Amateur Radio some random comments

[ai8o]

Radio Amateur Dxing.

Some random observations.

--.- … - -.. . .- .. -… ---​

Annoying things:

1) Hams who use voice machines instead of their own voice during contests, who just activate the machines over, and over again, and don’t stop to listen.

I heard one Dutch ham repeatedly activate his voice machine without breaking to listen, for over three minutes, and that is just the time I actually timed him.

2) On weekends, when there are many different contests going on at the same time, hams who call “CQ CONTEST’, and never say what contest they are working. They should say: “CQ CONTEST PACC” or “CQ CONTEST Vermont QSO Party”, etc.

QSLing:

1) LOTW vs. QRZ

QRZ is the better service.

I enter every contact I make into QRZ and LOTW.

I get more QSLs from QRZ than I get from LOTW.

I calculated QSL percentages on both:

QRZ= 59%

LOTW=46%.

13% difference in favor of QRZ.

2)You would think that LOTW which says it is the "National Association for Amateur Radio"; would have a better percentage of responses than QRZ a private concern.

I guess that subscribers who pay for enhanced service at QRZ, are more likely to post a confirmation of a QSO.

ARRL’s much more cumbersome, more complicated, sign up protocol requiring waiting for a post card, and downloading the TQSL app is deterring hams, especially NON-USA hams, from signing up for LOTW.

3) Unfortunately, the idea of sending QSL cards is slowly decaying. Mail costs are too high, especially sending cards internationally.

4) I don’t mind sending a couple green stamps to hams in rare countries to defray postage costs for QSLs, but one ham in Surinam wants 5 Euros to do a confirmation on LOTW.

5) QSL Bureaus are great.

They save money, and make QSLing not so expensive.

I wish they were faster, but since they depend on volunteers, I am not going to complain.

6) NetLogger is great.

I always use it when working various nets.

I just wish I could download to LOTW and QRZ directly from it, but again I will not complain, because it is freeware written by volunteers.

Propagation:

1) The idea of only working below 10 MHz at night and above 10MHZ during the day is just not a good practice.

I often work Europe and Russia (west of the Ural mountains) at 2-5 AM EST from my location on the east coast of the USA.

Its 7AM to 12 noon there, and the sun is shining on the eastern part of the Atlantic, significantly raising the MUF.

One of my most amazing mornings was in April 2022.

I was trolling thru 20m, and not paying close attention to what I was hearing.

I thought I was hearing hams in Italy working British Columbia (Vee A)

All of a sudden; I realized that the Italians were working an Australian net (Vee K).

I worked four Australian stations via long path in less than 4 minutes.

2) My propagation Doughnut hole:

I work few stations in the area between my ground wave coverage, and where my signal comes down after bouncing off the Ionosphere.

Depending on the band; this dead zone extends from the edge of my ground wave coverage areaof about 25 miles, to several hundred miles. I didn’t realize this for a long time, because I am in North Carolina near the east coast of North America, and over 120 degrees of the dead zone arc is over water, and you wouldn’t expect to work stations on the ocean.

West of the Mississippi River is easy, Eastern Tennessee, Southern West Virginia & Virginia, and most of South Carolina are hard for me to contact.

Growing the number of hams:

1) Various organizations that are intent on recruiting, and RETAINING, new hams should concentrate on men in their 30s and 40s.

Guys who are settled down, in long term relationships, have a house, and have kids who are out of diapers.

2) Trying to recruit teens is NOT a long term growth strategy. As soon as these guys discover cars and girls, or go off to college, they will lose interest.

I am not saying to ignore them, because maybe a few of them, will later in life settle down, and rekindle their interest in radio.

3) Hams are overwhelmingly male.

Women are not encouraged to deal with things/technology.

They are mostly directed by cultural expectations toward interpersonal relationships and homemaking, not technological experimentation.

4) I don’t know what to do to recruit more female hams.

5) Amateur radio especially HF DXing is expensive. Land for antennas, equipment, transmitter costs, etc.
What can be done to reduce the costs of getting started in HF DXing.

Language:

1) Most of the Americas south of the Rio Grand speak Spanish.

Habla en Espanol when answering CQ calls, greatly increases my chances of getting a response. “Esta es AH EE OCHO OH”, “COMO SE INDICATIVO?” and ”SEE-AY-TAY TRACE” greatly enhances my QSO numbers.

Ham populations:

1) The ratio of HF Dxers to the numbers of licensed hams in a country is not proportional in various countries.

2)Most DX contacts are done in English.

The lack of English fluency reduces the number of NON -US hams DXing.

2) Take Japan for example. They have the most hams of any DX entity (around 1.2 million hams), but I have only worked two Japanese stations.

Both Japanese stations I have worked, the language used was English.

4) Most Asian countries (except INDIA) have low ham populations, and consequently even lower active Dxers.

5) Do North Korea (P5), Afghanistan (T6), or the Vatican (HV) have any active hams or Dxers?

6) On the other hand I have had 5 QSOs with Luxembourg, which is way over the proprtion of contacts I would expect do to their low numbers of hams.

7) Italy is another country that is very active. I can work Italy just about any time a band is open.

Bad Behavior:

1) drunks arguing late at night arguing.

2) Cranky old farts and their buddies that think they "OWN" a frequency, because they say they have used it for years.

3) Even worse is a drunk old fart.

I would love to read your comments and queries.

73
Dan
AI8O

 

[TeeJayZee]

I've noticed that some HAM and GMRS operators occasionally forget that their conversations are broadcasted to a wide audience, regardless of their experience level. They openly discuss deeply personal matters, including family issues, health concerns, financial situations, or their intricate gear setups. Sometimes, they even share specific dates for extended trips. But why? What compels them to disclose such private details?

Every time they announce their call sign, they’re essentially revealing their home address, as this information is easily accessible online. This makes them potential targets for scammers who can exploit their personal details, as well as criminals who could take advantage of knowing when their homes will be unoccupied.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I've noticed that some HAM and GMRS operators occasionally forget that their conversations are broadcasted to a wide audience, regardless of their experience level. They openly discuss deeply personal matters, including family issues, health concerns, financial situations, or their intricate gear setups. Sometimes, they even share specific dates for extended trips. But why? What compels them to disclose such private details?

Every time they announce their call sign, they’re essentially revealing their home address, as this information is easily accessible online. This makes them potential targets for scammers who can exploit their personal details, as well as criminals who could take advantage of knowing when their homes will be unoccupied.

Caution regarding what you discuss on the air I fully agree with. As far as your other points, there ARE precautions one can take to prevent those problems but I won't point them out Here.

 

[CcSkyEye]

I've noticed that some HAM and GMRS operators occasionally forget that their conversations are broadcasted to a wide audience, regardless of their experience level. They openly discuss deeply personal matters, including family issues, health concerns, financial situations, or their intricate gear setups. Sometimes, they even share specific dates for extended trips. But why? What compels them to disclose such private details?

Every time they announce their call sign, they’re essentially revealing their home address, as this information is easily accessible online. This makes them potential targets for scammers who can exploit their personal details, as well as criminals who could take advantage of knowing when their homes will be unoccupied.

I agree with this one, especially the vacation part and I have never understood that.

 

[MTS2000des]

I've noticed that some HAM and GMRS operators occasionally forget that their conversations are broadcasted to a wide audience, regardless of their experience level. They openly discuss deeply personal matters, including family issues, health concerns, financial situations, or their intricate gear setups. Sometimes, they even share specific dates for extended trips. But why? What compels them to disclose such private details?

Every time they announce their call sign, they’re essentially revealing their home address, as this information is easily accessible online. This makes them potential targets for scammers who can exploit their personal details, as well as criminals who could take advantage of knowing when their homes will be unoccupied.

A local repeater near me has rules clear posted on their website. I love it. They highlight many of the irritants noted, and make them against their "house rules" which yes, they have legal authority to ban users as repeaters are private property and their house- their rules. But some of them one would think would be common sense, including the part about "millions of people are within the coverage area and may be listening. The repeater is recorded" etc.

Part 97, officially called Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 97 (47 CFR Part 97), is the body of rules that govern the Amateur Radio Service. These are the "regulations" referenced throughout this document, and those regulations overlay and supercede everything here.

1. You are expected to operate in complete compliance with all applicable FCC regulations.
   • You must ID your transmissions, including "test transmissions," in compliance with 97.119. "Kerchunking" will incur the ire of the control operators.
   • Foul language is prohibited.
2. Do not interrupt ongoing conversations unless:
   • You have an emergency.
   • You have something of value to add to the conversation.
3. Use of CB "lingo", Q-codes, so-called radio-speak (e.g. "hi-hi", "roger that") is highly discouraged. This is amateur radio FM voice radio-telephone, not CB, not CW, not HF SSB.
4. "Roger Beeps", sound effects, deliberate feedback, deliberate echo, MDC codes. ANI and other unit identifier tones, paging tones, digital signalling, voice inversion, scrambling, and all types of encryption are prohibited. If you're not sure, it's probably prohibited. Again, the repeaters are for FM voice radio telephone.
5. "Cross-band"ing the input and/our output of the repeater in- or out-of-band for any purpose is forbidden without prior permission.
6. You should have no expectation of privacy:
   
   • There are millions of people in the repeater's coverage area.
   • The repeater is monitored continuously.
   • The repeater may be recorded without notice, and often is.
   • Any evidence of illegal activity will be provided to law enforcement.
7. Be just as polite as you would in face-to-face conversation, if not more so.
8. Leave room for other stations that may have priority traffic.
9. Ignore jammers and other miscreants. Do not discuss bad behavior on the repeater, it only encourages it.
10. Attempting to gain access to control functions of the repeater is punishable by a lifetime ban.
11. Don't ask for the physical location of the repeater(s). We won't tell you. If you know where the repeater(s) are located, you are expected to hold that information in confidence. The repeater(s) are in Buckhead. End of story.
12. Considering that many non-hams (scanner listeners, etc.) may be listening, always act as an ambassador for amateur radio.
13. Don't tie up the repeater if you can reasonably use simplex.
14. Be considerate of the Club Membership and other repeater users. Don't use the repeater as your all day long private intercom.
15. During commuting hours -- weekdays from 6 AM to 9 AM and 4 PM to PM -- mobile and portable stations have priority over fixed stations.
16. The control operators are like lifeguards, they are always right, even when they are not.

What gives the owners and trustees the right to tell someone how to operate?​

The owners own the repeater stations. They were expensive to put up and they are expensive to maintain. The repeaters are not a public utility.

The trustees hold the license for the repeaters and are responsible for the proper, legal operation of the repeater station(s). They enjoy having their amateur radio licenses and will take a very dim view on any activity that endangers them.

FCC Rule 97.205(e) specifically says:

...Limiting the use of a repeater to only certain user stations is permissible.

The FCC has consistently been willing to sanction amateurs for repeater abuse. These sanctions have ranged from amateurs being forbidden to use a specific repeater, forbidden to use specific bands, loss of license, and (large) monetary fines.

Should you use the club's repeater(s) in a manner that is not compliant with these rules, the repeater trustee and/or the club may take action against you, up to and including requesting FCC enforcement actions against your amateur radio license. We really don't want to do this.

If these rules make you uncomfortable, or you feel you cannot operate in compliance with them, we encourage you to try other repeaters or perhaps talking on simplex.

Remediation Process​

We hope we never need to talk to anybody about issues related to the rules and regulations of the repeater system(s). However, should that need arise, there is a three-step escalation process:

1. A friendly warning. The operator will be advised and asked, nicely, to comply with the rules.
2. A written cease and desist letter. This may include the operator being advised they are no longer welcome to operate through the repeater system(s).
3. A formal complaint to the FCC.

 

[jwt873]

Wow.. A zillion points.. I'll touch on a couple of them.

I'm not a big contester. I'd like to fully take part in one, I try now and then, but I just don't have the patience to accomplish anything meaningful. But yea, there are lids everywhere...

Our VE4 QSL bureau is next to hopeless. Some cards take up to a year and a half after they're sent. Fortunately I don't get many requests for cards. But postage here in Canada is getting out of hand. I just sent a card to a US station last week. It's now $1.87 to mail from Canada to he US.

I use LOTW exclusively. I was uploading to eQSL, but I wasn't impressed by their service so I stopped. Never could get in to QRZ.

On disproportional contacts per population.. I find I'm always hearing the Canary Islands (EA8) whenever any band is open to Europe. Perhaps a few very active hams is better than a lot of inactive ones.

On language. That's one of the reasons digital modes are popular. You don't need to speak English. I use FT8, but -only- on 50 MHz and above. When six meters is open to Japan, I've been the subject of JA pileups with dozens of Japanese stations calling me. Over the last few months, I've even managed to swap SSTV pics with two Japanese stations on 10 meters.

 

[Grounded]

QRZ is the better service.

Agree, so why are you here? This forum is dead,

 

[mikewazowski]

Agree, so why are you here? This forum is dead,

Really have to wonder why you're here? You rarely post anything positive but you're quick to criticize everyone else. Perhaps it's time for you to find another site.

 

[ai8o]

Agree, so why are you here? This forum is dead,

You misread my post.
I was comparing QRZ with LOTW, not RR.

This RR forum is not dead.
It is alive, useful, and full of reasonable, vibrant commentary.

 

[alcahuete]

1) Hams who use voice machines instead of their own voice during contests, who just activate the machines over, and over again, and don’t stop to listen.

I heard one Dutch ham repeatedly activate his voice machine without breaking to listen, for over three minutes, and that is just the time I actually timed him.

As an avid contester, the reason for using "voice machines" is because you wouldn't have a voice left after a contest, and that is coming from someone who used to talk for a living. I can't explain the constant transmitting without listening. Makes no sense.

2) On weekends, when there are many different contests going on at the same time, hams who call “CQ CONTEST’, and never say what contest they are working. They should say: “CQ CONTEST PACC” or “CQ CONTEST Vermont QSO Party”, etc.

A good ham is going to listen for at least a short bit. The exchange will almost always give away which contest it is. I personally still mix the contest name in every few calls. Otherwise, you're just adding a ton of verbiage and lengthening the transmissions in a game where the key is making more contacts. If adding the extra verbiage takes you down to 160 contacts per hour instead of 180, that's a big deal over 48 hours.

​

1) LOTW vs. QRZ

QRZ is the better service.

I enter every contact I make into QRZ and LOTW.

I get more QSLs from QRZ than I get from LOTW.

I calculated QSL percentages on both:

QRZ= 59%

LOTW=46%.

13% difference in favor of QRZ.

My figures are a little closer, still in favor of QRZ:

LoTW: 67.5%
QRZ: 72%

1) The idea of only working below 10 MHz at night and above 10MHZ during the day is just not a good practice.

Just a guideline. I don't think anybody out there is saying ONLY work 10 MHz at night, and above during the day. That's just silly.

5) Amateur radio especially HF DXing is expensive. Land for antennas, equipment, transmitter costs, etc.
What can be done to reduce the costs of getting started in HF DXing.

It's already happening. You see people going to hotspots in droves. Nope, not HF, and not even RF, but that's where people are going for "DX."

2)Most DX contacts are done in English.

The lack of English fluency reduces the number of NON -US hams DXing.

English is spoken almost everywhere. 'murica! I don't have any facts, but I would assume there are not a huge number of hams, even if they don't speak English, who can't comprehend a call sign and signal report. Does it really take much English to understand A1AA, 59?

2) Take Japan for example. They have the most hams of any DX entity (around 1.2 million hams), but I have only worked two Japanese stations.

That's a you problem. I currently have almost 2500 of them in my logbook.