I feel this is a issue that will continue forever and really there no right or wrong answer,to start with it is not just activator that demand respect there are chasers also involved some who run low power aswell, I have previously posted on this subject and suggested that when an activator encounters a massive pile up of disrespect I’ve chasers he is the person in control and therefore should take call signs in numerical order there was an opinion was that I wished that due to my call number being 1 (I just laughed that off as I may join when the call signs with number 2were being called meaning a long wait) but at least there would be some form of control this is what happens with rare dx stations, another opinion on my post was that some activators enjoyed the wall of noise. All I can say the poor operating practices are encouraging this and I include myself because if you don’t get into the ring you can’t win the fight. What I can’t stand are the people who do not have a mirror in their house and tramp all over everyone as if this qso was their last breath and then complain when somebody else dose it. We are in a never ending circle.
I don’t know if it’s coincidence or if this thread is making a difference. But when I activated today, the chasers were very respectful and passed on my S2S call twice.
I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. I run 30 watts portable. The big problem I have is overlap signals. I can hear a station to the west of me 5X and a europe station 5X right on top of each other. They can’t hear each other, I can hear both. The problem comes when I answer one…and then into the QSO another station starts up that was in QSO. Spoiled many a QSO but really nobody in the wrong just condx.
VE1PVH Paul
Hello Chris, I’m glad if this thread has been useful, because tomorrow I will try to put two summits in the air.
While a data about the thread, of 28 users who have participated only two can be considered pure chassers, the rest are on both sides.
73 José
I’d never worked a pile up in my life until I started doing SOTA.
I work the loudest stations first. Why?
Generally they are the most reliable chasers and believe me, we have a bond.
When I’ve worked them I can then pick out the others.
My rules :
If you call out of turn then you’re demoted down the pile.
If I ask a partial call to go again and you’re not it, you’re getting demoted.
If you fabricate your half of the QSO because you can’t really hear me, I delete the entry.
If you hear a summit to summit calling, please let me know. I suspect this happens less than 50% of the time.
Working an unexpected pile up from a cold windswept mountain summit is exilerating, time consuming and sometimes a bit hap hazard. I always thank Chasers for their patience and perseverance, as from their end it must feel like they are working a right amateur!
as from their end it must feel like they are working a right amateur!
Ok Fraser first of all I am no ass wipe. I for one respect the way you go about your activations in a good and professional way. As you know most of the time on 40m you blast through to me and so I sit and listen to who calls you, and I have to say you always give everyone a chance. so thanks for that.
Sorry I’ll get off my soap box.
Best 73
Thank you, OE5REO, for a very good “set of rules for chasers”. It is important for the activators to get all the S2S points, but for me as a chaser it is important that the activators seeking S2S contacts can spend short time with it, so that I can get as many activators on the spot-list as soon as possible, so that I can work as many activators as possible. The “big guns” interrupting started QSOs, calling their callsign more than once, or maybe 5 or six times are terrible. They should not be given priority by giving them a contact in order to get rid of them. Maybe negative chaser points, or a list here of perpetrators could be suitable.
It is important that everybody can hear the activator. If they can spot their frequency with “listen 3 up” or similar, “14.285L+3” could work well, but the field for frequency in the SPOT-registration will not accept that now(as far as I have found out). The only occation to use high power and interruption is when others start calling CQ on a frequency an activator is using. Big powered: “This frequency is in use by SOTA QRP station XXnXXX, this is YYnYYY.” is probably better for the activator than a QRP-message. Chasing SOTA activators is great fun and addictive. The great majority of chasers are perfect operators, but I hope everybody could obey your good rules.
Yours Gudleik, LA6FTA.
My experience on 30m CW on 6th and 7th March was that chasers are actually slowing down the QSO process by calling several times. The pile up lasted for almost a minute at times delaying my reply. Of course the majority were closely netted on me, so all I could hear was a continuous tone.
So I suggest chasers should take note of the following points, most of which have been raised in the past -
SPREAD OUT a bit so the activator can distinguish between calls.
Call only ONCE. Do not keep calling and calling! Be patient and you will get worked. Most activators work the run until there are no more callers.
LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN… and please please learn a little more morse than just your own call, a report and 73.
With regards to point 3, I worked one station and finished with “FB 73 TU es nw SA4BLM SA4BLM 599 599 bk” as I had copied Lars call when I picked up the call of the station I had just worked. I did not expect to hear anyone other than Lars reply, but at least 6 or 7 chasers were not listening to what I was sending. Sorry, that is not good enough. SOTA CW may be the easiest form of a CW QSO, but please learn morse to a better standard than the minimum.
My favourite hate as a chaser (other than the activators who don’t say QRZ!) is chasers that tail end each other with their callsigns without actually listening - call 1 then immediately afterwards call 2 then immediately call 1 then call 2 and so on, whilst under this parade (or bidding war) the poor activator is trying to call someone. Twice this week I have had an activator come back to me but I missed it due to the continuing hubbub, so the activator had to waste time by calling me again. Of course some of the blame must go to the activator for coming back to me before the mob had stopped braying, but most of the blame must go to the multiple callers - not to mention the wily foxes who wait for the hubbub to diminish before making a late call, and though as a result often getting the contact they are also extending the hubbub!
That is an interesting idea Jose. Many chasers have never heard what it is like to be on the end of a pile up and do not realise what the activator has to deal with. Then there is the weather on the hill… but that is another subject!
But if the activator stays silent for too long someone else will send their callsign. I run full break-in so I will go back to a caller and repeat their callsign until there is silence.
Oh, I think we know all right! The hubbub is still going on when you unkey your mike! Besides, I don’t call every time, where QSB is a problem I wait for the times when the activator is strong.
Its human nature, Gerald! The goals of the chasers are different to those of the activators. They are not in an orderly queue to work the activation, they are competing with the dozens of other activators who are preventing them from getting their quick QSO and moving on to the next activation. They know that if they spend ten or twenty minutes calling this activation they may miss their chance at another one due to the activator closing down or QSYing to a less favourable band, and nowadays when its busy the chasers may have many targets at any one time. The activator may or may not have other hills to activate later in the day, the chaser is often spoiled for choice and wants to maximise his daily “rate”. I think most chasers are fundamentally decent people and try to make the activators job easy, but still its no wonder that some chasers can get so carried away with the need to earn points that they start treading on each other!
