Topband: Fishing beacons redux

[Bill Cromwell]

Hi,

This whole topic is unpleasant. I personally don't encounter very much
of this kind of thing but I might as I increase my top band activity. I
use the bottom part of the band in an effort to avoid the DX stations,
The DXers chasing the DX stations, the digital crowd, and the hams in
all those SSB and AM nets and roundtables (unless I'm joining them). If
I find a signal that doesn't belong there - fishnet or neighbor's TV -
my first inclination is to move off that frequency. Not by very much.
Just enough so that I can actually hear any replies to my call. If that
isn't far enough for the fishnet or other *unauthorized* signal...tough
luck. But I am not going to go "hunting" either. If it's another ham or
a couple of hams in a QSO I might QSY just a bit more to be sure I'm out
of any kind of reasonable filter they might be using. Unauthorized..use
nope.

On the low end of 160 I can move quite a way off without running over
somebody else. There aren't many hams down there. Maybe that's why the
fishnets are there. Anybody in favor of surrendering the bottom 20 kc of
160? 10 kc? 5kc? ARRL (W1AW) is down near the low end (less than 5 kc
from the border) for code practice, bulletins, etc.

73,

Bill  KU8H