By Dolph Holmes, FireRescue1

Do you just pick up the microphone and just start talking? Oh come on … you know you do! Well next time you pick up the mic, stop for a second and then talk.

It does a few things; it allows repeaters to become fully operational, gets the transmitter up and a digital ID to go out, or just gives you one more chance to think about what you want to say.

In classes, hopefully you learned a little on how radio systems operate but I doubt your instructor told you this little tip: Always do your radio calls the same way. Follow your local protocol, even if you consider they are wrong.

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