FAQ

[na2n at ifam.com]

Isn't it time to publish the reflector FAQ again? (HINT: Please?)

73, Greg

Greg Becker NA2N
na2n at ifam.com

>From George McCrary <geo at nando.net>  Tue Oct 17 22:35:56 1995
From: George McCrary <geo at nando.net> (George McCrary)
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 95 17:35:56 EDT
Subject: Free/Share Ware Summary
Message-ID: <9510172135.AA15009 at merlin.nando.net>

Wow! What a fast and plentiful response! For any other neophytes out there,
here's what I found out about freeware and shareware for contesting. This is
a summary and I hope all the information is correct!

WRITELOG- This is now freeware. It's for Windows (so it hates me!). It can
be found on Compuserve and FTP at 192.84.231.1  in the directory
/pub/k2mm/w5xd-wlog. Wayne WX5D will apparently still help you out, which is
VERY kind of him since he is no longer charging for the software.

N6TR- Has a Public Domain version, I think you can get a manual and the
newest version really cheap ($10 for the manual and $10 for the newest
version). This is also available at FTP  192.84.231.1 (maspar.maspar.com) in
/pub/k2mm/n6tr-log. This is a DOS based program, and from the looks of the
manual seems like the one I'm gonna try first.

CT- Has an older version which is shareware. The country files are old, but
can be updated with a text editor and also apparently can be downloaded. CT
reflector is ct-request at eng.pko.dec.com . There is also apparently an FTP
site, I don't know where but I'm sure it could be found.

SD (Super Duper)- This is from Europe. EI5DI says that it is avaliable from
his page at http://www.iol.ie/~okanep . The author says to wait a few days
becuase CQWW support is not fully updated yet.

N3EQF- Don't know anything about this one, but someone says it exists!


Like I said, this is all old news for most of you. But, if anyone is looking
to start from scratch like me, there seems to be a lot of choices. If you
decide to keep using the shareware programs REGISTER! The guys need the
support. If you choose a freeware version drop the guy a card and say thanks.

Thanks to W5XD, WS7I, W3GOI, KF9PL, WB4IUX, KD4HXT, KB2HUN, EA4AK, EI5DI,
K1ZX, KM0L, KE3Q  and the guy who E-mailed me the files and I lost his call! :(

Finally, 1. I'm in NC and 2. You'll still see my call at the bottom of thr
RTTY contest results.

                                                73 DE KQ4QM (George)


>From aa4lr at radio.org (Bill Coleman AA4LR)  Tue Oct 17 22:44:44 1995
From: aa4lr at radio.org (Bill Coleman AA4LR) (Bill Coleman AA4LR)
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 1995 17:44:44 -0400
Subject: Digital traffic (Was 40m SSB Intruders)
Message-ID: <v01520d01aca9cb27e692@[205.160.29.40]>

>> I think that all the digital stuff above 7050 or so is
>>driving the phone ops from south of the border into the cw band.
>
>Definately is the digital stuff.  Go up there and listen some time.

Yup. This digital stuff hasn't been around nearly as long as CW or phone.
No surprise it has grown in recent years. Our aging bandplans just haven't
yet accomidated it.

>The problem with the digital modes is that the operator can turn down the
>volume on his transceiver and go to the bathroom (or whatever) and come back
>to see if his side of the QSO went through.  Meanwhile, you have all of the
>rest of us on CW and SSB trying to actually copy a signal.  Guess who wins?

One advantage of digital modes is that they can frequency share to a degree
between uncoordinated QSOs. CW and phone can only frequency share in an
organized manner (ie nets), which is possible with other digital modes as
well (RTTY, AMTOR FEC).

>The computer doesn't get mad when it can't complete an exchange, it just
>tries again.

I always say that the link is slow, but computers are VERRRY patient.

>Sooooo...  Until "they" set aside a seperate portion of the band for ONLY
>digital signals, we will be forced to deal with the inevidable results of
>the increased digital traffic.

Who's "they?" I thought we worked these things out by gentleman's
agreements. I thought hams were self-policing.

>You should be pointing your fingers at the digital guys or even better yet
>the guys that do the allocations.  Definatley not the guys on SSB.  They are
>just responding to a problem.

I don't think you should point fingers at the digital folks, unless they
are doing something egregiously bad. (endless beaconing on 10 second
intervals, for example) They are legitimate users of that spectrum. If
there's enough activity, stations tend to move out of whatever corner they
were pushed into.

The real problem is that 40m is a great band, and it isn't big enough.
Plus, the SW broadcasters greatly reduce the utility of 2/3 of the band.


Bill Coleman, AA4LR      Mail: aa4lr at radio.org
Quote: "The same light shines on vineyards that makes deserts." -- Steve
Hackett



>From Dan Robbins <kl7y at alaska.net>  Tue Oct 17 22:49:39 1995
From: Dan Robbins <kl7y at alaska.net> (Dan Robbins)
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 1995 13:49:39 -0800
Subject: Intruders
Message-ID: <9510172149.AA03218 at alaska.net>

At the bottom of every sunspot cycle the low bands seem to fill up with more
garbage as everyone squeezes into the remaining useable freqs, but things
seem much worse now than they did during the last minimum.  The main problem
appears to not to be legitimate users, but illegal ones armed with regular
ham radio transcievers.  Every night we can find fishing boats operating
illegally on the low bands.  Usually they pick good freqs like 1830 or 3505.
Many of them speak English, at least the four-lettered kind, and it appears
most of them are in region 2, that is they are there around our sunset, not
5 or 6 hours later when the sun starts to set over Asia.  Since anyone,
licensed or not, can buy a transceiver (at least in the US and apparently
many other countries) and there is virtually no spectrum authority once you
leave port, the problem will only worsen.  I remember one contest where two
idiots asea effectively wiped out the lower portion of 80 cw for a whole
evening. Even though they they were close enough to see each others lights,
they wiped out the bottom of 80 for several hundreds of miles at least and
then had the gall to complain about the "blankety-blank Morse Code" they
could hear between their transmissions.

It's not only fish boats, of course.  There's all sorts of CB'ers on 10 cw
when the band opens, and they've been heard on 12 meters now, too.  Up here
where I live it has gotten to the point where the illegals are starting to
actually hurt contest efforts through their QRM.  As for those digital guys
on 40 transmitting endlessly, I wonder if they are all amateur.  I always
figured that contesters had the best stations, but some of these digital
signals are kicking your butts around 7030.  Makes me wonder.

At any rate, I certainly think it is time to start lobbying for restrictions
on the sale of transmitting equipment:  No license, no sale!  Unfortunately,
our own government can't understand this, so convincing other governments
worldwide looks pretty hopeless.  Get ready for QRM!
                        
                                                        de KL7Y