TopBand: Boring Oregon works the V5

[LarryX Tyree contractor for brentc]

I faked out the RF Gods by announcing I would be playing bridge 
Thursday night (it was scheduled, but then got cancelled).  I 
announced to everyone up in the NorthWest that this would be their
best shot at the V5.  Sure 'nuff, a nice peak presented itself around
0415 to 0430Z and many got in the log, including N6TR.

I must confess that this QSO will be the 3rd time that N6TR appeared
in the log.  The first time was the previous night around 0450Z.  They
were peaking up a little and I could hear about 50 percent of their 
characters.  When I can hear all of a QSO with another station, I 
go for it.  Of course, they almost always dip down and I can't hear 
them come back.

The QSO on the previous night, the timing seemed right, and I sent
a report with some ? marks.  This was done hoping they would send my
call again.  No dice.  The next morning I got an e-mail message from
someone in the midwest congratulating me on the QSO.  Well, perhaps
this is a "roger contact", but I was left hoping I would have another
chance.

A similar QSO occured earlier in the evening last night, with the 
phone ringing and a good friend saying he came back to me and the
QSO was good.  Well - okay, I was pretty sure he was coming back
to me and perhaps if I review the tape, I would become more sure.

However, around 0415, I felt their signal was solid enough to get
a "real" QSO and sure enough it occurred.  

His signal built from there and many other stations in the area
made it into the log (W7EW and K9JF just to mention a couple).

I feel bad about having worked the station 3 times, but I will feel
much better about the card on the wall now.  It is also interesting
that they were so much stronger on Monday, but we didn't make it.
Their beverage must have really helped.

It is an interesting philosophical question if I should have called
again.  I thought I might had worked them on Monday as well (I heard
my call that time, but the QSO didn't get completed).  In this case,
I asked them on a different band if they could check, and they were
nice enough to put the pileup on hold for a minute and check the 
paper logs.

The VK0IR experience with the internet log look up provided the
ability to check your QSOs, so you didn't need to make an "insurance"
QSO.  It is rare that the best opening is the first opening, so on
topband were things are marginal, you often go for it under rough
conditions.  

If the V5 had a lookup service, should I have called again?  I think
the answer should be yes.  If I need the internet (or someone else)
to know I made the QSO, then did I really make it?  However, there 
are some cases where I call a station, hear them send my call, I 
send them a report and then I hear nothing...  

In the case of the VK0, where they "worked" N6TR on Friday morning,
if I had made a marginal QSO the next day (where I didn't actually 
make it), I might have had thought it was a good QSO because I was 
listed in the database.  If you factor in the typical error rates
of 3 or 5 percent on callsigns, these databases are useful, but
not totally reliable.

There are no black or white answers to these questions.  We all have
to decide for ourselves where we draw the line.  Some people have
very high standards, and I think they deserve our respect.  One
example is W7EW who appears in the TO0R log as K7EW, the only 
W6/W7 station to have worked them on topband!  However, Lew isn't
counting the QSO because he couldn't tell the QSO was made based 
upon the information available during the contact.  I think if it
were me, I would have already sent the SASE.

I hope the RF Gods will award these people with high standards with
other contacts with rare countries.  They set standards for the
rest of us to try and live up to.

Would I have sent in a QSL for one of those two previous QSOs if
I didn't make the third one?  In a word - yes.  

See you in the pileups during the contest!

73 Tree N6TR
tree@contesting.com

--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/topband.html
Submissions:              topband@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  topband-REQUEST@contesting.com
Sponsored by Akorn Access, Inc & N4VJ / K4AAA