I went to the Sussex hamfest two weeks ago, this Sunday. I bought that cup holder bracket for my VHF/UHF handheld, so I could listen a lot and talk a little during my trips back and forth to work.
Today, I was ready to rip the thing out and toss it out the window.
The absolute garbage that appears on some of these repeaters is appalling. Yeah, I know ...... 14.313 MHz and 75 Meters are no better. Have these guys (VHF/UHF/HF "mavericks") no shame? Do they have no idea how moronic they sound with their little "games"?
I was so horrified at listening to some of these shenanigans that it almost made me embarrassed to be a Ham. But then I remembered that I get on VHF/UHF so seldom, that I'm usually treated as a newcomer, even though I've been licensed for 35 years.
VHF/UHF - it's not my domain, and I thank the Lord for that! I'll take the QRP Watering Holes any day!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
CB bands are even worse!!
ReplyDeleteI guess that justifies the cost and effort of mobile HF setup
Sorry to hear that it's that way there, Larry. I'm pretty active on VHF/UHF here in Arkansas and we have only a few problem operators. For the most part, it's a respectable group and enjoyable.
ReplyDelete73,
Luke
AE5AU
I agree! I always think it would be fun to be a part of the "drive time" group but the guys in my area are so tight it is hard to really feel a part of the group. The most fun I had on those bands is talking to my dad on simplex as we both drive to and from work.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog btw!
Got to cry "foul" on this one Larry.
ReplyDeleteI encounter exceptional amateur operators on FM and repeaters on a daily basis.
Are their LID's in ham radio?
Sure -- sometimes on repeaters and more often than not on HF. And CW is no exception by your own accounting.
How many blog posts have you made here about folks tuning up on you, not calling QRL before CQing, etc.
We are a hobby with lots of LID's and there are no mode filters that I've found.
:-)
73, Jeff KE9V
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI'm not not talking about lack of procedures or even bad manners here. And I'm not talking about your typical annoying Hams. What I heard yesterday was vile and disgusting and there was no place for it on the airwaves.
If perchance, someone was giving a demo on Amateur Radio yesterday and the drek I heard came up, we ALL would have looked exceedingly bad. First impressions are the hardest to wipe away, and if I was a Ham giving that hypothetical demo, it would have been at a loss for words. And I would have wanted to find the nearest rock to hide under.
Yes, bad manners I will gripe about. What I was hearing yesterday made me want to throw my radio away. It was bad ..... VERY bad.
Larry W2LJ
Leaves me wondering ... Where, oh where, is the control operator?
ReplyDeleteExactly, John!
ReplyDeleteThe repeater should have been shut down by a control op. What I was hearing would have made a sailor blush!
Larry W2LJ
Larry,
ReplyDeleteI regret to learn about the status of VHF "conversations" (ahem, term used with caution). I lived north of you in Oak Ridge many moons ago -- back when I was in novitiate -- but I only had an HT back then. Not many FM QSOs when you're deep in the woods,so I never sampled the tone of conversations.
Glad to report things here in Wash DC are generally better. Most control ops or trustees are attentive and would shut that stuff down STAT. Hard to fathom why a group or individual would got through the effort to put a repeater online and then fail to encourage "better practices."
I had not used 75m in months -- I've been recuperating or many weeks and therefore have spent tie QRPing from my back yard -- and so I stumbled upon some trash talk on LSB. Wow. Looks like I'll get back o 75m this winter when DX is more favorable that doltish banter.
Happy QRP ops!
Vy 73,
John
I had an experience on 40m last night that was similar. My antenna is down temporarily and my KX3 is begging me to just string up my portable antenna for the time being. I'll do that later today, but last night I was using an Internet-based SDR receiver to listen for some friends that were meeting on LSB. I didn't hear them, but in tuning around in the phone portion I came upon a QSO that was being interrupted by some jerk, and then the others would respond to him – which likely made the jerk satisfied that he was able to evoke such a reaction on the air. I could only listen to the exchange for about a minute before just closing the browser in disgust.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing – 'What if a perspective ham were to hear this?'
We're lucky to have CW – where I find the operators to be professional and courteous.
Now... I'd better get to work on putting up something that will let me put the KX3 back into service!
72 de WU7F - Mark