Do CW and digital modes get jammed as frequently as phone modes?

[W5lz]

Can CW and digital modes be interfered with? Certainly, any mode can be interfered with. It's a bit more uncommon with the voice modes, probably because there are more voice signal typically.
It really is possible to be causing interference and not know it. It's also very common to be told about it too.

 

[alcahuete]

Has anybody thought that this "jamming" is simply the station not being able to hear all parties on frequency? There have been many times where I was working a DX station, only to have others try calling me. They simply couldn't hear the other DX. This has happened a lot where I might be working a station in Europe, for example, and another European station keys up trying to reach me. Have seen it on CW and voice. Same goes for calling CQ.

The only jamming I have ever personally experienced is on repeaters. Doesn't happen regularly, but it certainly happens. I spend a lot of time on HF and haven't experienced any actual jamming at all.

 

[k6cpo]

I'd suggest we change the term to "no-clue extra". One used to need two years of licensed experience to get the Extra license. Now it possible to walk in off the street, take the entire battery of tests, and walk out an Extra, never having touched a radio. Well, people are doing that, and it shows. I certainly don't hold all newcomers responsible for that sort of thing. That would just be wrong. But the questions I see asked by Extra licensees are startling sometimes.

That's really no better than "no-code Extra." Instead of criticizing, why not try mentoring some of these people that you say have no clue? Yeah, I'll admit there was a lot I didn't know when i got my Extra and there's probably still a lot I don't know, but I take to time to research a topic. If I am unable to come up with an answer, I'll ask someone, but not online. By doing that I know I'd get some AH response...

 

[needairtime]

I'm also a NCE, doesn't mean much, there's always more one can learn even if you've been in the hobby for a long time. Yes it was intended to be a bit of self-deprecating humor but might have been lost because I didn't mention what licenses I hold.

I was with a bunch of more experienced hams today and finally got an answer to the apparent paradox I saw with "screwdriver" antennas and other adjustable inductors used for antenna matching. It was shocking to me when a matching inductor is simply shorted to lop off unneeded inductance, but apparently the shorted section doesn't cause as much loss as I thought it would based on previous "non-ham" inductor experience... Wow. I'm sure I will need to do this to enable match to a hodgepodge antenna that the HOA will not notice. All this from a live conversation.

But yes it does seem that online queries tend to result in disparaging and discouraging answers. These are what needs to be dropped.

 

[zz0468]

That's really no better than "no-code Extra." Instead of criticizing, why not try mentoring some of these people that you say have no clue?

I do.

I put a substantial amount of time and money into the hobby, a lot of which is to help the various ham clubs I'm involved in. I donate time, parts, and use of my home lab to hams needing mentoring. My wife will even feed 'em lunch and dinner. Seriously, I get the mentoring thing.

As such, I've earned the privilege of rendering an opinion - that's all that it is. The term "no clue extra" isn't directed to those who get mentored. It's directed towards those who memorize their way through the tests, then refuse to become familiar with how the hobby works. I get particularly irritated by those who refuse to abide by what the FCC terms in Part 97 "good amateur practice".

Yeah, I'll admit there was a lot I didn't know when i got my Extra and there's probably still a lot I don't know, but I take to time to research a topic. If I am unable to come up with an answer, I'll ask someone, but not online. By doing that I know I'd get some AH response...

If I had the time, I'd like to do a bit of research on AH responses. I wonder how many questions get answered, the answer gets challenged by the newcomer, and THEN OM who provided the answer goes into AH mode. I've been there. You try to help, and the guy you're helping doesn't like the answer. That's where the term "no clue extra".

Feel free to disagree.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

With all the QRM issues and "No Code Extras," I'm curious as to people doing deliberate jamming and other interference when someone else is trying to do CW? Do people usually lay off of CW jamming or are they just as bad to do disrupting others from getting communication across a CW channel?

I suspect people like disrupting phone because, well, it's easy to get your word out and people can understand you right away. Though deliberate interference of CW is equally as annoying, the interferer doesn't get their word out most likely, just disruption.

Also, have things changed over the years, if you've been doing CW for years, especially with the decline of people who know code/use CW?

As I don't know code and don't have HF gear, it's tough for me to listen. Best I can do though is probably through software on someone's SDR over the web, but even then I'm not always sure if it's just spatial interference or true jamming.

On the other hand I suspect that FT8 and other digital modes were not very well designed for realtime chatting that disrupting this isn't as "fun" for the disruptive people...

I spend a hour or two a day CW. I'm strictly a rag chewer, no contest, rarely just a quick RST and move on. It's a very rare occasion, as in once a year to hear a situation I would consider to be deliberate interference. Maybe less.

At anytime a person can find 100's of Q'S being called, people looking for a contact /QSO CW. The easy way is to glance at the reverse beacon lookup. It will give you the call, frequency, speed of the CQ. Pick one your comfortable with and have a good copy on and reply and enjoy. It's a completely different class of OP you will notice within seconds. It's not phone, it's a very respectful community. You will not find the "clickish" groups or big mouths. Below is a link, it's my call so you can see how it works but simply press "main" in menus for a complete veiw. You can also use it to find a frequency to locate a call you may be looking for who you believe may be on air but not sure where. Enjoy...73 Rich
DX = W9RAC spots - Reverse Beacon Network

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

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I'd suggest we change the term to "no-clue extra" ............ zz0468




My good friend, cohort and a Ph.D particle physicist did exactly that. She got a license manual, looked it over for an hour or so, then went into a hamfest testing session and ace'd the Extra Class.

Barbi said-

"I just answer'd "C" to the questions I didn't know"
........ (she is a university professor and knows how most exams are written- and certainly how to take them....... 'if in doubt, "C")

Her only exposure to ham radio until then ? ........... watching me talk on a 2 metre handheld.

____________________________________________

Maybe the next time I want a good slap I'll refer to her as a "Clue-Less Extra"...... lol



Lauri

 

[zz0468]

Maybe the next time I want a good slap I'll refer to her as a "Clue-Less Extra"...... lol

I have a nephew who's a particle physicist. He can sit there and explain in great detail how radiation is a necessary artifact of the existence of matter, but barely knows which end of the screwdriver to pick up.

But i wouldn't think of either of them as clueless.