Work a rally radio post with practice cars and made-up situations: stage start, mid-stage, finish and net control. Log the cars, make the calls, and handle the emergencies. Your round is graded when you finish, with the rule or procedure behind every answer.
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New to rally radio? Start with the study guide.Everything the drills and exams test, in plain words. About 20 minutes, and optional.
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Study guide · rally radio
Radio Drill study guide
Everything the practice rounds and exams test, from signing on to closing the stage. It's built on the LSPR 2026 Radio Communications Guide, the 2026 ARA Rally Competition Rules (RCR) for what crews do, the FCC amateur rules, and common US rally net practice. Reading it takes about 20 minutes. It isn't required, but it covers every answer the exams look for.
Words you'll hear
In plain words: Rally radio has its own vocabulary. Here's a quick, friendly translation of the terms you'll hear most.
Term
What it means
Net control
The station that runs the radio net. Every call goes through it.
Directed net
A net where you talk to net control, not straight to other stations.
Tactical call
Your post's name on the air: Start 3, Finish 3, or M23 for a mid-stage point.
Call sign
Your FCC amateur license call, like KE8ABC. You say it at the end of your calls.
M post / radio point
A radio station partway through a stage, named for its intersection number.
000, 00, 0
Course cars that check the stage before the first competitor. The 0 car declares it ready.
Sweep
The vehicle that follows the last competitor and clears the stage.
DNS
Did not start: a car that never entered the stage.
SOS / OK
Signs a stopped crew shows: SOS means they need help, OK means they don't.
Hold
Net control stops more cars entering the stage until it says otherwise.
RallySafe
The in-car tracking and safety unit used at National events.
Clerk of the Course
The official who runs the rally and decides about stopping or cancelling stages.
1. Your job, in one line
In plain words: You're the eyes and ears of the stage. Log every car, pass on what matters, and keep the air clear for anything urgent. Officials make the big decisions; you get them the facts fast.
Keep an accurate log of every car at your post. Your log is how net control tracks cars, and the backup when RallySafe loses one.
Send routine reports at the right moments, and emergency traffic immediately.
Pass every instruction from net control to your start, finish or stage captain, and confirm it on the air.
Report facts, not guesses. Say who gave you information you didn't see yourself.
Stay at your post until net control releases you.
2. The net and your call signs
In plain words: Everything goes through net control. Use your post's name to make calls short, and add your own call sign at the end so you stay legal.
It's a directed net. Every call goes to net control. To talk to another station, ask net control first.
Tactical calls name your post: Start 3, Finish 3, and M plus the intersection number for mid-stage posts (M23).
First call of the day: "KE8ABC signing on as Start 3." Wait for net control to acknowledge. Report when you're on station and when your location is ready.
Every call after that: tactical call, your traffic, wait for the acknowledgment, then your FCC call sign. You must identify at the end of a communication and at least every 10 minutes (47 CFR 97.119).
When net control calls you, answer promptly: "Start 12, go ahead."
Stay by your radio. Tell net control if you'll be away more than a minute, if your battery is about to die, and when you're back.
3. Making a call
In plain words: Listen first, keep it short, and say numbers so they can't be misheard.
Listen before you key. Press, wait a second or two, speak, wait a second or two, release. Repeaters and links add delay.
Plain language, no 10-codes. Car numbers one digit at a time ("one one seven", never "one seventeen"). Times in 24-hour form ("fourteen zero seven").
Spell letters with the phonetic alphabet: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and so on.
Relaying for another station? Say so and for whom, and pass the message exactly as given.
Secure your mic so nothing presses it, and set the time-out timer to 2 minutes. A stuck mic blocks the whole net. If net control has been quiet for a while, check yours.
Weak signal? Move the car or antenna even 10 feet. If the primary frequency is unusable, go to the backup or text net control.
4. Your log and routine reports
In plain words: Write down every car, but only say the few things net control needs. If it asks, your log has the answer.
Log every car: its number and the minute it started, passed or finished, in the order you actually saw them. Note anything unusual: out of order, damage, a flat, a slow car.
Two cars together get the same minute, in the order they reached you.
Can't read a number? Don't guess. Log what you can, and keep a total count. A wrong number can send the sweep to the wrong place.
Routine reports: arrival on station, location ready, each course car (000, 00, 0), the first and last competitor at control positions, and the sweep.
Don't report every car on the air. Net control may ask for your count or the last car to pass.
5. A stage, in order
In plain words: Stations ready, course cars through, net control opens it, cars run, the sweep follows, and net control closes it once every car is accounted for.
Every station is on station and ready.
000 and 00 check the setup and clear spectators.
The 0 car runs last and declares the stage ready.
Net control opens the stage and tells the start when to send the first car. No competitor starts before that.
Competitors run. Stations log them.
After the last car, net control sends the sweep, usually a minute or two later.
The stage closes only when the sweep reaches the finish and every car is accounted for.
Nobody drives on a closed stage without net control's permission, and an emergency vehicle on a live stage means no more competitors go in behind it.
6. Stage start radio
In plain words: You know exactly who went into the stage and when. Everyone else tracks cars from your list.
Log each car with the minute it actually left, in the order it actually started. A late car that slots in goes on the log where it really started, with a note.
A car that never enters is a DNS. Note it and leave it out of the cars that entered.
Report the first and last competitor's start, and when the sweep goes in.
A hold from net control goes to the start crew immediately, even if a car is on the line. Confirm it on the air and log the time.
Cars to go: the start list, minus cars started, minus DNS.
Problems like a dark RallySafe unit go to net control quickly. Whether the car starts is the officials' decision.
7. Mid-stage radio (M posts)
In plain words: You're a checkpoint inside the stage. If a car doesn't show up, you're often the first to know.
Log every passage in the order you see it. A faster car catching a slower one is normal.
A car that should have reached you hasn't, and cars that started after it have passed? It's stopped somewhere before you. Report the facts.
Crews may stop to pass on news. Give net control the car number, location, OK or SOS, whether the road is blocked, and who told you.
Spectators in a no-go zone, a vehicle on the stage, or a fully blocked road go to net control at once.
Never step onto a live stage to signal a car.
If the stage is stopped, keep logging. Crews see a red flag on RallySafe and slow to transit speed.
8. Finish radio
In plain words: You close the loop. Every car on the start list ends up on your list or has a known reason it didn't.
Log finishers in arrival order with real times. Report the first and last competitor and the sweep.
Cars still out: starters minus finishers minus cars known stopped. Each one has to be found.
A car towed out isn't a finisher. It comes off the list of cars still out, but don't report it as finished.
Finishers who saw a stopped car are how net control learns where it is. Pass on the details and who reported them.
Don't give crews stage times. Official times come from the flying finish timing and RallySafe.
Overtaking complaints go to officials, not the net (RCR 5.17).
Stay at your post until net control releases you, even between runs.
9. Net control
In plain words: You're the hub. Keep a board of where every car was last seen, put emergencies first, and pass decisions to the officials.
Track each car to the furthest station that logged it. A missing car is between that station and the next one.
Acknowledge every report briefly by naming the station. Silence leaves people calling again.
Emergency traffic always goes first. Everyone else stands by and keeps the frequency clear.
On an SOS: stop more cars entering, get officials and medical moving, and keep the air clear. The Clerk of the Course, with the Stewards, decides about stopping or cancelling the stage (RCR 5.14, 5.15.6).
A weak station? Use a relay through a station that hears both. A stuck mic can't hear you, so move to the backup frequency or phone.
An OK car that isn't blocking the road doesn't stop the sweep. Close the stage only when every car is accounted for.
10. Emergencies
In plain words: Break in, wait to be acknowledged, then give the facts: where, which car, what happened, and OK or SOS. Never names, never injury details on the air.
Say "Break break, emergency traffic," then your tactical call, and wait for net control. Every other station holds routine calls.
Give the stage number and a location responders can find (miles into the stage, the route book instruction, or which marshal points it's between), the car number, what happened, and whether OK or SOS is shown. For a civilian vehicle, the plate if you can.
No names and no injury details on the air. Say "medical required immediately." The response runs on a separate frequency, and you stay on the primary.
To anyone who asks, only two statements: "Driver and/or co-driver are/is OK" or "Injuries are being reported and medical help is being requested."
Fire is an emergency even with the crew clear. Help only if it's safe and your role allows.
Don't go into the stage on your own. Your post is how net control tracks cars.
Anyone may use any radio to get help when life is in immediate danger (47 CFR 97.403).
11. Crew signals and the rules they follow
In plain words: Crews tell each other, and you, what's going on with a few simple signs. Knowing them helps you report accurately.
Emergencies are injuries needing immediate medical attention, uncontrolled fire, a breach of stage security, or a completely impassable road. The crew shows SOS and following crews must stop (RCR 5.15.2).
Stopped but no medical help needed: OK sign (5.15.4). If a crew can't show the sign, a thumb up means OK and crossed arms above the head means SOS (5.15.8). If the sign and the console disagree, follow the more severe (5.15.10).
At an SOS the first car gives aid. The second car takes the details to the next radio point, a marshal point or timing control, and stays until released. Others stay at the scene. An SOS can't be called off once crews have stopped (5.15.9).
No triangle and no OK or SOS shown: following crews stop until they know the occupants are safe (5.15.3). One triangle means slow down, and could mean a full blockage (5.15.1).
A breach of stage security or a full blockage is reported by crews at the next radio point or control (5.13.2, 5.13.3).
Crews who can continue but can't hold a reasonable speed use their four-way flashers (5.16).
12. RallySafe and radio point signs
In plain words: RallySafe tracks the cars and flags trouble, but your log is the backup. The round blue sign is where crews come to find you.
At National events, the RallySafe unit must stay powered and active, and its time is the official time (ARA Bulletin 2026-3).
Stopped cars show as a hazard. When a crew presses OK, the unit asks whether the road is blocked. SOS asks fire or medical. A high-G impact triggers an automatic SOS the crew can cancel.
A red flag on RallySafe tells crews the stage is stopped and to slow to transit speed. The unit's OK doesn't replace the OK sign.
The round yellow Radio Warning Point sign warns that a radio point is ahead. The round blue Radio Point sign marks the radio itself. Medical points add a cross.
Crews look for the blue sign when they need to report. Set up right at it, where crews can stop safely beside you.
Where the rules come from
Source
What it covers here
LSPR 2026 Radio Communications Guide
Signing on, routine reports, emergency calls, privacy, location, equipment
2026 ARA RCR 5.13–5.17
Stage security, stopped stages, SOS and OK, triangles, slow cars, overtaking
ARA Bulletin 2026-3
RallySafe at National events
47 CFR 97.119, 97.403
Identifying with your call sign; emergency communication
RallySafe competitor guides
What crews see and press
Common US rally net practice
Logging, counts, holds and the sweep, where your event's radio plan doesn't say otherwise
Your event's radio plan and net control's instructions take priority over this guide.
Before you start
Have you read the study guide?
It covers everything the drills and exams test, in plain words. It takes about 20 minutes and isn't required.
How the rally radio net works, and quick reference
The net
It's a directed net. Every call goes to net control. To talk to another station, ask net control first.
Tactical calls name your post: Start 3, Finish 3, and M plus the intersection number for mid-stage posts (M23).
First call of the day: "KE8ABC signing on as Start 3." Wait for net control to acknowledge.
Every call after that: tactical call, your traffic, wait for the acknowledgment, then end with your FCC call sign. You must ID at the end of a communication and at least every 10 minutes (47 CFR 97.119).
Stay by your radio. Tell net control if you'll be away more than a minute, and when you're back. Pass every instruction from net control to your start, finish or stage captain.
Making a call
Listen first. Key the mic, wait a second or two, speak, wait a second or two, release. Repeaters and links add delay.
Keep it short. Plain language, no 10-codes. Car numbers one digit at a time ("one one seven"), times in 24-hour form ("fourteen zero seven").
Secure your mic so nothing presses it. Set the time-out timer to 2 minutes. If net control has been quiet for a few minutes, check your mic.
Weak signal? Move the car or antenna even 10 feet. If the primary frequency is unusable, go to the backup or text net control.
Routine reports
Arrival on station, and when your location is ready for cars.
Course cars 000, 00 and 0 as they pass you.
Control positions: start or finish time of the first and the last competitor.
The sweep as it passes you.
Log every car, but don't report every car. Net control may ask for your count or the last car number. Your log is the backup when RallySafe loses cars.
Radio point signs
The round yellow Radio Warning Point sign (black ring, black lightning arrow) warns that a radio point is ahead. The round blue Radio Point sign marks the radio itself. Medical points are radio points too and add a cross to the sign.
Crews look for the blue sign when they need to report an SOS, a blocked road or a security breach. Make sure your post is right at it and that crews can stop safely beside you.
A stage, in order
Stations on station and ready → 000 → 00 → 0 → net control opens the stage and tells the start when to send the first car → competitors → last car → sweep → net control closes the stage once every car is accounted for.
No competitor starts until net control says the stage is open. Nobody drives on the closed stage without net control's permission.
Emergencies
"Break break, emergency traffic," your tactical call, then wait for net control. Every other station holds routine calls.
When asked, give: stage number, location (miles into the stage, route book instruction, or between marshal points), car number, what happened, and whether OK or SOS is shown. For a civilian vehicle, the plate if you can.
No names and no injury details on the air. Say "medical required immediately." The response runs on a separate frequency; you stay on the primary.
To anyone who asks, only two statements: "Driver and/or co-driver are/is OK" or "Injuries are being reported and medical help is being requested."
Don't pull anyone from a car unless there's fire or imminent danger. Don't move a car with someone inside. Don't release an inverted crew's belts without a way to catch them.
Rules crews follow (2026 RCR)
An emergency is an injury needing immediate medical attention, uncontrolled fire, a breach of stage security, or a completely impassable road blockage. Crews show SOS and following crews must stop (5.15.2).
Stopped but no medical help needed: show OK, visible in time for following cars (5.15.4). Thumb up = OK, crossed arms above the head = SOS (5.15.8). If the sign and the console disagree, follow the more severe (5.15.10).
At an SOS, the first car renders aid. The second car takes details to the next radio point (a marshal point or timing control) and stays until released. Others stay at the scene. An SOS can't be rescinded (5.15.9).
No triangle and no OK/SOS: following crews stop until they know the occupants are safe (5.15.3). One triangle could mean a full blockage (5.15.1).
Breach of stage security or a full blockage: crews report it at the next radio point or control (5.13.2, 5.13.3).
A stopped stage may be classified using the slowest time set before the stop (5.14). The Clerk of the Course, with the Stewards, may cancel a stage after an SOS (5.15.6).
RallySafe: stopped cars show a hazard; OK asks if the road is blocked; SOS asks fire or medical; a red flag tells crews to slow to transit speed. The unit's OK doesn't replace the OK sign.