2/24/2012

Aspergians common on the air?

A couple of days ago, a guy in the West Coast has called me calling CQ. Surprisingly, he has started a QSO with me without confirming my coming back to him like this JA1NUT JA1NUT DE K6*** K6*** GM UR 599 599 and so forth. Feeling disgusted at this ill mannered operation, I have lost interests to start a QSO with him and have turned off the gear.

I have sometimes met guys operating in this manner. They have been from the developing countries in Asia but never from the US where ham radio was born and grown up. The former ones seemed to be due to their lack in experience on the air. They should have started operation after some experience as SWL. They could learn the manner even on the air. But for what reason should I reckon this West Coast guy is operating in this way?

A syndrome has come up to my mind. It is Asperger syndrome, which is pretty common in the polulation. The textbook of Pediatrics tells it is as frequent as 3/1000. The Wikipedia explaions this illness as follows;

Asperger syndrome, also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder, is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development.

It is characterized with the lack of ability in social interaction.

The one way QSO operators or monologists are pretty common on the air, aren't they? In my own experience, aging often makes us tend to be this way. It is not exactly the medical problem of Asperger syndrome but only a sign of senility. Monologue won't make our QSOs pleasant as well as fruitful at all. What makes our days should be real dialogues.

6 comments:

  1. Good afternoon Shin, I have found of what I call short QSO's they are ones were you contact the station he gives you a 599 and then starts to call CQ again! To me that is not a conversation at all...oh well. The other weekend I was involved in the ARRL DX CW contest. When there was a rare DX station found it was almost impossible to make contact with them. There were op's how just gave their call out right over top of the DX station. Others were just sending their call over and over again no matter what was going on. So I would spin the VFO and go else where.

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  3. Thanks for the comment. There are many kinds of ill manners on CW nowadays. The worst thing, I believe, is that quite a number of guys are turning their backs on conversations. The amateur radio including CW has been for conversing overseas or distant areas, hasn't it? I suspect this trend will ruin the amateur radio in the future. Let's go against it even if it remains a minority. Have fun. I will see you on the radio soon.

    Shin
    JA1NUT

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  4. Hi Shin,

    I am back from the sea ... still no antenna but I hope to remedy that situation soon. Be prepared to copy some very rough bug after months of no practice ! I spend hours trying to find ragchewers as you know, sometimes wondering if it is all worth while!

    Take care

    John

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  5. John,

    Welcome back home, Guru; I have already read your latest post in your blog! I am sorry you have no antenna yet. AS a matter of fact, the conditions have been very bad since yesterday due to a major solar flare. So no hurry. Difficulty to find a good ragchwer is another question. So come back on the radio soon.

    I will be a retiree by the end of this month. A feeling of vagueness as well as hope for freedom. Strange ambivalence.

    Take care. I will look for you again soon.

    Shin

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  6. Shin,

    it was good to chat last night.

    Earlier I had a QSO with an OM in Laos (XW land) ... I answered his CQ and got the rude reply QSO B4 He didn't want to chat and kept on calling CQ.

    I was wanting to ask him how it was in Laos and strike up a conversation. He has been there for some years I think. It seems he is only interested in collecting numbers of QSO's.

    What is to become of our hobby?

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