Topband: I just want to vent (a little)

[Guy Olinger K2AV]

The lack of a DX window seems to be taken care of by having people
call "UP", does it not?  Then it is up to the DX operator to spread it
around a bit by not operating with a QRM-able or reliable QSX spotted
offset. Using a dual RX to work a PAIR of moving offsets in a pileup
will help that. The best condition is when callers are trying to find
a clear spot and who gets called next is more or less random from the
caller's perspective.

Then if you are still getting packet spots on your transmit frequency,
shift up and down from the spot pile to keep your signal in the clear.
This will not solve a malilcious QRMer, but there are yet other
wonderful successful tricks for that that I won't discuss in public.
There really is a great deal that the DX operator can do.  It's quite
more in his hands than the mob.  At the root, he has something they
want, which gives him the initiative as long as he chooses to keep it.

73, Guy.

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 12:02 PM, Dan Zimmerman N3OX <n3ox at n3ox.net> wrote:
>>
>> ,but how
>> is it different than the time honored tradition of having a buddy
>> call you or give you a "one ringer" when something you need shows up?
>>
>
> In terms of DXing ethics I don't see it as any problem at all, just like I
> think a one-ringer is fine.
>
> I think there is a huge practical difference, however, between a one-ringer
> and me spotting one that I know will set off your alarm.   If I spot it,
> everyone knows about it... good, upstanding DXers (the majority) and idiot
> constant callers (the incredibly disruptive small minority) alike.
>
> Phone calls are different.  I understand that DX clubs, before my time,
> would maybe set up one-ringer phone trees to alert their members for a good
> one.  Let's say that Johnny Q.R.M. Smith is on the phone tree, and every
> time someone rings him up, he acts like an idiot on frequency.
>
> Not too long before he gets secretly crossed off the one-ringer list, eh?
>
> No way to do that on the public spotting network.  I can imagine a network
> that worked more like a DX club's phone tree.  The best thing we have right
> now, in my opinion, is "private spotting" to small trusted groups like the
> ON4KST chat guys. But that's more likely to "leak" to the global cluster.
>
> Another issue these days, especially with 160m operation, is the loss of
> regional spotting.  Spotting to a DX cluster that only serves W8/W9 states
> didn't necessarily alert Europe to the EY that just came up, nor did
> spotting on a DL cluster alert W6 to the FO/A the Europeans need so much.
>
> Spotting is a positive thing.  Telling every anonymous person with telnet or
> a web browser about the rare thing that just came up?  Maybe not so much.
>  This is especially true because we seem to have some people who are willing
> to call even when they can't hear the DX at all.
>
> 73
> Dan
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