1.1.2 MESSAGE PRECEDENCE, PREC


NR	PREC	[HX]	STN-ORIG	CK	PLACE-OF-ORIG	[TIME-FILED]	MON	DAY
	2

Letter(s) used to indicate the precedence of the message, and must be on all messages. See the latest Precedence full definitions from ARRL (From ARRL FSD-3). No punctuation spelled out or otherwise is permitted. Messages are handled in the order of precedence as much as possible as follows;

* PRECEDENCES (ARRL FSD-3, 2/94)

EMERGENCY (Spelled out on form.):

Any message having life and death urgency to any person or group of persons, which is transmitted by Amateur Radio in the absence of regular commercial facilities. This includes official messages of welfare agencies during emergencies requesting supplies, materials or instructions vital to relief of stricken populace in emergency areas. During normal times, it will be very rare. On CW/RTTY, this designation will always be spelled out. When in doubt, do not use it.

PRIORITY (P):

Use abbreviation P on CW/RTTY. This classification is for a) important messages having a specific time limit, b) official messages not covered in the emergency category, c) press dispatches and emergency related traffic not of the utmost urgency, d) notice of death or injury in a disaster area, personal or official.

WELFARE (W):

This classification, abbreviated as W on CW/RTTY, refers to either an inquiry as to the health and welfare of an individual in the disaster area or an advisory from the disaster area that indicates all is well. Welfare traffic is handled only after all emergency and priority traffic is cleared. The Red Cross equivalent to an incoming Welfare message is DWI (Disaster Welfare Inquiry).

ROUTINE (R):

Most traffic in normal times will bear this designation. In disaster situations, traffic labeled Routine (R on CW/RTTY) should be handled last, or not at all when circuits are busy with higher precedence traffic.

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Notes: These precedences are not meant to prohibit handling lower level traffic until all higher levels are passed. Common sense dictates handling higher precedence traffic before lower when possible and/or outlets are available.

* EMERGENCY: Emergency is always spelled out in the preamble. Means other than Amateur Radio should be included in the delivery options. EMERGENCY messages have immediate urgency. They should take priority over any other activity and should be passed by the best means available with the cooperation of all stations.

1.1.2.1 EXERCISE MESSAGE

Messages in the ARRL format passed for test and exercise purposes may be given a precedence preceded by the word “TEST”, as in “TEST R”, “TEST P”, “TEST W”, or “TEST EMERGENCY”. It is customary to indicate within the text of such messages the words “TEST MESSAGE” as the first two groups, or “EXERCISE” as the first and last groups of the text to help alert listeners to the nature of the content to avoid undue alarm. In some exercises, the life of the message may be terminated when the exercise period is terminated, i.e., any such messages are not handled after the exercise. Consult with the ARES/RACES/NTS group conducting the test to determine if such messages should be filed, handled and delivered afterwards to permit a full evaluation of the exercise.

1.1.2.2 SERVICE MESSAGES

The precedence of a SVC message should be the same as that of the message being serviced. SVC, followed by a space, ahead of a message number indicates a service message sent between stations relative to message handling or delivery. Since they often affect timely delivery, they are handled before routine messages when possible. SVC is not a precedence (See section 1.11).