Topband: CQ DX...calling protocol...

[Jon Zaimes AA1K]

Steve,

One op's DX is another's local.

I'm on the band much of the year calling CQ DX. There are the occasional 
callers from stateside, and whether I answer them depends on the mood 
I'm in, how "hot" I think conditions are, and how desperate the caller 
sounds (like if they drop a quick "pse WAS" or similar). If they send 
their call a dozen times at 5 wpm, they almost surely are ignored unless 
I'm in a very, very good mood  :-)

Clearly, some of the callers sound "novice" enough that they may not 
have understood my CQ DX, and I'm a bit more understanding of those, and 
if possible I take a break and slow down a bit and say hello. For some 
of these I find out I'm their first contact on Top Band.

If the band is wide open to Asia at sunrise, my filters and antennas can 
be VERY selective in ignoring the stateside callers. Sorry, but I'm not 
losing sleep to make domestic QSOs. That few seconds I take to work a 
stateside caller might be at the same time a BY or XW station is calling.

I am full-bore active in the 160m CW contests (and a little in the SSB) 
so there is ample opportunity to find me in non-DX times. And I even 
hear some other Delaware stations on the band from time to time.

My advice: If you must call, be quick. Just drop your call once -- at 
most twice if conditions are poor. If the station ignores you, so be it. 
He/she might just have directive RX antennas and you are in a null and 
he/she can't really hear you, or chooses not to respond. Be satisified 
if the station gives you a quick RST report. Don't waste time sending 
his call and resending your call once he has it. Don't send your name, 
QTH, etc. unless the other station offers his/hers first.

73/Jon AA1K
Felton, Delaware
www.aa1k.us