Topband: etiquette

[Jim Jarvis]

Arne, N7KA, wrote:

But I guess my biggest problem when I do hear Europe, most likely so does
the entire E. Coast and I hear "Good to see you again Bob, you are stronger
than last night".  Hey folks, that would be a new country for me if I could
get through the E. Coast guys calling for another QSO with the DX station.
This is not a unique thing to TOP BAND as I ran into this on 80M many times
(that is why I avoid SSB DX with a passion).  Now I do not want folks to
think they have to stand by for me.  So far I have managed DXCC (at 125
worked) by doing a LOT of listening.

-0-

This is a 75 meter phone phenomenon.  I've found myself falling prey to
it...hey, there's Tony...not much on, let's say hello.  Most of the EU stns
are sharp enough to ask for midwest/west...and once I realized the problem,
I took to letting them know that there WAS someone calling.

There is a reverse process at work, as well.  That is, 6, 7 and 0's
working JA/Asia, as we come up on east coast dawn, and are barely
hearing the asian stations, with the added loss of one more hop.

Top band has been relatively free of bad behavior, partly due to
lower population.  The more who see this thread and understand the other
guy's plight, the better educated that population.

Why my 80m dipole @ 75 feet breaks pileups so well I don't know.
Proximity to the Chesepeake, I suppose.  That same proximity gives us
terrible line noise, even on the loops.  May be salt on the insulators,
or corrosion...whatever, it caused me to shelve my 160 TX antenna project
for the season.  If you can't hear 'em...

AS for tailending...top tier stations can get away with dropping their call
in
once.  Guys with low dipoles (on 160...under 130') should recognize they're
way
down everywhere EXCEPT their domestic neighbors, whom they're clobbering by
calling on top of DX they can't quite hear..and whose call they learned on
packet.

QSK makes it worse...they hear others calling through their 'tailend'...so
they
keep calling, hoping to be the last.  The equivalent of a home run. Ain't
gonna happen.

Jim N2EA
jimjarvis at ieee.org