so ive been licensed for about 4 months now and every time i get on HF especially during a pileup or just trying to give my callsign people are using all this alpha bravo charlie stuff and i get it, i know what it is, but i guess my question is is it actually required or like a rule somewhere or do people just do it because its tradition or whatever

i tried using it a few times and i kept blanking on what N was and ended up saying november wrong and the other guy had to ask me to repeat anyway so i feel like im making it worse not better. does it matter if i just say the letters normally on SSB

not required by law no, the FCC doesnt mandate NATO phonetics specifically, but theres a reason everyone uses them. certain letters just sound identical over a noisy band or when signals are marginal. B and D and E and G and P and T and V all kind of blur together especially with QRM or when someones signal is fluttery. the phonetics are specifically designed so each word sounds different from every other one even through static and fading.

for your callsign especially its worth drilling them until theyre automatic. i used to write them on a card taped near my radio. after a few weeks it was just muscle memory. N is November yeah, also people sometimes slip in non-standard ones like they'll say New York for N or Texas for T and thats totally fine in casual QSOs, the point is clarity not strict adherence to the NATO list. but in a contest or a DX pileup stick to the standard ones because the DX station is probably working stations from 40 countries and they know what November means instantly

yeah i blanked on letters constantly when i first started lol. what helped me was just listening to a lot of QSOs before i actually transmitted much, you start to absorb them without even trying. also there are apps that quiz you on phonetics if youre into that kind of thing

honestly on a good signal on a local repeater or something nobody really cares but on HF with any kind of noise it genuinely does make a difference, ive had exchanges where i couldnt copy a single letter of someones call until they switched to phonetics and then it was totally clear