There was a post to a CW reflector that I belong to that I can sympathize with. In essence, the author stated that he was running a frequency last night as one of the NAQCC Anniversary stations. A mini contest/sprint came along and he was run off the frequency that he had been occupying.
His complaint was that it appeared to him, at least, that the offending station hadn't bothered to listen adequately for activity on the frequency. Apparently, there was not much of a wait time after a "QRL?" if indeed there was a "QRL?" at all.
This is one of my pet peeves. There are so many operators that will just jump on a frequency without listening AND without bothering to ask if the frequency is in use. VERY poor operating etiquette.
What's even more disturbing is that a lot of people who are responding to his post are dismissive, as his output power was QRP. - 5 Watts
THAT SHOULDN'T MATTER!
Whether a frequency is occupied by a QRPer or not is not the issue! The issue is that one operator jumped onto an occupied frequency (seemingly) without bothering to adequately listen. Period. End of story.
Now, I'm fully aware that QRPers are often not heard all that well. That's understandable. Many is the time I've been knocked off frequency by a QRO station. If the station who knocked me off frequency "QRLed" a time or two AND gave adequate time to listen - I have no beef with that. That person did their due diligence and I cannot fault them - he/she couldn't hear me, they truly believed the frequency was clear. I get that - that's the way the cookie crumbles sometime.
But for someone to not listen beforehand and transmit blindly - or to send a "QRL?" and listen for only two or three seconds before starting to transmit is inexcusable in my book. That so many ops of this somewhat prestigious group are so dismissive of this is disappointing to say the least. Smacks of snobbery, arrogance and entitlement.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Showing posts with label etiquette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etiquette. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Friday, September 09, 2016
Who owns the frequency, Kenneth?
No one.
I received an interesting e-mail (which I have since answered and deleted) from an Amateur whose name and call sign I can't (and don't want to) recall. It started out, "Sir".
You know you're in trouble when you receive correspondance that starts out like that.
Anyway, the tone of the e-mail was gently chiding (this is NOT verbatim), "I see you recommend 14.060 MHz as a reference frequency for your Skeeter Hunt. Don't you know that's only 2 kHz from the SOTA frequency? Your event may have caused interference."
I counted to 10 before replying, and I took time and effort to make sure that I was polite and charitable. I explained that 14.060 MHz has been the recognized QRP Watering Hole for like ..... forever. And since the Skeeter Hunt is a QRP event, it kinda makes sense we should be there.....no? I also pointed out that the Skeeter Hunt happens once a year and it's only for four hours.
I wanted to go on, but didn't, lest I lose control and become sarcastic. But when you think about it - where the heck are we supposed to go?
Go to 14.062 MHz and you tick off the SOTA people.
Go to 14.058 MHz and you risk stepping on the toes of FISTS folks.
Go to 14.056 MHz (or thereabouts) and you risk the wrath of the County Hunters.
Go to 14.055 MHz and you will upset the SKCC people.
Go up to 14.070 MHz and you run into digital territory
See what I'm getting at? Everybody has "their" frequency, but yet, NO ONE "owns" any frequency! Ahem, that includes nets! If the SKCC'ers happened to be holding their WeekEnd Sprint and wandered on up to 14.060 MHz, while the Hunt was in session, what am I supposed to do - lob grenades at them? No, you just spread out and deal with it the best you can.
I wonder what this guy would have done in the "Good Ol' Days" when the bands were literally wall-to-wall with signals and you couldn't swing a dead cat and find an empty spot?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I received an interesting e-mail (which I have since answered and deleted) from an Amateur whose name and call sign I can't (and don't want to) recall. It started out, "Sir".
You know you're in trouble when you receive correspondance that starts out like that.
Anyway, the tone of the e-mail was gently chiding (this is NOT verbatim), "I see you recommend 14.060 MHz as a reference frequency for your Skeeter Hunt. Don't you know that's only 2 kHz from the SOTA frequency? Your event may have caused interference."
I counted to 10 before replying, and I took time and effort to make sure that I was polite and charitable. I explained that 14.060 MHz has been the recognized QRP Watering Hole for like ..... forever. And since the Skeeter Hunt is a QRP event, it kinda makes sense we should be there.....no? I also pointed out that the Skeeter Hunt happens once a year and it's only for four hours.
I wanted to go on, but didn't, lest I lose control and become sarcastic. But when you think about it - where the heck are we supposed to go?
Go to 14.062 MHz and you tick off the SOTA people.
Go to 14.058 MHz and you risk stepping on the toes of FISTS folks.
Go to 14.056 MHz (or thereabouts) and you risk the wrath of the County Hunters.
Go to 14.055 MHz and you will upset the SKCC people.
Go up to 14.070 MHz and you run into digital territory
See what I'm getting at? Everybody has "their" frequency, but yet, NO ONE "owns" any frequency! Ahem, that includes nets! If the SKCC'ers happened to be holding their WeekEnd Sprint and wandered on up to 14.060 MHz, while the Hunt was in session, what am I supposed to do - lob grenades at them? No, you just spread out and deal with it the best you can.
I wonder what this guy would have done in the "Good Ol' Days" when the bands were literally wall-to-wall with signals and you couldn't swing a dead cat and find an empty spot?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Broke the 100 confirmations mark today!
NPOTA, that is:
I actually have about 1/2 a dozen more that haven't been confirmed yet. According to LotW, those stations have not uploaded logs since their activations. A few were a while ago, so I guess it's possible that maybe they won't.
While working a few today, it was extremely embarrassing and saddening to see so may out there have no clue on how to handle themselves in a pileup. Guys ..... YOU HAVE TO LISTEN!
Throwing out your call sign ad nauseum without taking a moment to listen is the number one earmark of lid-dome. Seriously, if you send out your call ten times without taking a breath, how are you going to know if the activator is calling you back? By the time you've stopped sending your call, the activator has worked someone else and is calling QRZ again (and everyone else in the pileup has taken note of your call sign - you can count on it!). DON'T BE AN ALLIGATOR! You know, all mouth and no ears! Throw out your call once - maybe twice max, and then open up those ear holes and listen!
Which leads to a second and related problem. If you can't hear the station you are trying to work, you have NO business sending out your call, in the first place. If you can't hear the station well enough to know that he's answering someone else - or worse, is in QSO with someone else; but you keep sending your call anyway ..... bad scene, man, bad scene. You've marked yourself as a QRM generator and no one likes those. Don't rely on the Cluster. Just because DX Summit says Joe Ham is on 7.034 MHz at NPOTA NP256 ..... if you can't hear him, then don't even try. It's a waste of your time and everyone else in the pileup is going to think you're an idiot.
Now everyone makes an honest mistake now and then, and that's OK, But you can tell when someone has no clue as to what they're doing. And frighteningly, it seems to be becoming more and more common.
It's OK to be excited and enthusiastic. It's not OK to be reckless or use poor operating practises. Use common sense, read the DX Code of Conduct and you'll be OK.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you call to send the very least!
I actually have about 1/2 a dozen more that haven't been confirmed yet. According to LotW, those stations have not uploaded logs since their activations. A few were a while ago, so I guess it's possible that maybe they won't.
While working a few today, it was extremely embarrassing and saddening to see so may out there have no clue on how to handle themselves in a pileup. Guys ..... YOU HAVE TO LISTEN!
Throwing out your call sign ad nauseum without taking a moment to listen is the number one earmark of lid-dome. Seriously, if you send out your call ten times without taking a breath, how are you going to know if the activator is calling you back? By the time you've stopped sending your call, the activator has worked someone else and is calling QRZ again (and everyone else in the pileup has taken note of your call sign - you can count on it!). DON'T BE AN ALLIGATOR! You know, all mouth and no ears! Throw out your call once - maybe twice max, and then open up those ear holes and listen!
Which leads to a second and related problem. If you can't hear the station you are trying to work, you have NO business sending out your call, in the first place. If you can't hear the station well enough to know that he's answering someone else - or worse, is in QSO with someone else; but you keep sending your call anyway ..... bad scene, man, bad scene. You've marked yourself as a QRM generator and no one likes those. Don't rely on the Cluster. Just because DX Summit says Joe Ham is on 7.034 MHz at NPOTA NP256 ..... if you can't hear him, then don't even try. It's a waste of your time and everyone else in the pileup is going to think you're an idiot.
Now everyone makes an honest mistake now and then, and that's OK, But you can tell when someone has no clue as to what they're doing. And frighteningly, it seems to be becoming more and more common.
It's OK to be excited and enthusiastic. It's not OK to be reckless or use poor operating practises. Use common sense, read the DX Code of Conduct and you'll be OK.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you call to send the very least!
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The Radio Amateur's Code
The Radio Amateur's Code
CONSIDERATE...He/[She] never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others.
LOYAL...He/[She] offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs, local clubs, the IARU Radio Society in his/[her] country, through which Amateur Radio in his/[her] country is represented nationally and internationally.
PROGRESSIVE...He/[She] keeps his/[her] station up to date. It is well-built and efficient. His/[Her] operating practice is above reproach.
FRIENDLY...He/[She] operates slowly and patiently when requested; offers friendly advice and counsel to beginners; kind assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others. These are the marks of the amateur spirit.
BALANCED...Radio is a hobby, never interfering with duties owed to family, job, school or community.
PATRIOTIC...His/[Her] station and skills are always ready for service to country and community.
The original version of this was written in 1928, by Paul M Segal W9EEA, and it's been modified over the years as things change with the times. The core message remains the same though, as it's pretty much timeless.
The one trait that I want to touch upon today, is the "Balanced" one.
The Radio Amateur is:
BALANCED...Radio is a hobby, never interfering with duties owed to family, job, school or community.
Sometimes, I think we forget this one the most, and the evidence is not that hard to find. Take a wander on over to Facebook, or listen to a repeater and it's pretty obvious that some of us become seriously preoccupied or obsessed with such activities as NPOTA, contesting, DXing, county hunting, SOTA, etc.
Amateur Radio, on the whole, and these activities in particular are good and wholesome things. For instance, I'm certain that a lot of our wives, husbands and significant others would rather have us in the shack, yakking away on our radios than spending the month's mortgage money in bars,saloons, casinos or race tracks.
But it's easy to lose focus and become obsessed. Radio sport that involves chasing that elusive country, county, SOTA peak, NPOTA entity or whatever should never become the focus of our lives, or our reason for being. Just as purchasing that new rig, antenna, or piece of test equipment should never result in being unable to pay the mortgage, rent or put food on the table. It should also never result in the kid's college fund being raided.
Do you enter the shack on a Friday night for a contest, only to emerge late Sunday evening or early Monday morning? That's not good, my friends.
Even an essential thing can become bad, if you're not careful. Are you that someone who HAS to be at every civic function or training class? Even public service, as worthy and noble a cause as it is, should never become between you and your family. Before going out to respond to any disaster or emergency, the health and welfare of your loved ones should always be your top priority. If they're not taken care of, you don't go.
The bottom line is that there's more to life than Amateur Radio. In our quest to satisfy our passion, sometimes we forget that. Family, friends, loved ones and those relationships are way more important, and should always come before getting that high score, or working that 300th country or buying that newest, latest and greatest radio.
Always keep in the back of your mind that the greatest gift you can give your family is your time. If you're doing OK with that, then you're doing a good job with the "Balanced" part of The Radio Amateur's Code.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
"QRL?" - please !!!!!
I did go out to the Jeep during lunch today, and no, the bands were NOT dead. But before I go there, I must digress.
I was involved in a 2X QRP QSO on 14.060 MHz with Tom, KC9RXI in WI. He was about a 449 to me; and I'm sure I was no better to him, but we were having a QSO. I'm sure at times, that to people who may have been listening to the frequency, that it sounded like it was dead.
It wasn't.
All of a sudden, out of the blue, another QRPer started calling CQ/QRP on frequency! The call will be omitted to prevent embarrassment (but it is forever burned into my brain). Not so much as a single, solitary "QRL?"
Yes, I am sure that both Tom and I were weak, but we WERE in the middle of a QSO. Coming on to a frequency, plopping yourself down and commencing to call CQ without asking is just - arrgh! And to top it off, the CQer was calling CQ DE WXXXX/QRP !!!! I'm sorry, but QRPers, above all Amateur Radio ops, should know better. No excuse - period. If he had sent "QRL?" waited for a bit AND THEN had started calling CQ on top of us, I may still have been annoyed, but I would have thought to myself, "Well, he just didn't hear us."
Unfortunately, while Tom was trying to talk to me, I had to transmit "QRL. PSE QSY". He immediately QSYed (so he was able to hear me!), but at that point I had lost what Tom was trying to say. Shortly after that the QSB went off the Richter scale and the QSO came to a premature end. The "meat" that I could have copied was drowned out forever by needless QRM.
A bit after that debacle, I went to 12 Meters and tuned around for a bit. I heard 7QAA in Malawi quite loudly. He was loud enough to work - even QRP. I don't think I broke the pile up, as again there was a lot of QSB. If I had more time (lunch hour was running out) I'm pretty darn certain I would have worked him. This time I had the patience - I ran out of minutes.
So , even with the G4 geomagnetic disturbance, Malawi was coming in the best I've heard them so far. Go figure. Luckily, the station will be on the air until early April and I'm taking a vacation day on Friday. I just may make it into their logbook yet!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I was involved in a 2X QRP QSO on 14.060 MHz with Tom, KC9RXI in WI. He was about a 449 to me; and I'm sure I was no better to him, but we were having a QSO. I'm sure at times, that to people who may have been listening to the frequency, that it sounded like it was dead.
It wasn't.
All of a sudden, out of the blue, another QRPer started calling CQ/QRP on frequency! The call will be omitted to prevent embarrassment (but it is forever burned into my brain). Not so much as a single, solitary "QRL?"
Yes, I am sure that both Tom and I were weak, but we WERE in the middle of a QSO. Coming on to a frequency, plopping yourself down and commencing to call CQ without asking is just - arrgh! And to top it off, the CQer was calling CQ DE WXXXX/QRP !!!! I'm sorry, but QRPers, above all Amateur Radio ops, should know better. No excuse - period. If he had sent "QRL?" waited for a bit AND THEN had started calling CQ on top of us, I may still have been annoyed, but I would have thought to myself, "Well, he just didn't hear us."
Unfortunately, while Tom was trying to talk to me, I had to transmit "QRL. PSE QSY". He immediately QSYed (so he was able to hear me!), but at that point I had lost what Tom was trying to say. Shortly after that the QSB went off the Richter scale and the QSO came to a premature end. The "meat" that I could have copied was drowned out forever by needless QRM.
A bit after that debacle, I went to 12 Meters and tuned around for a bit. I heard 7QAA in Malawi quite loudly. He was loud enough to work - even QRP. I don't think I broke the pile up, as again there was a lot of QSB. If I had more time (lunch hour was running out) I'm pretty darn certain I would have worked him. This time I had the patience - I ran out of minutes.
So , even with the G4 geomagnetic disturbance, Malawi was coming in the best I've heard them so far. Go figure. Luckily, the station will be on the air until early April and I'm taking a vacation day on Friday. I just may make it into their logbook yet!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
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