Please do not

Hello,

I know this topic has come up loads of times before so apologies to those who already know.

This afternoon I was trying to work a German activator on 40M who was 33 here because of noise and some QRM. He got my report but then someone then relayed his report - so voiding that contact. So I had to wait awhile and try again and got the contact.

**Please do not relay a RST ** even though you may feel like being helpful.

Thanks
Mike

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ok :smile:
karl

This practice seems commonplace and actually encouraged on the WAB net. Just send the op a private email Mike, I find that works well for me.

It wasn’t you was it Karl? :frowning:

Nope one knows better in this case of Sota and WAB
Is not a done thing

Been cracking day for sota contacts today
Loads of points, new summits, new Sota Country EI , new Sota regions.

well happy bunny

Karl

WAB Is not a done thing

It is! They were all doing it on 7.160MHz yesterday. I was offering my highly rare SJ87 square on there (most of Macclesfield is in the much more common and low-brow SJ97 square). One station clearly could not hear me, and to demonstrate the point I asked him for repeats of his square. To which he replied thank you for the contact - after another station had given him his report of course.

I told the net in no uncertain terms that no contact had been made - which they had to relay to the other station of course, who was happily logging his phantom QSO. What surprised me was the general level of acceptance and even encouragement of such poor practice on the WAB net. It certainly made me think twice about possibly participating in the forthcoming trig award.

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OH dear that,s naughty

karl

May I add to this :frowning:

Let a QSO finish instead of continues butting in with another call while trying to correct me call to the Sota in Question

walks off and says a few naughty words not to be repeated on here:smile :slight_smile:

Karl

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It happens all the time and by people who don’t know…who don’t know Sota…who don’t know relays are not allowed etc. So in reality you are preaching to the choir.

I don’t post a lot on the reflector TBF , but i have to say , i have started to collect WAB squares along with the SOTA points. The net on 7.160 to me is an absolute chore/bore (call it what you like) , taking the fun out of amateur radio . list after list ,dodgy reports + a stinking attitude from the net controller at times .I have found SOTA to a far more relaxed/pleasurable side to Amateur radio even though you get the (excited) chasers who dont seem to listen . i will continue to collect WAB but SOTA is my obsession with pleasant activators and a non regimental style of operating … #justmyopinion . keep up the good work lads and MERRY XMAS :slight_smile:

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Hi it does happen occasionally on the WAB nets but is definitely frowned upon by all regulars and perpetrators always told they mustn’t help with signal reports. Some people don’t like Nets others do, some don’t like contests, some don’t like DXing others love it. However I don’t think it’s good to knock other peoples fun and WAB is a great way to enjoy amateur radio.

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But end of today
its been the best sota day for one with new country sota wise and new summits and new regions worked and new record of 21 stations in a day and best of all 100 points earned today.

bet could not repeat that again in a hurry

10w G5 SSB
a well happy 1k sloth

Karl

Now where do I start with this? I’m sorry to say that Tom is wrong in every important detail. The net controllers actively discourage the QSP of signal reports, the main problem in this respect is “earwiggers” who have nothing to do with WAB spoiling the contact by doing so. There are many instances of members not counting squares as the contact has been spoiled in this way. I have done so myself. You only have to hear the tone in the net controller’s voice to hear the annoyance - bordering on anger when this occurs.

If you can send me proof, Tom, that email - or indeed any other - QSP’s have happened, as WAB Awards Manager I will take the appropriate action. I will keep a eye on my in-box. g4iar@worked-all-britain.org.uk

I assume that your statement that SJ87 is a highly prized square is tongue in cheek - as there are 100 square km of it with main roads running N/S and E/W through it. It is activated by mobiles on a regular basis.

As regards the nets, Damien hit the nail on the head, they are not everyone’s cup of tea, but bluntly, if you wish to reach the top stages of the awards, they are essential. Mobiles that may be going about their daily business cannot afford to stop in each square and call CQ! I have many friendships made from frequenting the WAB nets as, believe it or not, it’s not all hectic chasing, we just have a good chat when nothing is happening.

WAB is not the same as SOTA, nor should it be, I fully back any organisation that encourages activity and getting people “out there”. Whilst I’m deeply involved in WAB, both in an activity and admin role, I’ve fully backed what SOTA is doing and regret that there are not enough hours in the day for me to get fully involved. There are things that I’m not too keen of in respect of SOTA activations, but I will not air my opinions on a public forum and I’m sorry that Tom has seen fit to say things about WAB, rather than direct to the Committee. If I felt that strongly about something in SOTA, I would have directly contacted someone on the Management Team, rather than a forum.

As regards the up and coming WAB trig point award, all I can say is that from emails sent to me personally and from comments on the air, many people are looking forward to January 1st 2015.

A regular SOTA member posted a few weeks ago about the “synergy” between WAB and SOTA, posts such as this do little to perpetuate this and I’m sorry that Tom found it necessary to throw WAB into the mix when it wasn’t the subject of the original post.

73,

Dave, G4IAR
WAB Awards Manager

I’ve had the “honour” of listening two more of these this afternoon, while the poor chaser was trying to catch the activator callsign. Both were quite patiently trying while the white knights came to the rescue… sigh!

It’s a problem of waiting too much to make your own qso?

Keep calm
and
wait your turn

:wink:

Hi Dave,

WAB into the mix when it wasn’t the subject of the original post.

The topic starter, Mike G6TUH, had yesterday mentioned the much better operating procedures on the WAB net compared to a SOTA frequency. Yet when I listened into a WAB net yesterday, the operating was dreadful, with all of the issues Mike was complaining about in this “Please do not” thread. Apologies if this was not clear.

The QSPs were over the air on the net frequency Dave. I don’t have proof, but anyone on the net at the time would have heard them. I have no idea whether the “helpful” QSPers were part of the WAB chaser community or not, but the station that couldn’t hear me seemed happy to accept the QSP information as sufficient to “complete” the contact.

There are things that I’m not too keen of in respect of SOTA activations, but I will not air my opinions on a public forum

Go for it. Freedom of speech and all that.

I’m sorry that Tom has seen fit to say things about WAB

Not really. I’ve reported my observations in relation to discussions about operating on SOTA frequencies and the comments that operating on WAB frequencies was better.

I have been a keen WAB’er over the years and fully support that programme.

http://tomread.co.uk/wab.htm

The comments I made were based on actual observations and in relation to the SOTA discussion on operating practice and comparison with the WAB nets.

Tom M1EYP
WAB Book No. 15286

Hi all,

Don’t let those amongst us who have been around for a while fall out about something so basic.

Yes, there are those new to amateur radio who think that QSP’ng a report is acceptable, & there are the rest of us.

WAB operate with a net controller, which is how it has always been & as far as I am concerned works absolutely fine. I would no sooner suggest changing that, than I would suggest we all move over to a more modern utilization of the bandwidth available to us, such as Spread Spectrum. For one thing, it would not be as simple to use as SSB/CW.

There has never been, nor should there be any conflict on the air between WAB & SOTA. I see no reason why there should be any conflict on the internet.

Merry Christmas & best 73 to all,

Mark G0VOF

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Hi all,

I think we need to look at the basic reasons why people QSP reports.
1 They are being helpful and don’t understand why we would object
2 In the social nets they participate in it is normal and they don’t understand why we would object.
3 They are impatient and selfish and want the contact and we are holding them up.
4 They know it irritates me/you and want to stir me/you up.

The first two require education, the last two should not appear in the log.

Adding to the do not… list.

Do not give me a report of S 0.
It seems so obvious that a report cannot be 5 x 0 yet some people are apparently bound to what the meter on the rig says. Of course they are lucky to live where the noise level is that low but again it’s an education task.

73
Ron
VK3AFW

Just to make it doubly clear, this statement from Tom is incorrect. WAB always stresses that all information EXCEPT the signal report can be relayed. It is his opinion and is totally contrary to what happens in reality on the nets. I have been WABing for over 35 years now. The only problems we have encountered with QSPing have been from the “kind gentlemen” who are not net members and transmit on top of the QSO. If evidence can be provided of a specific WAB member encouraging this practice, they will be the first up against the wall!

I hope that we can draw a line under this as far as WAB is concerned. As stated, WAB was not mentioned in the original post and there was never any need for the group to get pulled into this thread,

Semantics Dave. My statement cannot possibly be incorrect, as I say that it seemed that way to me. And it honestly did. My statement is a factual and correct comment about what appeared to be taking place at the time.

If the other QSO partner, and the “helpful QSPers” on at the time, are not part of the regular WAB community, and my first experience for several years of a WAB net was atypical, then that’s good to hear.

The crossover possibilities between WAB and SOTA are many, and are set to increase with the new trigpoint award from 2015. References to one in discussion about the other are inevitable. In this case, the topic starter complained about operating standards on a SOTA frequency. In another thread, he held up WAB operating as an example of how it should be done. Yet when I joined a WAB net on that same day, the “helpful QSPing” was found to be the norm. As I say, if this was an unusual one-off, then good. WAB wasn’t mentioned at the start of this thread, but was mentioned in the context of operating standards by the thread starter recently, hence me drawing the themes together.

In any case, if SOTA activating stations are going to be making a significant contribution to the forthcoming trigpoints award, then a crossover discussion on SOTA / WAB operating will be useful. For instance, I don’t think the net structure would work well for this, especially with activators not being inside cars, and having very limited time on the summits. I would suggest a trigpoint activator could call into the WAB net, but only to advise his/her working frequency, which he/she would run in the more conventional fashion.

A major positive possibility will be for the 40m SSB activator seeking that elusive 4th contact next year. They will be able to call into 7.160MHz knowing that they will be “desirable” - especially if the summit has a trig point.

I don’t see why the net structure would not work for portable stations at trig points. (I do have a lot of experience at WAB net operating practices after all!).

As standard procedure, a portable station would be given priority, and, for example, they could be run down a net of 20 or so stations in a couple of minutes. I would venture to say that it would take a lot longer than that, picking stations off one by one.

Interesting point
what one was going to do during 2015 when one finally reaches a Sota and operates from said location was to do the normal Sota thing work all one can such for our sota chasers of course.
Then drop down to the WAB freq and operate as M3FEH/P from Square ??? and if any one wanted the summit ref can be given.

Might have to re think this one

Something needs thrashing out so all can be happy with the final outcome
When one work,s a UK Sota one always checks the ref point for the Square on the relevant information on the Sota summit site

Still the Trig award is still a very good idea and one is for it, not all will want to join in personal choice end of day

So lets turn this negative into a more positive outcome and yes the original thread has strayed some what :smile:

Karl
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