Cut the Mumbo Jumbo
During my career as a technical communicator in the telecommunications industry, I learned that the biggest hurdle to technical learning was unfamiliar jargon or as I call it “Mumbo Jumbo.”
Smart people, like the software engineers I work with, have this things called the “curse of knowledge.” Many engineers literally know so much about their specialty that they have a hard time reducing what they communicate to just the necessary bits. This has the tendency to leave others nodding their heads like they understand while secretly running for their technical dictionaries.
Some people who get interested in ham radio already have technical backgrounds. The hurdle that technical jargon presents is manageable. However, for many people who visit this page, your purpose for pursuing a license is to be able to communicate during emergencies and to practice operating in preparation. Extra jargon or mumbo jumbo is just an obstacle.
This is the section where I will be building out an alphabetically organized index of technical terms related to ham radio, especially those terms that folks studying for their technician-level exam run into. Once you cut through the mumbo jumbo, this ham radio stuff is actually pretty logical and downright cool.
Mumbo Jumbo Busting Index of Terms
Below is a list of terms that I consider “Technical Mumbo Jumbo.” I’ll add to the list as our local classes progress. If you have a term related to the technician-level exam, drop me a line and I’ll add it to this index.
(Please note that the links below include the ITU phonetic alphabet designations. You might as well get some practice while you’re looking up terms.)
Conquered Mumbo Jumbo Below
A – Alpha
- ARES or Amateur Radio Emergency Service: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- ARRL or Amateur Radio Relay League: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- ATV or Amateur Televison: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
B – Bravo
- Bootlegging or Pirating: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
C – Charlie
- Call Sign or Call: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- CB Radio or Citizen’s Band Radio: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- Contact: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
D – Delta
E – Echo
- Element: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- Elmer: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
F – Foxtrot
- FCC or Federal Communications Commission: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- Field Day: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- FRS or Family Radio Service: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
G – Golf
- GMRS or General Mobile Radio Service: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
H – Hotel
- Ham: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- HF or High Frequency: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- Hop: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
I – India
- ITU or International Telecommunications Union: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
J – Juliet
K – Kilo
L – Lima
- Licensed Services: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- Login: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
M – Mike
N – November
- NCVEC or National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. (See VEC)
O – Oscar
- Operator License: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
P – Papa
- Pirating: (See Bootlegging)
Q – Quebec
- Question Pool: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
R – Romeo
- Radio Shack: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. (See Shack)
S – Sierra
- Shack: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. (See Radio Shack)
- SSTV or Slow-Scan Television: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
T – Tango
- Ticket: (See Operator License)
U – Uniform
- UHF or Ultra-High Frequency: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
V – Victor
- VE or Volunteer Examiner: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
- VEC or Volunteer Examiner Coordinator: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. (See NCVEC and VE above)
- VHF or Very High Frequency: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.