>On one hand, a WW contest is always a thrill, but on the other hand this one
>was very frustrating.
Two things I enjoy most about Amateur Radio are contesting and DXing on 160
Meters. Yet for the very reason others have expressed, I have a hard time
getting psyched to do a 160 contest. Last year after getting run off a
frequency early Saturday night, I just decided it wasnât worth the
frustration. This year I worked about 20 friends and decided to enjoy my time
doing something else. With so many people packed into such a small space, the
problems are unavoidable.
>when they very obviously cannot hear the DX station at all.
I couldnât agree more and this IS a growing problem on the lowbands. Now I
know someone will say hey Iâve heard you in a pile-up once or twice and you
were calling out of turn. Fair enough. One of the things that draw most of us
to Topband is the challenge of working stuff that is routine on other bands.
Once and awhile an already weak signal suddenly drops even further into the
noise or an ill-timed burst of QRN takes out the station we are trying to work.
Itâs happened to the all of us at one time. Thatâs not what weâre
talking about here!
Take a listen the next time someone even semi-rare shows up. There are
people calling that clearly have no business doing so. A good example was
7X0RY Thursday night before CQWW 160. He would ask for the N2. A large
portion of people just kept right on calling. A K5, W3, WB2, K9 you name it.
They were in there. Or better yet, he would get a full call and these same
individuals would keep hammering away when he clearly was not calling them.
The process repeated itself with almost every station the 7X was trying to
work. This sort of thing is happening on a more frequent basis and it just
defies logic and common sense.
I donât know of any way to fix this other than to ask people to exercise a
little restraint and self-control. For starters, just because something is
spotted on packet doesnât mean you should start calling. The rule I use is
that I donât call unless I believe I have a reasonable chance of hearing the
guy come back to me. By that I mean, was I able to hear who he was working
before I pull the trigger? Lastly, keep in mind that your peers are listening.
Itâs your call and operating skills on display when you transmit.
73
Ken K4ZW
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