What to do when failing to make contact on a Ham Radio?

If you attempt to contact someone but your call doesn’t get any response, do not be anxious. Maybe that’s because your radio signal is too weak to be heard over great distances for other stations. In this condition, choose another station to call simply. However, if you’re certainly sure that your signal strength is strong enough, here are some conditions that you need to evaluate:

• When you’re calling, maybe other operators are calling at the same time. Just wait until the station that you’re trying to contact is free, or choose another one to call.

• Perhaps someone can hear you but cannot understand your call clearly. You might hear a response like this: "AC6V calling…please come again." You might also hear "QRZed?" or "Who is the station calling." "QRZed" is a symbol used in ham radio that means "Who is calling me?"

• If the calling station misstates your call sign by a small error, you should wait to make sure that he or she is not actually responding to a station with that call sign. If you’re sure that he or she is actually attempting to reach you, you should respond like this: "AC6V, this is DF2A (repeat three times)…do you have my call correct, over?"

• If you still fail in contacting other people after taking the above measures, contact a licensed operator in your immediate area via telephone, and have him or her initiate a call if possible.