TopBand: operating practice

[Kenneth D. Grimm]

<big snip>
>   I've always thought it good practice to know the call of the
> station you are trying to call before you call. Am I mistaken?
> 73, AL K7CA

Hi Al,

You're not mistaken, but there are quite a few "correct" ways to work
DX.  I'm more inclined toward the WFWL style of operating.  (Work first,
worry later)  Actually, I wait for one or two overs and if I still
haven't heard the stations call, then I may jump in.  To wait until I
know the call of the one station on the band that everyone else is
calling may well mean that I miss the contact.  Actually, rarely will
you find "everyone" calling.  So what I do is check for the calls of
those that I know  have big DXCC scores on the band.  If I hear them
calling, you can bet that I don't wait any longer.  To insist on waiting
until you know for sure is too much like not flipping a coin until you
know whether it will land heads or tails.

Far more important, IMHO, is no matter when you call, how long you call,
or how loudly you call....JUST DON'T ZERO BEAT THE DX when you do
call!!!!!  If he is working on his own frequency, tune off by at least a
couple of hundred Herz.  He will still hear you and others who are
listening may also be able to hear him when he transmits.  There, I feel
better now.  :-)

73, Ken K4XL
grimm@alison.sbc.edu




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