Statement of Purpose:
To provide guidance for implementing a standardized file name format when saving digital copies of messages, forms, or other traffic generated by AmRRON station operators.
This standard aids in the following ways:
1.Standardization avoids multiple message naming formats that could lead to confusion, lost message traffic, or duplication of traffic.
2.Helps to keep traffic stored in a chronological order
3.Aids in searching for, and retrieving, previously handled traffic by key search words or phrases, such as traffic handled on a certain day or time of day, a general location, an individual station, etc.
Much of this information will also be contained (and should be reflected) in many of the FLMSG standard forms and AmRRON Custom forms and reports once they are filled out. The file name should contain the DTG (Date/Time Group), the precedence level of the traffic (Routine, Priority, Immediate, etc.) in TRIPLICATE, the state where the station initiating the traffic is located, the callsign suffix (last three characters) of the station generating the traffic, and the sequential number that station has designated identifying the message or traffic, using three digits.
No spaces.
Each item separated by a (-) dash. See Figure 1.
Figure 1
TRAFFIC PRECEDENCE:
ROUTINE (R): Non-Emergency information, News Reports, Health/Welfare, Administrative, etc.
PRIORITY (P): Non-Emergency but very important and/or time sensitive
IMMEDIATE (I): EMERGENCY TRAFFIC. Danger of loss of life or limb is occurring or is Imminent
FLASH (O): Flash ‘Command & Control’ traffic overrides all other traffic. Is NOT initiated by individual radio operators.
Extreme national security or other strategic threat.
Precedence level indicated 3 TIMES in case portions of the message are garbled, and so that it more easily catches the eye.
In some cases other traffic-generating station indicators may be encountered instead of a callsign suffix:
– State or Regional Level NCS operator or SIGCEN is indicated either by ‘NCSO’ or ‘SIGCEN’
– AmRRON National is indicated by ‘NATL’
Files will (of course) end with the file extension depending on the type, such as a text file (.txt) or an flmsg form (.k2s)
The following is an example of an flmsg file saved in its proper format:
20190220-2300z-RRR-OR-XYZ-003.k2s
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The message number is incremental counter of messages sent this month? Reset at 0000Z on the first of the month?
Not necessarily based on a month, but you could certainly do that. That is a station operator’s call. Normally however, for events (whether training or real-world activation), you would want to begin with Msg# 001 and then sequentially after that. If you generate more than 999 messages in a disaster, you’re the man! In sustained operations however (civil war, invasion, etc.) lasting many months or years, then yes, guidance would follow from the national or regional levels. Starting over monthly is sufficient and probably advisable. Thanks for asking! -JJS