Topband: Not in Log

[Garry & Yelena]

Anyone who has been in the topband DXing game for any length of time has
probably gotten the dread "SRI, NIL." It happened to me three times in
the '97-'98 season, at least once due to working a slim. Yeah, it's a
bummer.

But I can tell you that, from the DX or DXpeditioner's point of view,
deciding who deserves a card is often painful--more painful than
receiving "NIL" in place of an expected/hoped-for QSL. After all, a
DXpeditioner goes to the end of the planet to put people in the log--not
to keep them out. Some of the comments on this subject suggest that it's
pretty cut-and-dry---that if the callsign is not in the log, and exactly
right, the case is closed. And, in fact, since the DX station makes the
decision, that is one possible scenario. But it is not the only one.

Here are some cases to the contrary. Bear in mind that ops working big
DXpedition pileups are usually NOT rested and alert:

*  A slightly wrong callsign is in the log, copied and/or exchanged
correctly but typed incorrectly. A 2 became a 3. That's a mechanical
error, not a copying error. Should the caller lose the QSO? I don't
think so. 

* A valid QSO was duly entered in the log---but entirely lost through a
typing error. Example: on some laptops the "+" key--which enters QSO's
in CT--is next to "page up." Hitting "page up" puts the cursor on a QSO
recorded earlier. In the heat of the pileup, the next call heard is
typed over the prior QSO. It is noticed peripherally as run-on
callsigns. But run-on callsigns also happen because a typed-in callsign
for an non-completed QSO was not "wiped" before entering the next one.
So the line is wiped reflexively--too late! Goodbye prior good QSO. Try 
figuring out who you just screwed.

* Under QSB condx, you answered a caller who was Q5 and sent him a
report. He sent an acknowledgment---but unknown to him, he sank into the
noise during his turn. You did not hear him acknowledge and he stays in
the noise. You must go on. But you don't HAVE to copy your report--his
callsign was the "unique information" you needed and your report to him
was the "unique information" he needed. Do you exchange acknowledgements
until sunrise? Some guys won't log one like that---I do.

After the trip, it's a judgement call. My view is: this does not involve
money or power, it does not alter the course of history, and in the end
it only has meaning to the participants. It's a "hobby"! Sure there will
be a few dishonest claims by benighted souls who need to get a life.
But, for the rest of us---hey, it's supposed to be fun! 
-- 
Garry Shapiro, NI6T
160 meters: not a band, but an obsession


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