Re: HA3HK spot

Old Reflector
1

As an activator, I would be very interested in knowing if I missed a bunch of people. Perhaps I might have a problem with the antenna or receiver (or it could be the dreaded one way propagation). It had nothing to do with being fair, and in no way was a reflection on Zolis operating skills or abilities, as I am sure he was doing the best he could. And the fact that he spent his time to attempt to give us contacts is always applauded, and greatly appreciated.

My spot was to mainly say that he went QRT.

Thanks for running the summit Zoli, I will get you at the next one! I need to work on a better antenna for 24MHz on my end anyways :wink:

Kent, K9EZ

2

In reply to K9EZ:

It has to be remembered that some activators are using very simple equipment, for example, perhaps a Rock Mite and a low dipole, or similar. That is not “a problem” … it is merely the choice of the activator to use such equipment.

Also, there are many reasons why an activator may leave “a huge pile-up calling”. Perhaps his time is limited, or there is a problem with adverse weather conditions. If he feels it is necessary to go QRT, that is the activator’s prerogative. Period.

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

3

In reply to G3NYY:

"If he feels it is necessary to go QRT, that is the activator’s prerogative. Period. "

No argument from me at all.

What I heard during the operation, was that he was calling CQ/QRZ a lot, and not getting any Q’s. I made the assumption he was not hearing anyone.

Listen Gents/ladies… The comment was not to dis anyone. Again, I go back to what I would like if I were an activator… if I didnt hear a pile up, I would want to know. There was no ill-will intended in the least bit. And again, anyone that makes the effort to put out summits is always appreciated!!

If I offended anyone for what ever reason, accept my apologies.

Kent
K9EZ

4

In reply to K9EZ:

As an activator, I would be very interested in knowing if I missed a
bunch of people. Perhaps I might have a problem with the antenna or
receiver (or it could be the dreaded one way propagation). It had
nothing to do with being fair, and in no way was a reflection on Zolis
operating skills or abilities, as I am sure he was doing the best he
could. And the fact that he spent his time to attempt to give us
contacts is always applauded, and greatly appreciated.

Exactly Kent, I completely agree. If I’m ever in a similar situation, then I’d certainly appreciate chasers taking the time to make me aware of the issue via the spotting system. That way I’d at least have the opportunity to investigate and possibly make a correction while I’m still on the summit.

I have the same radio as Zoli’s (IC-706) and I’ve used it on several activations, as recently as a few months ago. I also used it for a week on an IOTA expedition to an SV8 island many years ago. Because of how Icom set up the user controls, it is very easy to do either of the following, especially if you have the radio sitting out in the sun:

  1. Have the preamp off when you believe it is on.
  2. Have the attenuator on when you believe it is off.

I can’t count how many times I’ve screwed those up, and either will lead to a receive sensitivity issue.

If the receive problem is instead related to noise rather than sensitivity, then changing frequencies or even bands may be a way to solve it. If Zoli is loud on the west coast of North America on 12m, then there is a good chance that he will at least be workable for many on 10m and 15m. He may or may not be interested in changing bands (or be able to) but I see no harm in passing on that information for his consideration.

73,

Eric KU6J

===========================================
Free SOTA Spot Monitor Software + RBNGate FAQ:
http://www.ku6j.com

5

In reply to K9EZ:

Zoli reported before his activation that he was only going to be active for 30 minutes… respect that please. TU G3NYY and G6TUH for your comments.

Other comment (by someone else) like he has a bad receiver are totally unneeded on sotawatch.

As I know Zoli personally I know he is not the guy to quit an activation without reason. (I’ve done several activation together with him and his son)

I’m sure Zoli accepted your apologies because he is a wise man. :slight_smile: and a very good CW op of which i’m proud to know.

73
ON6UU

6

Especially for KU6J and K9EZ!

I don’t understand you! I was in a Slovenian Sota activation yesterday and after I got home, my dad called me and told the story about what happened while he was on SOTA. Told me to look at Sotawatch. I read all comments and I was very petrified…

  1. When I activate a summit (this is the activator side), sometimes I do not hear a few stations who call me, because they are in the noise and/or because propagation sometimes is up and down. The antenna usually is an inverted V-dipole and the radio is a FT-857D or IC-706 and therefore i think the problem is not the radio!

  2. When I calling a station from home (this is the Chaser side) who activate a summit and not come back to me after more than 50 calls, I accept this fact! And I accept the fact, when the activator says he is going QRT, because some problem or many other things can be with him.

  3. My dad’s callsign “HA3HK” is more than 40 years old and he don’t need education about radio settings. He started radio when he was a young boy.

  4. Zoli is always staying on frequency until the battery is no longer ok and give the chance for all chasers who are calling him!!!

  5. So, I don’t start crying and write a negative spot when the activator does not came back to me!

  6. Finally he doesn’t need a better transceiver.

Thanks for the positive spot from G6TUH and the comment from G3NYY, and from our friend ON6UU!

73-HA3LV-Balázs

7

In reply to HA3LV:

Hello Balázs,

Thank you for your comments and perspective. My intent was to try and help a fellow activator by passing information to him about a potential problem that he may wish to investigate while still on the summit, as that is what I would hope someone would do for me if I were in a similar situation. Clearly I failed and only managed to offend you and Zoli. For that I sincerely apologize.

The details aren’t important at this point, nor are they meant as an excuse, but I’ll provide them just in case you find them of interest.

Zoli’s signal was very good here in Western North America, actually the strongest activator signal from Europe that I ever recall hearing. There were times when he would call CQ SOTA, many stations would respond, and he would call CQ SOTA again. I only have a simple wire antenna, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he couldn’t hear me. However, among the other stations calling were ones with much more capable stations.

Since he was apparently unaware that they were calling, it suggested to me that there may be an issue with the receive system (NOT the operator) at the summit. Perhaps it was related to the receiver itself, or the environment (e.g., noise, front-end overload, intermod, etc.), some combination of those or something else entirely. Perhaps there was no issue at all, or perhaps there was but nothing could be done about it. I don’t know, I wasn’t there, I was only considering my observations from thousands of miles away and my own past experiences.

I wanted to communicate “Hello Zoli, you have a very strong signal here in Western North America, many stations are calling that you are apparently not copying, so you may wish to investigate the receive side of your system to see if there are any quick improvements or corrections that you could implement so as to enable you to work more stations”. There obviously isn’t enough room in a spot comment to say all of that, and thinking that an English/Hungarian language barrier may exist, I came up with the comment I posted: “Needs better receiver, loud here and many calling”.

I think the first three words is where the misunderstanding occurred. By saying “needs better” I was trying to express the idea of “may wish to investigate the receive side of your system to see if there are any quick improvements or corrections that you could implement” in a way that would be understood across any potential language barrier. Maybe “need make better”, “chk ur rx”, “rx bad?” “pls make rx gud” or something similar would have conveyed the thought more clearly(?).

Once again Balázs, these details are not important, and I reiterate my apology to you and Zoli.

73,

Eric KU6J

===========================================
Free SOTA Spot Monitor Software + RBNGate FAQ:
http://www.ku6j.com

8

In reply to KU6J:
Get a bigger spade Eric, the hole is getting deeper :slight_smile:

9

In reply to GI4ONL:

In reply to KU6J:
Get a bigger spade Eric, the hole is getting deeper :slight_smile:

The digging has stopped, the grave is covered, time to let the flowers grow :wink:
Mike G6TUH

10

In reply to G6TUH:

You are right Mike! This is the end of the story!

Best wishes!

73-HA3LV-Balázs