1. Preamble

 

The Preamble includes information used to prioritize and track the message and ensure its accuracy. 

 

(A) Number	Assigned by the Station of Origin and never changed. Begin with 1 each month or year.
(B) Precedence	Determines the order in which traffic is passed. Assigned each message a Precedence of R (Routine), W (Welfare), P (Priority) or EMERGENCY.
(C) Handling Instructions (HX)	Optional, used only if a specific need is present.
(D) Station of Origin	The call sign of the station originating (creating) the message.
(E) Check	The number of words or word groups in the text of the message. A word group is any group of one or more consecutive characters with no interrupting spaces.
(F) Place of Origin	The location (city and state) of the party for whom the message was created, and not necessarily the location of the Station of Origin.
(G) Time Filed	Optional, used only when filing time has some importance relative to the Precedence, Handling Instructions or Text.
(H) Date	The date the message was filed (If Time Filed is used, date and time must agree.

2. Address

Name, address, city, state, ZIP and telephone number of the intended recipient, as complete as possible. Note that punctuation is not used in the Address section.

3. Text

The message information, limited to 25 words or less if possible. Normal punctuation characters are not used in the text. A question mark is sent as Query, while DASH is sent for a hyphen. The letter X is used as a period (but never after the last group of the text) and counts as a word when figuring the Check. The letter R is used in place of a decimal in mixed figure groups (example: 146R52 for 146.52).

4. Signature

The name of the party for whom the message was originated, May include additional information such as Amateur Radio call sign, title, address, phone number and so on.

1. Preamble

1	R	HXG	8	NEWINGTON	CT	1830Z	JULY 1
(A)	(B)	(C)	(E)	(F)	(F)	(G)	(H)

2. Address

DONALD SMITH 

164 EAST SMITH AVE 

NORTH RIVER CITY MO 00789 

555 1234

3. Text

HAPPY BIRTHDAY X SEE YOU SOON X LOVE

4. Signature

DIANA