On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 10:15:23 -0500, Chuck Fullgraf wrote:
>Like W0ETC, I like the format "His Call, RST, QTH, QTH, My Call" (DX
>stations can substitute the Serial number for the QTH). It verifies that I
>have his call correct, gives him two chances to see my qth and verifies for
>him my call.
>
>Although resending my call may be superfluous, I've run into several
>situations where I printed parts of different transmissions at the same time
>on the same frequency. It got confusing who was sending what and to whom.
>Unlike phone, where you hear the others voice, or CW, where you hear the
>other's sending style, you cannot separate pick out a particular station
>just by listening so by sending both calls you have verified who you are
>talking to and who you are.
>
>It doesn't matter to me if I see dashes or slashes in between the parts of
>the exchange.
>
>But, I'm flexible.
_________________________________________________________
I agree with all except the sentence about dashes or slashes. This has
been an ongoing discussion on the RTTY reflector for years. If you
become familiar with USOS (Unshift On Space) you will recognize the
benefit of having a space between character groups instead of a hyphen
or slash. It allows both the transmitter and receiver to reset to LTRS
mode when a space is sent and helps prevent what I call the "TOOAWT"
problem. Old Timers will recognize TOOAWT as what is received from a JA
station when the LTRS shift character is lost. What is actually sent is
599-25 but when the LTRS shift is garbled and the hyphen is present,
USOS can not function and what you get is TOOAWT.
The reason people use the hyphen in the first place is it does speed up
sending slightly because sending a space also requires another FIGS
shift character. IMO, the tradeoff isn't worth it.
A subtle difference to be sure, but in a contest every little bit helps.
--
73, Bill W6WRT
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