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'''Who Broke Protocol?'''<BR><big>'''Who Broke Protocol?'''</big><BR>by Derek Winterstien W0DBWby Derek Winterstien W0DBW<BR><small><small>May 2017, last revision July 2017</small></small>Fire, police, and the military sometimes use the term "break" not to enter into a conversation, but to indicate, "''Stand by, more to follow.''" On the [[C.B.]] folks say it to ask for an opportunity to break-in on the conversation or use the frequency. In recent years some hams have been calling BREAK as part of some new bad habit. But where's all this breaking coming from?Fire, police, and the military sometimes use the term "break" on the radio to indicate, "''Stand by, more to follow.''" On the [[C.B.]] folks say it to ask for an opportunity to break-in on the conversation or use the frequency. In recent years some hams have been calling BREAK as part of some new bad habit. But where's all this breaking coming from?Saying "break" as a means to let the repeater drop, and then continuing is definitely not correct protocol. It sounds very Citizen Band. With that being said, you have to consider that IRLP is by in large full of technician class operators lacking serious ham radio background. That’s not to say that all IRLP users are novices, just that the concentration of novice operators on IRLP is statistically greater than other areas of the hobby due to the very nature of the medium.Saying "break" as a means to let the repeater drop, and then continuing is definitely not correct protocol. With that being said, you have to consider that IRLP is by in large full of technician class operators lacking serious ham radio background. That’s not to say that all IRLP users are novices, just that the concentration of novice operators on IRLP is statistically greater than other areas of the hobby due to the very nature of the medium.The only ARRL provision for the use of the word "break" in amateur radio is for the Internationally recognized double "break," as in "break break," to indicate that there is emergency priority traffic. That is '''[http://www.hamuniverse.com/repeater.html THE ONLY PROVISION]''' for the use of "break" in amateur radio.The only ARRL provision for the use of the word "break" in amateur radio is for the standard double "break," as in "break break," to indicate that there is emergency priority traffic. That is '''[http://www.hamuniverse.com/repeater.html THE ONLY PROVISION]''' for the use of "break" in amateur radio. ''However, amateur radio's double "break" is not necessarily Internationally recognized.'''''Being Wrong Doesn’t Keep You From Having a Web Site''''''Question T3C01 in the Tech Class License Test'''Yet, there’s some bad info floating around due to ignorance. Rob Mavis AE6GE, for example, seems to think that it is acceptable to use amateur radio in the same fashion as police. According to the ARRL, Rob Mavis is just plain wrong, but that doesn't stop ol Rob from [http://www.k6arp.org/the-proper-use-of-break/ sharing misinformation online]. Fortunately for Rob Mavis, ignorance '''is''' a correctable condition.Thankfully correct information does prevail and one example is a guide by Rob Mavis AE6GE, "[http://www.k6arp.org/the-proper-use-of-break/ The Proper Use of Break."] Since corrected this guide is clever to point out that question T3C01 in the Technician Class Question Pool of the license test for an entry ham license asks "What is the proper way to break into a conversation between two stations that are using the frequency?" The answer is "[https://books.google.com/books?id=TUfGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT20&lpg=PT20&dq=Question+T3C01&source=bl&ots=brYhrRVFPA&sig=FGO_KER0VCfFeqtnSh16mGfQBWY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiul4mwt5nVAhVFOj4KHSgTDiIQ6AEIHjAD Say your call sign between their transmissions]." Hopefully all amateur radio Volunteer Examiners (or VEs) know and understand this rule so they can get new licensees off on the right foot.Rob Mavis AE6GE has no official credentials and like me, is only offering his opinion on how it is acceptable to use BREAK in ham radio. Too bad for Rob he is wrong, just like NBA star Kyrie Irving is wrong when he says that the Earth is actually quite flat. Isn’t the Internet wonderful?The ARRL "[http://www.arrl.org/making-your-first-contact Making Your First Contact]" Guide states, under the "FM Repeaters" section, "''If you want to join a conversation already in progress, transmit your call sign during a break between transmissions. The station that transmits next should acknowledge you. Don’t use the word BREAK to join a conversation. BREAK generally suggests an emergency and indicates that all stations should stand by for the station with emergency traffic.''"* http://www.arrl.org/making-your-first-contact Rob Mavis AE6GE has no official credentials and like me, is only offering his opinion on how it is acceptable to use BREAK in ham radio. His article was revised since May 2017 and (as of last review) contains accurate information.* http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/21/yet-more-celebrities-come-out-and-say-they-believe-the-earth-is-flat-6463590/When is it Okay to Join a Conversation on Ham Radio? By Joseph Cotton (W3TTT). Wasn’t there a famous actor named Joseph Cotton? Rob Mavis AE6GE correctly points out a question on the ham radio license test indicating how to "break" in on a QSO.* [https://books.google.com/books?id=TUfGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT20&lpg=PT20&dq=Question+T3C01&source=bl&ots=brYhrRVFPA&sig=FGO_KER0VCfFeqtnSh16mGfQBWY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiul4mwt5nVAhVFOj4KHSgTDiIQ6AEIHjAD Question T3C01 in the Technician Class Question Pool] When is it Okay to Join a Conversation on Ham Radio? By Joseph Cotton (W3TTT). ''Revision July 2017 by W0DBW: The last revision to this article corrects the point that "Break Break" is not necessarily an Internationally recognized call for an emergency. It is somewhat of a standard in North America. Furthermore, the ARRL seems to be pushing to abolish the use of the word "Break" in any context within amateur radio. They don't want hams saying "break," "break break," or "break break break." But don't worry, there's plenty of room for the code word on 11-meter!''