How billing works

RHR has two charges: a membership that renews monthly or yearly, and airtime billed by the minute while you are connected to a station. This article explains the model with examples. The account articles have the exact rules.

The two charges

Membership. PremiumDX is $20 a month or $99 a year, and the first period includes a one-time airtime credit ($10 monthly, $20 yearly). Current prices are always on the pricing page. The membership opens every station on the network; see Membership and pricing.

Airtime. Every station has one or more named rates, such as RX only, 100 W and QRO, each with a price per minute. You choose the rate when you connect and it stays fixed for that connection, whether you transmit or just listen. Published ranges are on the pricing page; the exact rate is shown on the station before you connect. See Airtime and rates.

Two examples

An evening of DXing. You connect to a station at its 100 W rate of $0.29 a minute and operate for one hour.

A contest weekend with the amplifier. You connect at a QRO rate of $0.99 a minute for six hours on Saturday and four on Sunday.

Listening counts the same as transmitting at the rate you chose, so pick an RX only rate, where a station offers one, when you only want to listen.

When your card is charged

• Membership is charged when you sign up and again at each renewal.
• Airtime accumulates as you operate. Credit in your account covers it first. Whatever is left is charged to your card once a month on your collection day, the day of the month your subscription started. You can pay sooner with Pay Early on your account page.
• The usage cap. New accounts have a $100 cap. When your balance plus unbilled airtime reaches it, the outstanding amount is charged right away rather than waiting for the collection day. The cap goes away once your lifetime payments reach $1,000.

Details, including failed payments and overdue accounts, are in Paying for airtime.

Credit and prepaying

Airtime credit is money already in your account. The included credit is added when you join, and you can buy more at any time from your account page, $5 or more. Members who prepay, including CEPT members, can turn on auto-reload to top up automatically. See Airtime credit and auto-reload.

Until your license is verified, your airtime has to stay within your credit; see Verify your license.

Where to see what you have used

• Account → Airtime lists every month, and each month lists every connection with the station, power, duration, rate and cost.
• Account → Payments is your billing history, with a receipt for each payment.
• Your account overview shows Next Payment, the amount and date of the upcoming collection.
• Statement e-mails can arrive daily, weekly or monthly; set that under Settings → Preferences. See Profile and preferences.