[RTTY] Courtesy

[Stanley Zawrotny]

Some recent posts have been disturbing. Someone was upset because a 2x3 call was used to try to contact a DX station in a pileup during a contest. Well, that happens to be the F1 default in MMTTY and commonly used by DXers in pileups. Maybe this ham wasn't in the contest. Believe it or not, we do have to share these bands with non-contesters.

Other posts complained about newbies that didn't use the proper format. If that really does get your knickers in such a bind, how about making a macro that says, PSE USE FORMAT 59 59 FL FL. We all would benefit from this moment of advise. It's better to be an Elmer than a disgruntled old man.

I am also a member of another digital forum that recently had a long thread about QRM. It's interesting that RTTY contesting was a part of that discussion. We don't have a good reputation, guys. Courtesy is a part of the Amateur Radio Creed and also the DX Code of Conduct.

I noticed that no one added TU to their QSOs. I guess a simple "thank you" would take almost half a second too long.

OK, start throwing your stones now.

Stan, K4SBZ

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