Competition

In reply to G3WPF:

I have never heard Dave in a pile-up but I would be inclined to examine my own procedures first in the event of someone getting annoyed. It is quite easy to make an inadvertent mistake when operating that annoys others. Perhaps more so if you are relatively inexperienced - but sometimes even if you have lots of experience.

I have certainly made the occasional gaff - usually with getting VFOs mixed up in my case.

73

Richard
G3CWI

In reply to G3CWI:

One of the best gaffs to make is when working split, you swap VFOs to listen on your transmit frequency to see what’s happening and forget to swap back. Thus you call on the DX’s frequency and everyone on the planets sends “lid up 2” etc.

D’Oh!

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to M3XIE-1:

every one is bound to tread on some one some time

Of course we are, however it is very important not to tread on the activator.

I have listened to many pile ups, both SOTA and Non - SOTA and there is nothing worse than listening to someone continue to call after the activator / DX station has selected his QSO partner and is trying to complete the contact.

also some of us only use ten watts so we have to some times shout a bit louder

Louder yes, longer no. Using lower power does not magically excuse a station from pile up etiquette. It doesn’t matter if you use 1 watt or 1 kilowatt, continuing to call once the QSO is in progress is simply bad manners.

Clearly I can’t know the circumstances at the time the M0 station was abusive towards you (and I would not condone anyone abusing anyone on air no matter what the circumstances), but generally speaking, people only complain when they see / hear something wrong. I suspect that the M0 station was not annoyed because you were stopping him making a contact, but that you were spoiling a QSO by calling over the activator. I am making a pretty big assumption there, but the wording of your email leads me to believe that you are perhaps a little cavalier in your pursuit of a contact.

I do like your comment about everyone playing nice and I hope that there continue to be more good operators than bad ones and that we do treat each other with respect.

73,

James M0ZZO

In reply to M0ZZO:

. I am making a pretty big assumption there, but the wording
of your email leads me to believe that you are perhaps a little
cavalier in your pursuit of a contact.

I would not say i was cavalier in pursuit of chasing a contact and i have also heard many a experienced operator calling over the activator if i do some thing wrong go ahead and tell me i may be new to sota but i do try and respect my fellow man or xyl and i would not barrack the person over the air waves but saying that this thread has led to many a opinion best 73S Dave M3XIE

In reply to M3XIE-1:

LOL! What a storm in a teacup! It didn’t take much to elicit another half dozen indignant postings to this fatuous thread.

73 to all … and 72 to the QRP-ers!

Walt (G3NYY, GQRP Club #10911)

In reply to G3NYY:
I seriously thought this thread would of done and dusted by now even though i first posted M3XIE

In reply to G8ADD:

In reply to G3NYY:

Ah well, I guess that life is indeed to short for anything you don’t
like but not long enough for the things that you do like! Come to
think of it, you and I are both licensed for 400 watts, but I’m not
about to carry a big linear up a hill, that would definately make life
too short! :slight_smile:

Carrying an 857, 20Ah SLAB and a collinear up Shining Tor may not have made my life shorter Brian, however, its certainly made legs shorter, something I can ill afford :frowning:

73
Mike 2E0YYY

In reply to 2E0YYY:

Phew! After one try, my 20Ah SLAB got relegated to emergency power in the shack and my 13Ah is only used when the walk is short and easy, but my 857 is used on the DC bands with a W3EDP antenna and that adds the weight of a tuner. Having said that, I think I get most pleasure from activating with the 817, more sense of achievement and I can enjoy the walk more, too!

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to 2E0YYY:

Carrying an 857, 20Ah SLAB and a collinear up Shining Tor may not have
made my life shorter Brian, however, its certainly made legs shorter,
something I can ill afford :frowning:

Tee hee! Well, I normally carry my 3.3 AH SLAB in my rucksack. It weighs just 3 pounds and is good for at least two intensive HF CW activations of a couple of hours each, running the FT-817 at 5 watts output. I never run more than 5 watts on HF when portable.

I do have a 9 AH SLAB (which is an upgraded 7 AH one), but it’s significantly heavier and not necessary unless I plan to do a particularly long activation or perhaps run the 30 watt amplifier on 2m.

I have never felt the need for any more power on HF CW, but I do often find 5 watts is not quite enough on VHF/UHF - especially on FM, and VERY especially on 4m FM where a lot of people use very deaf receivers!

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:

Tee hee! Well, I normally carry my 3.3 AH SLAB in my rucksack. It
weighs just 3 pounds and is good for at least two intensive HF CW
activations of a couple of hours each, running the FT-817 at 5 watts
output. I never run more than 5 watts on HF when portable.

I try and keep the power to about 10 Watts on HF, using the 10m fishing pole antenna. Good antenna on HF, but a bit heavy to carry any distance. Certainly wouldn’t like to lug it up anything more difficult than my second home,
G/SP-004.

I do have a 9 AH SLAB (which is an upgraded 7 AH one), but it’s
significantly heavier and not necessary unless I plan to do a
particularly long activation or perhaps run the 30 watt amplifier on
2m.

Since the demise of my 20Ah SLAB, I’ve been carrying a 12Ah and a 9Ah in the rucksack. Should have a replacement on Thursday.

I have never felt the need for any more power on HF CW, but I do often
find 5 watts is not quite enough on VHF/UHF - especially on FM,

I know a SOTA Beam is the best way to go for /P, however, I’m to lazy to keep turning it, so I’ve been taking an X-300 Collinear /P. A bit of a pain to carry and put up, however I’m very pleased with the results running just 5 or 6 Watts, although the SOTA Beam would undoubtedly murder it in a contest.

and
VERY especially on 4m FM where a lot of people use very deaf
receivers!

Spoke to my brother in Tokyo today. The bank his xyl works for are relocating them to Hong Kong for a couple of years. Just as well really, he’s getting sick of paying £8 for a pint of Lager :frowning:

They’re off to Beijing in a couple of weeks time, so I’ve asked him to pick up a 4m Wouxun handy while he’s there.

BTW, do you know if G4SDW has received his “R” NoV? :-))))

73
Mike 2E0YYY

In reply to 2E0YYY:

BTW, do you know if G4SDW has received his “R” NoV? :-))))

ROTFLMAO! I have no idea. Someone may have applied for one on his behalf.

I wonder if G0GGY, G0TTY or G1SLY have applied for one.
:slight_smile:

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to M6HBS:

Another bug-bear are people
who hold up SES’s or such like, asking questions that have already
been answered a dozen times (or are available online).

My biggest bug-bear is callers who ask either (or even worse, both) of:

What is your callsign?
What is your reference?

Especially as I tend to give both every five (or so) QSOs in a pile-up (or more regularly when CQing)