K5ZM (at K7AW) said he heard:
>"CQ Field Day, W7ABC..."
>
>"K7AW.."
>
>"K7AW, go ahead.." (??!!)
And it's not just FD.
There is a prominent local W1-area VHF/UHF college club station that operates
exactly
this way during VHF contests (at least the two in which I have operated and
listened to them...and sometimes they even omit the "go ahead" part). That is,
when they can actually hear any of the stations calling them, since turning a
beam occasionally also seems to be outside their skill set. I won't mention
the station specifically, but it is located at a famous Institute of
Technology in Massachusetts. Some operators/stations are just painful to
listen to.
But once in a while, a good op shows up at the local club FD site. The most
important lesson in contest operating I *ever* learned was on FD, when I took
over from the club hotshot on 40SSB, and was incredibly tense and nervous. I
starting talking so fast nobody could understand me, got all worked up when I
couldn't copy a guy calling me or if two guys called at once. The club
hotshot, Howie Gould, then K1HHN, now W9HG, tapped me on the shoulder and said
"Come on now, take a deep breath and relax. Don't get so worked up. This is
supposed to be fun, right? So have fun!".
That was in 1969 I think.
And I'm still having fun. Thanks, Howie.
73,
Doug K1DG
p.s. Only 18 more days til WRTC2002. (If K4OJ won't do it, someone has to!)
|