The National Tune-Up Frequency Contraversy - Part 1

 

Radio historians often quibble over which commercial broadcast station was first to the airwaves.  Having callsigns and operation on specific frequencies allows easy station identification.
A classic early station is none other than WWV, established around 1920.  Prior to making
formal transmissions, most station operators, tune the XMTR to properly match the antenna.
Because they are more-or-less the sole occupants of those frequencies they can do whatever
they want.

Radio amateurs share a frequency pool, giving them access to virtually any frequency in that pool, with no exclusive right to ANY specific frequency.  Because we also need to tune up our transmitters, it makes sense to choose a frequency in the vicinity of our proposed operation to effect transmitter tune-up; and herein lies the problem.

On any given day at any given time, seemingly out of nowhere a BLEEEP! blasts our ears,
jolting us out of our calm-inducing QRN-meditation; once again, our friend TuT, the (Tune-Up Turkey) has invaded the operating window.  I've often defined "National Tune-up Frequency" as any frequency I happen to be running at any given moment; especially during a radiosport contest. 
However, there is a lot more to it than just that.

Rather than just give you my [potentially] narrow-minded viewpoint, you may find the e-Ham discussion forum on this topic to be useful reading; except it gets quite redundant. 
As a substitute, I have paraphrased the main points from that forum as follows:

• I thought the National Tuneup Frequency was any frequency your trying to pass traffic on. Preferably H&W traffic. That's when the key-klowns usually show up. (KB3JLZ)
  
• As far as I have observed over the years the "National" tune up frequency has been
  7.240 mhz, right on top of the weekend West Coast swap net!! (W6PMR)
• SWISH YOUR XIT AROUND WHILE TUNING UP.  THIS WAY NO ONE SINGLE
  STATION GETS ALL THE QRM!!!  (HP2PWA)
  
• I suggest a national tune-up /OOOOOLAH OOOOOOLAH frequency be designated
  to any and all frequencies on which K1MAN "BROADCASTS". 73  (KT0DD)
  
• I agree with your idea of having national tune up frequencies on each band.
  May be it should not be necessary.  Perhaps the idea would be accepted better
  by the high power crowd if a monthly contest were held on the various national
  tune up frequencies. The winner would be the one with the "biggest signal".
  Your idea continues to get better.  (KC4COP)
  
• The idea sounds good, it really does. ...except if your LiD enough to tune up on a freq that is already in use you certainly aren't going to be using the tune up freq. LoL.  (W5NIG)
• I think you all have it wrong.  These people are not tuning up.  They are warming their amps up for the DX.  Since they do not want to miss it they are doing it on the same frequency.  (KX2S)
  
• It did not take me long to realize that you NEVER spot DX until AFTER you work them. Simply because just as soon as you spot the DX, his frequency becomes the NTF! Hams know how to quickly get on the spotted frequency, but they sure as heck don't know what to do after they get there. (W4BQF)
  
• I thought that we already had a NTF. It usually seems to find me whenever
  I get a chance at working some DX on 20.  (N5YPJ)
  
• The "Old Man" was complaining about exactly the same thing in 1926. (N6AJR)
  
• The last time I had a carrier thrown on me, the QRM lasted, non-stop, 6 minutes.
  Either it was done deliberately, or the stupid LiD can't figure out how to tune his antenna after 5 minutes of hard work. I think I find explanation #2 more funny! :-)  (NE1RD)
  
• I would propose that the new frequency would be 14.313. This would take care of the
  LIDS that congregate on that "CHANNEL".  (W5GNB)
  
• This might get out of hand. You would also need a national whistling and blowing
  in the mic frequency as well as a, "OOOOOOOOOOOLA OOOOOOOOOOOOOLA" frequency.  We wouldn't want to leave out any of the LIDS or hurt their feelings.  (KA4P)
  
• It's also true many tuner uppers are sick individuals who do so deliberately to see how much of a rise they can get out of the rest of the world. No one wants to talk to them so they QRM everyone else.   Still another group is absolutely certain that they will not be heard at all if they do not squeeze the last possible watt, usually 2,000 plus, out of their "export" version amplifier. Or that they will damage their tubes if they run even slightly
  "off resonance." So they tune up on the air every 5 kHz, and take five to ten minutes to "get it just right."  It sometimes helps to speak harshly about the offender on the air,
  and to be rude and uncouth if you can run him down in person. It also helps when the community starts DF'ing the source of interference on the QRM'ers frequency. (AC5E)
  
• It's been going on for at least 30 years...i used to refer to the Md. emergency phone
  net frequency as the National tune-up frequency. can/t do anything about it, best to
  just ignore it if possible.   (WB3FTQ)
  

I have encountered most of the above-described situations many times over the years,
especially during radiosport contesting.  We can SOMETIMES blame it on novice-operating,
mistakes made by newly-licensed operators.  However, some actions are SO EGRIGOUS
they are OBVIOUSLY intended to create some sort of a communication disruption.

While it is TRUE that audio-DSP's can auto-notch the carriers out of what I hear, if it is a LOUD station, the AGC will already have lowered the receiver gain, often just enough that the WEAKer station the LiD is tuning up on is now reduced in signal strength even further.

There is more to say about this LiD Phenomenon,.

For now, let the above serve as "FooD FoR ThoT" on the topic.

What about YOU?  Have You ever encountered the National Tune-up Frequency?

How DiD YOU handle it?