Do you know a band policeman?

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I don’t enjoy 20m for the reasons stated. kayn1n32008



I agree- Domestically (US) I seldom venture onto 20.

One of my more lasting, memorable excursions went something like this.......... (it was to met a friend on a pre-arranged 20 meter frequency- a 'sked'.....)


Me - "Is this frequency in use ?"

-------Pause to listen

Me- "Is the frequency in use ?"

------- Another, longer pause.......... Okay.......

Me - "K*#** this is K*#**.... Are you on frequency B---- ?? "

"GET OFF THE FREQUENCY !! YOU *STINK'IN B*TCH !! * "
"This frequency is for the (blank) traffic net only !!"


__________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few incidence like that Cured me (double !!'s) of 20.........

Those things never happen to me on other bands.
(but I also avoid anything above 3750 KHz's on 75)




Lauri :sneaky:
 
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AK9R

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The exchange between two individuals in this thread that I just read, and deleted, reminds me of some of the pointless arguments I've heard on the amateur radio bands. Expressing an opinion is one thing. Insulting someone for that expression of opinion is frowned upon. If you want to continue the argument, please take it to the Tavern.
 

kayn1n32008

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I don’t enjoy 20m for the reasons stated. kayn1n32008



I agree- Domestically (US) I seldom venture onto 20.

One of my more lasting, memorable excursions went something like this.......... (it was to met a friend on a pre-arranged 20 meter frequency- a 'sked'.....)


Me - "Is this frequency in use ?"

-------Pause to listen

Me- "Is the frequency in use ?"

------- Another, longer pause.......... Okay.......

Me - "K*#** this is K*#**.... Are you on frequency B---- ?? "

"GET OFF THE FREQUENCY !! YOU *STINK'IN B*TCH !! * "
"This frequency is for the (blank) traffic net only !!"


__________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few incidence like that Cured me (double !!'s) of 20.........

Those things never happen to me on other bands.
(but I also avoid anything above 3750 KHz's on 75)




Lauri :sneaky:

Agreed. Although I have never experienced that kind of thing, I just don’t have time to waste dealing with that kind of mentality. It is also likely the same person that yells at you about the net, that I deal with hammering away with voice keyers.

The best, most exotic DX I have worked was on 10m, not 20.


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jwt873

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Also, when the DX is calling outside the U.S. phone band, the police will proclaim "out of U.S. band!!!!" (with no ID of course). So funny.

I'm in Canada.. I recall once trying to work an SSB DX station running non-split on 14.135. I gave up because I couldn't break the pileup of US stations.. Nobody seemed to care.
 
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I really didn't mean to be overly dramatic about 20 metre's, or DX'ing in general.

What I don't enjoy in being DX is not being able to have an uninterupted chat- for talking, is to me, is what this hobby is all about- and if the guy/gal on the other end is interesting, we can chat forever. If we're in some exotic places, so much the better. Its just finding such open places to talk like that in the US Twenty 'phone band that are not always possible.


So if I wistfully look at the non-US 'fone portions of 20 and, well ......... sigh.

Since like the first day I drew a breath as a ham, it was instilled in me to listen, listen, and listen some more on my radio - that is, if I was going to find those interesting people and places to chat to.

By grandfather admonished me as a domestic US station to not to bother calling "CQ DX"

"You'll not find the interesting ones like that, Lauri."
"Look where they hide out, not where the pile ups are-- and for- god sake, call them in a courteous manner if you decide to call them at all. One day you'll be a DX, and you'll see why."
"That means you don't break in on family conversations, or especially if they are talking about a subject you can not contribute to.... polite behavior- your family raised you for better things.... ;)"

_______________________________________________________________

Years and a million DX miles later, those remain my standards. Anyone can take that grandfatherly advice to the bank, that is, if you want to work me (and my DX cohorts.)

Lauri :sneaky:
 
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I've even given my call in falsetto voice and the DX will hear my voice over the cacophony. Sneaky, but legal and I get them logged.

citiot



Smiles..... that is certainly an unfair advantage YL op's have over you guys, No ?

(a really unfair advantage is if it also has a French accent.... ;) )



Lauri :sneaky:
 

bharvey2

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I've even given my call in falsetto voice and the DX will hear my voice over the cacophony. Sneaky, but legal and I get them logged.
citiot



Smiles..... that is certainly an unfair advantage YL op's have over you guys, No ?

(a really unfair advantage is if it also has a French accent.... ;) )



Lauri :sneaky:


Clever, but that wouldn't work for me. The best I could do would be to sound like Anne Ramsey from the movie "Throw Momma from the Train"

 

Token

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I've been a ham for 40 years. "Break" is commonly understood by older hams to mean "emergency". I never use it.
I use "comment" if I have a comment, "question" if I have a question, or just say my call sign and the reason why I want to break in.

I would not give anyone any static for saying "break." It's not offensive to me. We all have peeves and that is not one of mine.
I tend to eschew jargon, and prefer plain language, but I'm tolerant. What irks me are people saying "QSL" on phone, especially FM or digital voice. But that's another thread. :)

I might qualify as an older ham these days (licensed in 1967) but I do not consider "break" to be an emergency call. To tell you the truth I don't remember how I considered it prior to entering the military, but since then "break", to me, is just a term to delineate a change in your transmission or to insert yourself into a conversation.

Sure, if I want to jump into a conversation with something I will almost certainly use "comment" or just drop my call myself, but I have no issue with "break" also.

I don't remember when I first started hearing "break" in common use to break into a conversation, but when I did I think I just assumed it was a vocalization of the CW prosign "BK".

However, I was always taught that multiple breaks were an emergency, like "break, break, break".

T!
 

AK9R

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However, I was always taught that multiple breaks were an emergency, like "break, break, break".
Rather than multiple "breaks", why not just say "priority" or "emergency"?
 

Token

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Rather than multiple "breaks", why not just say "priority" or "emergency"?

Sure, why not? These are, after all, conventions and guidelines, and seldom rules. If someone pops up on the frequency and between two other station transmissions says "Emergency" or "Emergency Traffic" I am pretty sure that will get the idea across.

For that matter, why do we say Morse code is "CW", when it is clearly either ICW or MCW, and CW has a totally different meaning once you step away from communications emissions. Convention, habit, shorthand, which means it might very possibly have variations.

To me there is a difference between a "band policemen" and helping/discussing things with other hams. We are, after all, self policing, and mostly self teaching. If I hear someone, possibly a new someone, doing something counter to convention but not actually against any rule I might mention it and try to explain it as I know it. That is not the same as attacking someone or berating them about something.

T!
 
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I agree.... "Emergency !!" is probably the best thing to say.... the urgency will dictate the number of exclamation points. :)

I have heard a few such calls over the years.. and when the rubber is really hitting the road, especially in ham radio, CB etc. -- all protocol tends to disappear.

"When the wolf comes thru the door, Love goes out the window"

Lauri :sneaky:
 

kayn1n32008

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I agree.... "Emergency !!" is probably the best thing to say.... the urgency will dictate the number of exclamation points. :)

I actually used this 3 years ago when traveling in Northern BC. My wife and I came across a single vehicle roll over in an area of zero cell service.

I used a wide area, linked repeater system to verify BCAS and RCMP were enroute to scene. While the fellow that answered my call was not the first call to 911 in regards to this roll over, his call did verify that help was on the way.

I believe I used ‘Break, Break ,break, Emergency traffic’ when I interrupted a conversation in progress. The driver had self extricated and was not in life threatening condition, so ‘Mayday’ was not an appropriate call in this situation.

The operator that answered me and called 911 was excellent, and patient(I was on a 5w portable and marginal into the repeater I was using)

Honestly. When calling for help, tone of voice and urgency in their request will usually tell you all you need to know. It matters not how they initiate the call.


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.......For that matter, why do we say Morse code is "CW"..... Token


Oh, that can start a whole other topic. I am sure everyone has a favorite that irks.

Mine is the Morse abbreviation for a laugh.. HI.
It goes back to the good old days of high speed code operators: it is easier (I gather) to send the letter "I" (dit- dit) than an "A" (dit- dah) as in a"HA." ............. I guess........

When people laugh they say "Ha !," not "Hi".... what is even more amusing (to me at least) are the goofy hams that say, on 'fone, "HI HI" when they could simply just laugh.

Leave off the Space Cadet stuff..... Plain, simple speak; So preferable anytime- especially in emergencies



Lauri :sneaky:
 

K9DAK

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Plain, simple speak; So preferable anytime- especially in emergencies

Lauri :sneaky:

Yep, plain language... years ago I heard a sheriff's deputy dispatched to a residence for a domestic disturbance call... a few minutes after he arrived, he asked dispatch for a 10-51... dispatcher came back and asked if he really needed a tow truck for the domestic call... he came back and said "sorry, make that a 10-52." An ambulance, not a tow truck.
 

N4GIX

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And that's how I use it in nets (carryover from my Navy and LEO dispatching training.)
We use "break" here on several nets as a 'proword' indicating either a pause to reset the repeater timer, take a breath! or possibly grab a quick slug of beverage! :ROFLMAO:
 
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WB9YBM

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I remember an encounter with one "radio policeman" a few years ago on 10M FM (the calling frequency). He kept interrupting my QSO to say ragchews should be taken off-frequency during band openings (and we weren't even talking that long--just a standard QSO). He was causing more harm than good with his incessant interruptions until I finally told the station I was talking to "If the jamming station doesn't knock it off, I'm going to forward his callsign to the FCC." Problem instantly fixed!
 

zz0468

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Oh, that can start a whole other topic. I am sure everyone has a favorite that irks.

Mine is the Morse abbreviation for a laugh.. HI.

That's an irk that we share. It sounds rather idiotic when someone does that. But I will admit to occasionally forcing the idiocy in the opposite direction towards absurdity. I've been heard ending a phone contact with folks I know to be old time CW ops with a cheery "diddly dah de dah", an approximation of the CW prosign SK meaning 'end of contact'.

Yeah, I know...
 
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