assigned call sign at least once per hour during such transmissions.

(e) When the operator license class held by the control operator exceeds that of the station licensee, an indicator consisting of the call sign assigned to the control operator's station must be included after the call sign.

(f) When the control operator is a person who is exercising the rights and privileges authorized by § 97.9(b) of this part, an indicator must be included after the call sign as follows:

(1) For a control operator who has requested a license modification from Novice Class to Technical Class: KT;

(2) For a control operator who has requested a license modification from Novice or Technician to General Class: AG;

(3) For a control operator who has requested a license modification from Novice, Technician, General, or Advanced Class to Amateur Extra Class: AE.

(g) When the station is transmitting under the authority of § 97.107 of this part, an indicator consisting of the appropriate letter-numeral designating the station location must be included before the call sign that was issued to the station by the country granting the license. For an amateur service license granted by the Government of Canada, however, the indicator must be included after the call sign. At least once during each intercommunication, the identification announcement must include the geographical location as nearly as possible by city and state, commonwealth or possession.

eCFR text as of 1 Sep 2026 · read on ecfr.gov
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The rest of T1D

  1. T1D01 With which countries are FCC-licensed amateur radio stations prohibited from exchanging communications?
  2. T1D02 Under which of the following circumstances are one-way transmissions by an amateur station prohibited?
  3. T1D03 When is it permissible to transmit messages encoded to obscure their meaning?
  4. T1D04 Under what conditions is an amateur station authorized to transmit music using a phone emission?
  5. T1D05 When may amateur radio operators use their stations to notify other amateurs of the availability of equipment…
  6. T1D06 What, if any, are the restrictions concerning transmission of language that may be considered indecent or obs…
  7. T1D07 Which of the following is an example of an auxiliary station?
  8. T1D08 In which of the following circumstances may the control operator of an amateur station receive compensation f…
  9. T1D09 When may amateur stations transmit information in support of broadcasting, program production, or news gather…
  10. T1D10 How does the FCC define broadcasting for the Amateur Radio Service?
  11. T1D11 When may an amateur station transmit without identifying on the air?
  12. T1D12 Which of the following is required when making on-the-air test transmissions?
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