TopBand: Pile-up behaviour

[Don Field]

I was suprised to read the attack on W3UR following his post. I'm still trying
to understand why it is relevant that he sometimes operates from W3LPL ...

I have to say, the same sort of pile-up behaviour he described is becoming very
evident here in Europe too. It was happening during the VK0IR operation, and
again last night with the V5, and is common enough that I don't think it can be
attributed to the operators of any one expedition.

Last night for example the V5 was very readable from 2000 onwards, and was
giving very clear listening intentions (NA only, for example), but there were
several persistent offenders who called regardless. A well-known DJ station and
a well-known OK1 were among the worst. I have noticed it is often those near the
top of the tables who indulge in this behaviour. It's as though they feel that
they have a "right" to the new one, come what may. One, who I count as a friend,
is the nicest person you could wish to meet, that is until he gets into a
pile-up for a new one. He gets so up tight about the possibility that it might
go QRT before he makes a QSO, that he will ride roughshod over everybody. He
admits as much, when challenged over a pint of beer. It's a bit like those
drivers who are mild mannered until they get behind the wheel of a car, and then
become maniacs (I'm sure US drivers aren't like that ..).

We all make occasional mistakes. In my excitement,  I even managed to select the
wrong VFO when I first called the VK0 on 160, which produced a flurry of
policemen of frequency. But here I'm talking about those who persist in
antisocial calling, slowing the QSO rate down for everybody. The only
consolation is that, having operated from the sharp end, a common experience on
160 is that you actually don't hear all of this. Callers often pop up perfectly
Q5, with only a handful audible at a time as propagation moves across the globe,
and you are insulated from the cacophony at the far end. 

Anyway, I just hope these folk go back to the HF bands when the sunspots return.

Don G3XTT


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