What is about UK hams and 40m SSB?

[MW0PDV]

@MW0WML

quickly work the people who are calling over others simply to get rid of the disruption.

I have done that. With my hearing it’s hard enough as it is, for me to pick calls out from a pile up. So I will sometimes work someone out of turn, as you say to make things run smoother. Although it does make me feel guilty.

[M9OMS]

@G4IPB

Activator QRZ
Pile up follows
Activator picks out a station and calls it….
…. Silence….
Activator picks out the same call again and calls it
…. Silence
Activator QRZ…
Pile up including the called station
The activator goes to a different station… and the original station once again crashes over the top of the activator repeating the call a couple of times…

This has happened to me a few times this year (I can’t remember the band). What it felt like (not making accusations, merely trying to make sense of what’s happening?):

1- A chaser has their call sign pre-recorded (possibly on more than one radio, or they have more than one VFO).
2- More than one activator/station is spotted.
3- Pre-recorded call sign gets sent out on more than one frequency, at 100000W. Scatter and hope.
4- The first activator to respond gets a QSO. The second activator/station responds… but the chaser is speaking to the first activator, so doesn’t respond.
5- The first chase/QSO finishes, the scatter and hope button is pressed again whilst the next new frequency is being found.
6- Repeat steps 3-5.

OR:
1- The chaser sees a spot online, pushing the scatter and hope button… but can’t hear the activator in the first place?

OR:
The usual benefit of a doubt explanation, which most of us would reasonably go to first.

[MW0WML]

@M9OMS

OR:
1- The chaser sees a spot online, pushing the scatter and hope button… but can’t hear the activator in the first place?

OR:
The usual benefit of a doubt explanation, which most of us would reasonably go to first.

OR:
I suspect there is another option, that there are people who “tail end” after hearing other chasers coming back, despite not hearing the original CQ/QRZ. Occasionally, it makes me mildly annoyed, but mostly it just causes mild inconvenience. I certainly bear no ill will to anyone.

[G8ADD]

@MW0WML

there are people who “tail end” after hearing other chasers coming back,

Then there are the people who tail end a tail ender, and so on ad nauseum!

[K6EL]

When I was DX and the pile was too big even to go by the numbers, I would ask for stations ending in alpha until no more heard, then go to “ending bravo”, etc.

Elliott, K6EL

[G8CPZ]

@MW0WML

there are people who “tail end” after hearing other chasers coming back, despite not hearing the original CQ/QRZ

This is confirmed when the offender has a one-over ‘zombie’ QSO when you the activator never actually sent his callsign. We should of course try to email the offender if his callsign shows up in the ‘Show Who Chased Me’ list to say the QSO was invalid.

I can only imagine that some folk are so desperate to work a particular summit or achieve more points that they are willing to cheat.

The modus operandi is: if you’re not certain you heard your callsign, don’t assume the activator sent it.