Jim,
We're all happy to see new RTTY operators on the air. After all, it gives
all of us more people to contact.
I also used to start each macro with a LF and end with a LF (or an ENTER,
depending on your software). Actually, its CRLF, or a carriage return and
then a line feed (which is what an ENTER usually sends on the software). In
my case it was because I got in that habit when I was running the old
mechanical machines in the 1960s, because some people in those days didn't
have their machines set up to automatically go to a new line if the print
went to the end of the line on the paper and then continued printing. For
those people, it would go to the end of the line and just sit there printing
one character on top of the other, resulting in a black blob on the paper
that wasn't readable. So we would always sent a CRLF at the end of our
transmission so the person receiving would start out on a new line
automatically.
(Then I was off HF for many years, and got back on in 2003 and everything
was different, i.e., not very many mechanical machines and everything being
done with computers.)
With the computer operation, it seems that people want the line to stay
where it is at the end of your transmission, so they can click on your call
or report without having to chase it up the screen. I personally didn't
have too much trouble with a CRLF at the end of the transmission, the only
problem being people who seem to want to put things like....... N7BF de
WX0XXX CRLF CRLF CRLF CRLF 599 599 599 CRLF CRLF CRLF 035 035 035 CRLF CRLF
CRLF K K K CRLF. Now I know that's a partial exaggeration, but we've all
seen something like that on the air during a contest. What it results in is
a bunch of blank space on the screen, and there's no reason to do it. Like
I said in an earlier posting, if I was still running a mechanical printer
printing on paper, I would take the person to task on the air for wasting my
paper.
The feeling by many people (and I have changed my macros over to this
method, unless I forget at the beginning of a contest) is to send a CRLF (or
ENTER) at the beginning of your transmission, and not at the end of the
transmission. HOWEVER, if you just send something like......
"N7BF de WX0XX" (ignore the quote marks) and drop your carrier with nothing
after your call of WX0XXX, then I might get something on my screen like
"N7BF de WX0XXMTJR5DW8XMT" . Now, my question is, what is the call that is
calling me? The garbage that may print on the screen after the call is not
definitive as to where the call ends. So to counteract this, the solution
is to send at least one space (or two or three) at the end of the exchange
so that is comes out like "N7BF de WX0XX MTJR5DW8XMT". Now that way I can
understand what your call is, even though I get garbage on the screen after
it. And this goes for all the transmissions.
Another problem is those people who will respond with something like "N7BF
599 450" with no space on the end, and only send the exchange one time.
First of all, if there is QSB or QRM on the frequency, I'm not really sure I
got their number right, since they only sent it once. The other problem is
that in some of the contest software (and I'm not sure which it is), what
I'll get out of the exchange is "N7BF 599 4" and their transmitter drops
too soon and I don't get the rest of the exchange. Consequently, assuming
I'm awake enough and aware enough to get the problem, I have to ask for a
repeat because I have decided that their exchange isn't complete. I've even
seen it with people who will call me (while I'm CQing) and send their call
once, and then the transmitter drops off the air too soon, and I don't get
their entire call. I've seen it when people will call with, for example,
"W7MGU W7MG" (just picked the call at random) because their transmitter
dropped off too soon. If I got their call right the first time, then I'm
ok, but there have been times that I have come back to someone based on the
first instance of their call and found out that is was really W7MGY, but
since I didn't get the second time he sent his call, I lost the opportunity
to see that the two calls didn't match. The important stuff needs to be
sent at least twice, and sometimes three times, to make sure it comes
through, and putting a space or two at the end of the exchange helps to make
sure it all comes through ok (regardless of whether the transmitter drops
off too soon or not) and separates it from the garbage that may print on the
screen after the transmitter drops off. The one thing that doesn't need to
be sent more than once is the 599. We all know it's coming and that's what
the signal report is going to be, so you don't have to send, "N7BF 599 599
599 035 035". I know it's 599, and it's a required part of the exchange by
the rules of the contest, but you don't have to repeat it.
(I know I'm getting long winded here......or long typing, etc.)
Another thing that is good is especially when you're CQing and someone
answers you, to send something like (assuming I answered someone's CQ),
"N7BF 599 035 035 N7BF". The reason to put the person's call at the
beginning and at the end is because if there is interference or QSB, I may
not get the first instance of my call coming back to me, therefore I don't
know who the person is responding to. I've seen instances of "KQMDX 599 035
035" and they dropped their carrier. Now who are they responding to? I may
not be the only person calling them. When I've been calling CQ, I've had
two or three (and sometimes more) people calling me at once, and they don't
all drop their carriers at the same time. Sometimes they think I haven't
gotten their call on their first transmission and they call me a second
time, maybe obliterating the beginning of my response to someone else who
has called me.
Well, I know I've gone on and on, and there are probably reasons why I do a
couple of my other macros differently, but I'm not going to get into that on
this e-mail. I hope some of this helps, and probably is far beyond what you
started to ask, but those are my thought on some of the things I see on the
air during a contest.
Alan - N7BF
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Barron" <wb5aaa@alltel.net>
To: "'Alan Burgstahler'" <alan-ham@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 7:24 AM
Subject: RE: [RTTY] WPX 2007
> Alan,
> I am new to all this RTTY Contesting and only do it for a FEW HOURS
> Just for fun.
> I always start with a LF and finish with a LF
> The main reason it that everything I send is on one line (that is if there
> are no hits)
> My question is this bad thinking??
>
> I know I need to set up my Macros better but we are just learning.
>
> Thanks
> 73 de Jim wb5aaa
> later,
> Jim Barron
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