Hi Richard,
I should have been more careful with my words. I’ve edited my comment as I work near it and not on it.
Ciao Lea,
Yes, it was a big pleasure to QSO the other day.
Not really, I wrote on a later post:
73,
Guru
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Fortunately it seems most spots are away from the QRP COAs but I do see the occasional one on 14.060, for example, so I thought it was worth making the point.
Hello Guru
I haven’t followed every comment on your thread, however its worth mentioning that some chasers who cannot read CW and use Morse Readers may be more likely to call at the wrong time. These guys can likely only partly read the Morse Code (maybe in some cases, nothing is read by the ear at all) so they won’t understand the procedure and usual etiquitte that those of us who have learnt the Morse Code properly do, so they are bound to make mistakes by calling at the wrong time using a memory keyer as they do not know the Morse well enough to respond by hand. Its best for these guys to wait until the end of the pile up and try to make a QSO then if they use the Morse Reader method. Hopefully this technique is a pre-cursor to learning the Morse Code properly.
I wondered if anyone has ever tried to use a Morse Reader as an activator?!
73 Phil
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Problems might also arise on the activator side. You hear a station Q5. You call him… and nothing happens. You call and again nothing. Then you call CQ and after some time you hear him again. Guess this ia also due to QSB.
The question is how to proceed. I usually try to call the station at least once more. Then I move on.
Any experience how to handle this?
73s
Ingo
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In my opinion Ingo you handle this situation the correct way . In my case as an activator I would, like you, give the chaser two or three chances (at most) to respond and if you cannot hear the guy you call QRZ again and move on, work the strongest or the /P who gets priority and work them and others. If the signal lifts for the original chaser then he will call again and hopefully the next time he will hear you go back to him and give you a report and complete. In some cases when the caller tries repeatedley to call me I’ll give them two seperate chances and if they fail again to come back in the second attempt but continue calling even though they cannot hear you going back, I would endeavour to ignore them until the very end of my activity on that band. If they are still calling then I will give them one more chance before moving band or going QRT.
73 Phil
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Yeah, three times is my max too. Like marriage, we only seem to be willing to repeat three times before we go “ohnevermind” 
Funny this should come up now because in my activation last weekend of W0C/RG-154 QSB was a major issue on 20m.
73 Eric KG6MZS
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Hi Ingo,
Phil’s @G4OBK response is the best way to proceed IMO, although it all depends on the pressure you may have from the pileup and the wish you may have to complete that QSO. If there’s big pressure from many chasers still in the pileup, I think 2 minimum, 3 chances maximum is fair. If there’s no other chasers, then you can spend as much time as you want and it’s entirely up to you.
If you get to hear VK0 and you miss the suffix, then I think it’s understandable if you decide to give him as many chances as you want, mainly because it will be a great DX for you and also because the propagation conditions window for such DX is usually short and giving him more chances before conditions degrade would be justified.
I’ve often suffered this problem when trying to chase Northamerican activators but unable to break the NA wall, the time passes by and after several minutes trying unsuccessfully, the Sun sets here, conditions degrade and I finally can’t copy the activator anymore.
That’s why I always give priority to any DX chaser, as well as S2S.
73,
Guru
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Thank you for your thoughts! Will keep going in the suggested way.
73s
Ingo
Interesting thread.
Re Phil’s query, my KX3 code reader has bailed me out a few times when a helicopter or other aeronautical vehicle drowned out my sidetone while I was sending. The muscle memory really came in handy and my sending was accurate.
VE2JCW has made a number of QSOs with me under poor conditions. He tends to call higher in pitch and at higher speed. I receive his call like a packet burst. It’s invigorating to complete the QSO!
When activating I try to be consistent with my procedure. If an extra over is needed I’ll use BK to indicate I’m not yet done with the current station. Hopefully, those on frequency have copied it and understand its meaning.
When stations call out of turn I’ll note their call mentally where possible and wait until their timing is better. Sometimes I will wait before answering someone because I’m copying more than one station, maybe weaker DX or S2S.
I’m puzzled when four of five stations call, I work one, then have to call CQ again. QSB? A ten pointer up the band?
I’m hoping to work more of you in this thread as conditions improve.
72,
David N6AN
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David, we are going to have to take the “amateur” out of your radio status.
73 Eric KG6MZS
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