Using CW - the all important final confirmation of your QSO

Dear All

Could I respectfully remind chasers that it is good operating practice to allow the last chaser working an activator the chance to receive the final confirmation back from the chaser he has worked before calling over the top of that final chaser confirmation. With most activators running QRP (Such as OK2PDT/P on air now) anyone calling at the wrong time completely wipes out the final confirmation of the contact. This also applies on SSB.
73 Phil

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Unfortunately it seems that the worst offenders (on SSB at least) do not read this reflector, Phil. I don’t work CW, but the SSB pile ups (particularly on the weekends) are becoming increasingly chaotic. I can only suggest that activators make a list of the worst offenders and refuse to work them. This puts an extra burden on the activator but I cannot think of anything else that might work.

Brian

Hi Brian,
I don’t think this will serve to the purpose of clearing the activator’s frequency up of QRM from unskilled chasers, as they will get frustrated, anxious, stressed and furious.
The only way I see is the activator patiently pointing out at the individual QRM makers explaining what they are doing wrong and what they are expected to do instead.
Let’s try to educate and include as many as possible into the “SOTA family” rather than segregate.
Best 73 de Guru

3 Likes

Yes, thanks for the comment Brian. To be honest I notice this more when I am chasing activators rather than when I am activating. I had no problems activating on Wednesday in Scotland and thank you for the 40m QSO. My log is now in and I am just off to check the “Show who chased me” as I recall someone sending me TNX 73 when I hadn’t actually worked a station…

73 Phil

As ever Guru - you are right on the money with your thoughts on this, however the occasional trangressors we hear often don’t read the reflector as Brian suggested and many are invisible on the internet as they do not publish an e-mail address so it can be difficult to inform them of their wrong doing.

73 Phil

What I mean is telling them off life and publicly on the air, right on frequency during the very activation.
It will consum some of the activator and the rest of the chaser’s time, but let’s see it as an investment for future smoother, peaceful pile-ups :slight_smile:

Unfotunately I do not think this method will work on CW Guru due to the limited ability of inexperienced operators to copy plain text as opposed to recognition of their callsign and signal report. They would not be able to read the hints you would be sending to them.

I just checked the “Show who worked me” and I only had one chaser log me on Wednesday when I did not make a QSO with the station - this was EA2GM who I will e-mail now.

73 Phil

Neither do I in many cases, Phil, but we should, at least, try it. No doubt those having the very basic CW skills for just copying 599 and Little more will not pick a clue of what the activator may be telling them, but not all are like these and some may receive the message. Of course, no big discourses should be sent but something basic as offender-callsing PSE AS, AS and LSN, LSN or WAIT WAIT should work, I hope…
My idea will certainly work much better on voice modes.
Best 73 and hope to CUAGN SN

Maybe the MT should remind activators that if they report the persistent offenders then sanctions in the form of database deletions might happen.

Losing QSOs from the database is more likely to make the chaser sit up and take notice than anything else.

73, Colin G8TMV

The same applies to s2s where the reference would like to be exchanged and confirmed in both directions.

What to say?
SOTA newcomers should read this:
http://www.dx-code.org/english.html
SOTA top chasers/activators should practicing exemplary this:
http://www.dx-code.org/english.html
Thanks!

I couldn’t agree more Phil, earlier this week I was trying to complete a S2S contact when a well known F6*** station persistently called and wiped out the QRP SOTA station even when other chasers were sending AS to try to let me complete the contact Unfortunately he doesn’t publish any contact information otherwise I suspect he would be getting plenty of not so nice emails. In order to give other chasers a chance I had to work him to get rid of the nuisance he was causing. I did try to ignore him and also sent “F6*** pse stop qrm” but it fell on deaf ears.

As you know this station has been a bit of a nuisance for a while now, I wish there was some way of giving him a rap on the knuckles!

73
Victor EA8/GI4ONL

There is, report him to the SOTA management team.

73, Colin G8TMV

Yes. Warnings about disruptive operating have been sent to several hams. They are warned that we have the power to remove them from the database with the loss of their scores. In this particular case it might be difficult if there is no contact information!

Report them to me by PEM.

Brian

Many countries have the official callsign database online, so I guess an option could be an old fashioned letter in the post to the registered address of the station. By the way there are other callsign search sites than just qrz.com and I have found some situations where someone is registered with an email addess of these other sites but not on qrz.com.

If the offenders in fact are registered on this reflector, once can also send a Personal Message via the reflector, whether it gets read or not is another matter of course.

73 Ed.

I think if that is the case then you have a two stage process to get their attention. First, change their database password so that they can’t login, that should prompt them to contact you. If that doesn’t work then deleting their log records (after making sure you have a copy so they can be restored) ought to do the trick.

73, Colin G8TMV

Password tweaking on the database is a very effective way of getting somebody’s attention :wink:

It’s a method of last resort as most people signup with a valid email address. For the few that don’t, we do end up with a valid email address logged as that is the only way they can receive their new password.

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No doubt I will find a way, but the first step is complaints. In this case all I know is that the disruptive station was an F6***, the database shows five F6s active so far this year, three of which chase on CW. I don’t, so I have no way of identifying the disruptive station unless somebody follows procedure and PEMs me with a complaint.

It is no good having a moan on the reflector whilst scrupulously avoiding actually identifying the disruptive station. Nothing will be achieved that way other than a degree of relief from blowing off steam! :grinning: If you are being bothered by habitually disruptive stations a formal complaint to me will set things in train. But I do mean “habitual”, we should target repeat offenders and not people who have got over-excited on one occasion or misled by QSB. I should add that having complained to me about a disruptive station, you should report it if his disruptive activities continue - the first stage is a warning, I need to know if the warning is being disregarded!

Perhaps if we can reign in the worst offenders the general pile-up behaviour might improve.

Brian

Morning Brian

Thank you for your very constructive post on this issue. If you check my SOTAWatch spot of 27/02/2016 for HA2VR/P at 10:09z for you will see the callsign of the regularly disruptive CW operator mentioned earlier in this thread. Please accept this as a formal complaint about the operating practice of this station from me. If others who have heard poor operating from this station could back me up via personal message to Brian G8ADD I would much appreciate it.

73 Phil

Thanks, Phil - got it!

Brian

I have received another complaint about this F6. His address is on the Zed so I am sending him a message by snail mail tomorrow - I’ll be good, I’ll put a stamp on it!

Brian