In radiosport, indeed during ALL on-the-air activities,
in my mind, it goes w/o saying that respect for others should be an over-arching trait representing our on-air decorum. Unfortunately, the desire for a "perfect whirrrrl'd" is FAR from perfect.
This Blog entry began as a Top-10 list of BEEFS
I have with radiosport operations and operators.
The list quickly grew way beyond the 10, relegating
this BLOG to become a 4 part BLOG series; this entry being part 1.
Normally with Blog entries I go to great lengths ensuring there is some sort of aesthetic beauty in what is written.
Because this is a blatant list of beefs, I am just going to list them without fanfare and share my thoughts about each one, as well as a few relevant pictures as well.
To make things more meaningful, I used poetic license
in the choice of visual images.
BTW, the opening picture is a PERFECT example of one of my radiosport BEEFs.
([CLICK HERE] to read the BLOG entry this picture 1st appeared in.)
On CW, operators running radios with 2.0+ Khz I-F's often tune WAY OFF my run frequency.
They seem to think because they can hear me, I should also be able to hear their 20 - 50 watt
signal into a mis-matched dipole.
When I run the FT-1000mp I can immediately switch-in the clarifier knob and tune them in.
However, if I am running remote, I have NO ACCESS to an R-i-T control; the RCForb software
cannot invoke that Elecraft K3 feature.
A work-around to this problem is to synch VFO-A & VFO-B and put the radio in SPLIT mode; listening on VFO-A and transmitting on VFO-B. The CORRECT answer is for calling stations
to call with no more than a 1000hz offset. Do you think you can do that?
BEEF #2 - STATIONS THAT SHOW UP OUT OF NOWHERE,
ZERO-BEAT THE RUN FREQUENCY AND CALL CQ
This is ESPECIALLY noticeable when running RTTY contests.
Out of NOWHERE an S-9+ station opens up with "CQ TEST"
with PERFECT RTTY copy, meaning the station is EXACTLY
on the run frequency; it was NO accident.
A special N1MM+ Function Key (FKey-9) allows me to repeatedly
send "QRL / QSY" until they get the message and move on.
Amazingly some don't; XE2 stations in particular. I-F notch filters
are the RTTY operator's answer to IDIOTS like this.
Now you know why I purposely choose frequencies like 14084.84.
BEEF #3 - STATIONS WORKING ME IN A CONTEST WHO
CALL ME AGAIN 7 MINUTES LATER
HuH? He JUST worked me? Did he log the previous contact incorrectly?
Should I work him again to be sure he's in the log?
I have done that only to have them call me a THIRD time 20
minutes later. I guess they don't hear too many contest stations.
Then again, I guess their attitude is that making DUP QSOs is
better than falling asleep at the radio.
BEEF #4 - STATIONS WHO WORK ME AND THEN ATTEMPT QSOS WITH MY CALLING STATIONS ON MY RUN FREQUENCY
HuH? WTF is THIS all about? Go find your OWN run frequency, or S&P (Search and Pounce) elsewhere. What are these operators NoT thinking? When a station does this, I press function
key [F5] (their callsign) followed by [F9] ("QRL QSY") followed IMMEDIATELY by the [F1] key
("CQ Contest"). After that they usually LEAVE.
BEEF #5 - STATIONS WHO WORK ME THEN MOVE DOWN 200HZ AND CALL CQ CONTEST
A variation on the BRUTE operator (described above) is the IDIOT who makes sure to work me FIRST, then moves down 200hz (but still within the reaches of the Yaesu's 500 & 250 hz filters)
to call their OWN CQ Contest. HuH? WTF is THAT all about?
I have consistently noticed that they usually don't make any QSOs from those calls
(because my signal is drowning them out). Eventually, they find a new frequency.
The solution to THESE Idiots is SIMPLE - I move down 200hz and press [F9] again and
again until they MOVE. Then it's back to the run frequency and back to the contest.
That's it for this 1st installment, Radiosport fans.
[CLICK HERE] to read Part II of this series.
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