Before you start:

On Air Procedures

On-air procedures

Before you start:

It is good practice to work through a check-list before you get on-air. Even the most seasoned operators make mistakes.

Are all my power cables connected?
Is my feedline connected and have I selected the correct antenna for my band of operation?

If I unplugged my feed-line due to storm activity yesterday, have I plugged it back in?

Are all radio controls set correctly? eg. Power level, Mic gain, Mode switch

Is my VSWR acceptable? Any tests prior to calling CQ should ideally be performed with a dummy load or on a clear frequency.