Marshall and all
IN THE BEFORE TIME
It will be 40 years ago in a few months that I got on the air, and I was
introduced to VHF meteor scatter.
In those days there were NO grids, so contact exchanges were signal reports and
Rogers to confirm receipt of the signal report.
BUT the signal reports were not 599 but “S2” or “S3” for longer bursts.
The arrival of a QSL card was the final confirmation, especially if you were
chasing awards.
GRID ERA
As a VHF UHF SHFT WAS/VUCC checker I am instructed in the rules to look for the
grid on the card, printed, or even hand written
by the sender OR the receive!
ie QUOTE FROM ARRL • “For the
convenience of the Awards Manager in checking cards,applicants may indicate in
pencil(pencilONLY)the grid locator on the address side of the cards that DO NOT
clearly indicate the grid locator. The applicant affirms that he/she has
accurately determined the proper location from the address information given on
the card by signing the affirmation statement on the application.”
But for a valid contact there typically always needs
to be a Date, Time, Frequency, and signal report, but NOT necessarily the
GRID ON THE QSL. THE QSL was the final confirmation of a valid contact.
LOTW
So then, today its evolved into LOTW verification as well… and I’m not sure if
the signal report plays a part in that process, but the grid does by virtue of
the user data. Again you are verifying
that a contact happened by exchanging a CONFIRMATION on LOTW which is CALL,
DATE, FREQ, TIME, MODE.
That’s a bit of a MESS eh?
IS THE SIGNAL REPORT REALLY MEANINGFUL?
Looking at HF contests, the signal report has devolved into 5NN…5NN….so it is
really a “funny number”
as it has no meaning. On VHF as well often the exchange is “599 FN03”…or in a
vhf contest “FN03” no signal report.
On machine modes, what really does -20 mean? Is it just a convention like on
M/S when “S2” was OK as a signal report? As Marshall says a “Funny little
number”.
So, do we really need a “signal report” and Rogers to make a contact or is
“Grid” “Roger” more meaningful, and thus of more use?
If the key thing is to make a contact and exchange meaningful information to
ensure a valid contact and then follow it up with a QSL or LOTW CFM then the
GRID, RRR, plus Date, Time, Freq, Mode is it.
So I agree, ditch the signal report, go with the GRID and RRR, or RR73, but
lets also get that VUCC rule adjusted to suit.
73 Dana VE3DS
FN03
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