OOOh it litte getting out of hand today
call call call
LISTEN
Have found now more you call as other people do longer it takes longer get though all wanting to make a contact
Even felt like one’s self shout "shut the fluff up"
No need to call call every 5 seconds
Bet that italian station was having a strong coffee afterwards
TUH love the little comments by the way that pop up
Never mind
I just wait and pounce when times right with one’s little old powered station of 10w but end of day by end of month not far off me 1000th point level if not surpassed it
Best laugh still reached him after that calmed down
karl
Same here, Karl, but as yet these SOTA pile-ups are tame compared to some of the serious DX-pedition messes (which I avoid like the plague!) Getting there, though!
It’s surprising how many of these shouters don’t go back when the SOTA station calls them - deaf as a post, some of them, just calling because somebody else is calling. It makes me nostalgic for the good old days of leisurely gentlemanly SSB activations on two metres. Since those days SOTA has become amazingly successful, but something has been lost. Tempus frangit!
Indeed. The WWFF chasers are particularly keen and a FF pile-up can be great fun and challenge for a SOTA activator, albeit potentially deteriorating the experience for the SOTA chasers. Ultimately it is a judgement call for the activator as to whether to announce a FF reference (if applicable) and further whether to advertise the FF activity in advance on the WWFF websites.
Never mind
Like said one waits till it quietens down and then pounce provide they don’t suddenly go QRT for what ever reason.
Mind you was warned when first started this
Its addictive and man there right
My station be little more powerful once the tower and beam project is done and operational still be 10w but through a more powerful antenna even thinking doing a similar one to the spider for 40m but using 300 ohm ribbon cable as elements like a hoz quad type thingy will give little more edge on the 40m
In past nigh on 3 months done 188 summits and earnt 911 point todate
Bring on that big one at 1000.
They still happen, Brian. I know I don’t activate much, but I have enjoyed some excellent long chats on 2m SSB from SOTA summits - with 5W which is ample to a decent beam - sitting in the sunshine. Ah, summer!
It will only get worse in the following month as the winter bonus comes into effect. There is nothing worse as things get tougher for an activator during the current season, to be ruined by a operator with a sticky PTT switch … VOX was invented for a good reason.
As the MT has stated over and over again if they persist make a note and notify them. OR if you are an activator who is sick of his/her AGC bouncing up and down do not log them !
I am considering going back to QRP to reduce the pile-up on 40m and to reduce the weight carried. The snag (which is why I went QRO) is that sometimes no-one comes back, rather spoiling the activation
Perhaps I too am guilty of poor operating when chasing; I find 20m very difficult as I can rarely hear both sides of the conversation and some operators are less explicit about moving on than others. When do I call?
Hoping to be out activating and seeking s2s again in December.
Only ever been QRP on 40m SOTA. It used to be a forlorn experience calling CQ on SSB when there were considerably fewer chasers and self-spotting was much harder. Now 5W SSB or CW and a dipole works effortlessly. But really because you can tell people where to listen.
The one snag with going QRP on 40m (especially on voice) is that the alligators will still call you at the wrong time over the top of the station you are trying to work, even when they cannot hear you as their calling is based on seeing a SOTAWatch spot and not what they can hear. These people are in a minority, but they mess the job up for the majority!
With almost permanent QRM and and the alligators calling on QRP SSB you cannot control the horde on the frequency.The better operators with the patience who can just about hear you are also struggling as they make best endeavours to make a QSO.
The regular alligitors don’t seem to know they are doing wrong. As a regular chaser myself I know who they are so when I am activating I am looking out for their behavour affecting my activation. I have blacklisted two operators myself in the past and reported several to Brian G8ADD of the SOTA MT. One Slovak and one Spanish station were blacklisted - the OM went QRT on SOTA not long after and I reinstated the EA2 after his on air behaviour improved. They knew who they were as I told 'em! I don’t activate on a regular basis now, but tend to binge activate, usually when I am away form home on a short break or holiday. When I do, I watch out for constant bad behaviour and this can lead to “not in log” or “you are on my blacklist OM” sri nil QSO.
We all make the occasional mistake, those are forgiven. It’s the persistent alligators we need to get rid of in SOTA and reporting them or blacklisting them yourself sadly seems to be the only solution…
The long callers who don’t listen in between calls annoy me - as a chaser you need to weigh up the activators style and capability and a long call may be necessary sometimes, but often, and we have some brilliant op’s in SOTA in CW and SSB, you just need to make one call, then listen for 1-3 seconds whatever mode you are using, don’t call three times! If no response call again, listen 1-3 seconds. If the activator is still not going back to a named station, thencall again, BUT LISTEN IN BETWEEN YOUR CALLS. It’s as simple as that.
Finally, on CW always try to match your sending speed with the activators…
Some good views being aired there thanks folks
But did note one activator whom went quiet every so often
But peeps soon clocked it after a couple time
It does get a bit ME ME ME ME sometimes
Perhaps some operators are trying to cut it to fine in doing more than a couple of summits in a day great when it goes well but bit of a bugger when not.
Its a problem that is not going away we just have to deal with it
Goes to prove one thing
lot of sota addictive peeps out there One’s self included bar the continuous calling
[quote=“G4OBK, post:12, topic:9772”]Finally, on CW always try to match your sending speed with the activators…[/quote]…but only if that speed is one you can also manage!
You really don’t want to hear me trying to match speeds with a 25-wpm activator; I’m not comfortable sending anything much above 15-wpm.
(…but yes, I know what you meant; more than once I’ve been the QRS activator defeated by chasers who seemed incapable of understanding “PSE QRS” and kept sending their callsigns Way Too Fast… )
Some don’t Rick. Just send NIL QRZ? and hope they go away. If they don’t, send 599 73 TU QRZ? and hope that gets rid of them. Of course you cant log them because you didn’t get the call. I had a station in Kazakhstan call me at a silly speed yesterday, despite a few QRS he kept on shooting away like an Uzi rather than a Lewis gun. I sent him a report and 73 and he was happy. Not in my log though. Shame for me because I don’t hear too many stations from there.
You just have to accept that some people have real psychopathic traits and fail to understand their actions impinge on others. They don’t care either. So the activator needs control the pileup by QSYing etc. or going QRT if needed. You must ensure you do not work people calling out of turn and being fair to those who are operating responsibly. Also, I have learned with a number of stations (calls in my book of bad boys) that you do not EVER mention their call and ask them to wait. They cannot hear properly and hearing a partial of their call gets you a report and a “thanks for 53 Andy” which is just nonsense. I just battle through the QRM they make.
But the only way to get better is to activate. It’s CQWW CW this coming weekend… there’s your chance to mix it with the big boys. Nobody cares if you act like a complete rubber parrot on the air as long as they get the details from you. So make sure the contester has your call right before you give him report!
One thing to try if they are sending to you too fast - send “lento” or “lento lento” which means slow in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, the French equivalent is “lent”, but it is also the international word for “slow” in musical notation. I’ve no idea what the Russian equivalent is, all the Russian composers that I have read the scores of use “lento”! I’ve no idea if this would work - pounding brass isn’t music to my ears - but it is surely worth trying!
Brian
PS The equivalent in the Germanic languages is variations on “langsam”.
Yes - anyone competent enough to chuck their hand into any pile up, SOTA, DX or just try their hand at a simple QSO has a duty to know a handful of Q codes in common use, of which QRS in one of them - e.g.
QSO
QRS
QRT
QRV
QRX
QRU
QRM (I AM BEING INTERFERED WITH - sent in the old days by the WAF Telegraphists in the Comm Centre)
QRN
QRL
QSP
QTH
QSX
QRG
QRP
QRO
QSL
Are these still taught as part of the exams to obtain a licence? They were in 1981 when I sat the old RAE…
- sitting in the sunshine. Ah, summer!
