Bill,
I co-miserate with your experience on trying to work PSK-31 from DX
countries. I spent 33 weeks in various DX countries during 2002 and carry a
portable station including FT-100D and an interface that allows me to work
RTTY, PSK31, etc. It is most exasperating to try to furnish people with a
new country when many of those on the other end, make no attempt to keep
their QSOs short, for the accomodation of others. I am speaking of PSK31, N
O T RTTY. The RTTY guys are great.
I now refer to PSK31 as the "Macro-Mode," since above 80% of all QSOs involve
the exchange of macros. I am fortunate in being able to type like a
house-a'-fire, so I do not have a brag tape, but rather, type a real message
to the other guy actually commenting on what he has sent me. 99% of the time
I get the standard "thanks for info" macro in reply. So much for "real
QSO's" on PSK31.
I spent my own money and went to OH? and wasted a helluva lot of time on
PSK31. There were a large number of stations calling, but I had to sit there
and read about the speed of the CPUs, what software they're using, etc.
There is a LOT of education to be done for the PSK31 crew as a whole. On
those same weekend DX-peditions to OH?, LZ, ES, LY, HA, OE, 3A2 & OH, I
worked tons of other stations on RTTY and CW. Every once in a while a case
of the "dumbs" would hit me and I would try PSK31. My rate went from 2 or 3
a minute on the other modes to one per three minutes on the "Macro-Mode."
I fully concur with what you've written and am wondering how this situation
could be dealt with.
73
Mike
W?YR /3A /HA /OE /OH /OH? /OK /LZ /R3 /ES/ /YL /DL
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