Hi Ed
I’m finding it even longer - at midday today on 10M SSB, I had 2 chasers from SV and 2 from EA8, sometimes also managing OH
Later in the day the US stations arrive and the skip lengthens across the US as the afternoon goes on, with chances for W6 around 16:00-17:00 UTC
Still I’ve managed to qualify 13 summits on 10M SSB this year with no misses
Cheers
Rick
There is SQL code that does that, it was used for the chase verification system. That’s where chase QSOs were matched against activator QSOs and confirmation star shown in the chaser log. We don’t support it any more for 2 reasons.
It sucked the life out of the DB server when we only had a few users using the DB at one time and only a few thousand QSOs. Now we have so many concurrent users and millions and millions of QSOs to search we’d kill the DB dead if we tried it.
Chasers would edit their QSO if they found they didn’t get a confirmation mark. e.g. We work each other and if you made a typo in your activation log, my chase log of you would not match. Far too many chasers would then edit their QSO data to match your erroneous data so they got the confirmation mark. So one error would be multiplied by people knowingly entering the wrong data to get the confirm mark.
Those 2 reasons are why it’s not offered any more.
We do do things like that but using the admin console if we feel someone’s awards claims smell a bit off. But there’s only one scan running occasionally so it’s not a problem.
Been thinking, I know that is dangerous.
I have always been against the use of split of Sota in part because of the amount of bandwith taken up, the added burden on the Activator and the lack of experience of most Sota ops.
However, I can see a place, not for DX style wide bandwidth, but yes for duplex working when the large skip distances and disparity of transmit levels between Chaser and Activator cause Chasers not to know who else is transmitting.
I suggest the MT give some thought to this way of working and perhaps produce a set of words explaining what is being done to improve the accuracy of log keeping etc. I suggest it should be tried initially for a short pilot of perhaps 2 months. If it were adopted it would ease the Chasers task but possibly increase the burden on the Activator. Following promulgation, it could become the preferred method of activating on 10m CW for the coming summer. I think it should be described as working duplex with the Activator listening QRG 1kHz above their transmit frequency.
Just an Idea
David
G0EVV
I use an Elecraft KX3 TX/RX David and the burden of working split using the XIT control is zero - there was no need to use the VFO SPLIT A/B function and move the VFO, which can complicate things I admit.
So yesterday by sending “up” or “up1” after every QSO I must have worked around 20 stations that way - without even touching the VFO or XIT control once the display was set to read 28057 TX / 28058 RX. The usual famous SOTA callsigns were in there, good operators, who understand how to operate, that you would expect - many EU friends with the occasional USA station. Once it quietened off I went back to simplex on 28057 and worked a handful more until the freq went quiet and I closed down.
I don’t think it is incumbert on the Management Team to issue edicts about how to operate. I think it is down to us to find ways to eradicate the bad behaviours we hear and scrutininise the “Who chased me” after our activations and then notify the none contacts to the specific amateurs either by email or in the clear on the reflector. This I believe is a good idea to reduce the number of amateurs who are claiming phantom QSOs with activators and teach them that they cannot get away with it.
When using full break in as I do, I also get sick to the teeth of hearing Morse coming out of my headphones when I am confirming a QSO for a station worked or I am calling CQ. These are senders who don’t know I am transmitting, yet they think they can get away with doing it in the hope of logging a phantom QSO. This has happened on all my four of my activations repeatedly this week, and is becoming more of an issue on the 10m band due to the Challenge and the desperation of some to make a QSO come what may!
73 Phil EA8/G4OBK/P
Its possible to work many stations in that radius Ed by using a beam antenna and more power via ionised reflection by beaming not in the azimuth direction, but where the band is open for contacts. So some chasers can hear activators within the so called “dead zone”. For example I can work near EUs by pointing to Russia in the mornings, using 200 watts and a 4 element Yagi on 10m. In the afternoons I can work into Europe by pointing the beam into America optimising the position based on reception of the EU station. it’s much easier on CW than SSB as one would expect.
73 Phil