Most radio amateurs or aspiring radio amateurs reading this manual are probably new to amateur radio. Up until recently, newcomers were thrown on the bands with very little, if any, help, without clear instructions or teaching on how to behave on the air. Can you imagine being released on the roads, in heavy traffic, without anyone having told you how to drive a car or how to behave on the road? This idea by itself seems frightening to most of us. Appearing on the ham bands without being prepared for this wonderful experience could be equally intimidating, to say the least. Don’t panic though, everybody some day drove a car for the first time, and every ham was a new ham at first. Welcome to the world of ham radio, welcome to our bands. This document will help you to better enjoy this wonderful hobby, right from the start. Don’t forget, ham radio is a hobby, and a hobby by definition is something you enjoy! The reader should not let himself be deterred by the many rules in this manual, thinking that these would lessen the pleasure and satisfaction of making radio Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur contacts. These rules are easy to understand and will rapidly become an automatic code of conduct for every ham of good will.