9/11/2012

The Bill Windle award

In FOC, we have this program titled above. It is to compete how many other members a member could work every month and eventually in a year. I was not interested in this award at all. Because anything like award should not be, in my view, our objectives. But it should be only a result of our activities. Secondly, we, the members in the Far East, have quite tough competitors in the Middle East like 5B or 4X land in the same category of Asia, since they are fairly nearer to the european members.

Since I retired this spring, I have become much more active working more members now. I logged in the FOC web site and tried to fill out the BW sheet by Excel. The total point was up to 240 while the unique QSOs were about 130 so far. Not very bad. I will go on tracking my log from now. Maybe a good competition with the 4X guy running ahead the top at present!

I noticed a few interesting things in this record. Firstly, it is still very tough for me to work with UK and the East Coast over the north pole. Especially, the QSO with UK is small in number. Some told me they have been fairly active on the WARC bands. They might be on when the bands are open to the US, another area with large number of members. It won't be favorable to us in Asia. The UK stations are always equipped with smaller set ups like a barefoot and a wire antenna. That may be another reason why their signals won't come through the heavy QRM in the East Europe. I hope they will be active when the bands are open to Asia. They may say the same thing. There are only few members, mostly not very active, in Japan. It is the reason why they won't be on when the window is open. I would just keep active when the bands seem to open to UK.

Whenever the bands seem to open to UK, I try to call CQ "WEST EU". But undisciplined Eastern Eu boys flocked at me. John 9V1VV who might have experiened the same thing with rather worse conditions wished he had got any other common call than 9V. But the situation is the same as withe the most common JA call. i am inclined just to look for G members but not to call CQ. I hope they would try to call CQ ASIA on behalf of us from time to time.

There seems two kinds of members who have been active all the time. One group seems to be concerned about mainly this award but not ragchewing etc. They show up once a month but make only QSO in a rubber stamp style. The other group enjoys each QSO so much. They won't end it only with reports and weather info etc only. Needless to say which one I always enjoy with. Of course, it depends on the conditions etc. But I would enjoy conversation on CW even if I am conscious of this award in every QSO.

Finally, any awards are secondary to me. I would welcome any QSOs leading us to pleasant conversations.

6 comments:

  1. I strongly believe, calling CQ DX or CQ West EU etc, etc is simply rude and pointless in my opinion, but every body is free to do whatever the person likes. If I live in the US and I call cq HA that is understandable, because I am Hungarian and I like to talk to my fellow Hungarians every once in a while. If I'd live in Japan and like to work G members, I'd just call CQ FOC on an appropriate band where is good propagation towards EU. Is that simple.
    I might try that :-)
    My attention is not try to offend you or anything like that, but many times I was working Japanese people on 15m, you were on 40m for some reason :-( Maybe it was great prop towards West coast US :-)
    I hope to work you soon

    Take care, Imi HA7AP

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    2. Imi,

      Is it different for a ham to call CQ DX or CQ WEST EU from to call CQ HA wherever he/she may be? I could not understand what you mean. Is it rude to call CQ DX or WEST EU? Why? If you are right, it could be rude to call CQ TEST or CQ FOC. Every way of calling "defines" the taker in a sense. No difference at all.

      In Japan, we have many takers to our CQ from the East Eu, whatever we may call for, CQ DX, CQ WEST EU or even CQ FOC. They don't care for what I would like to. The window from here to the West Eu opens for much shorter time than to the East. The Eest Eu are always much louder than the West. Nevertheless, the East Eu will go on calling me all the time. They often call me while I am still in QSO with another. No one is more rude than those East Eu. They need to be disciplined. I just would like to work the West Eu only while the band is open.

      I believe the guy calling CQ could give priority one to the other. I hate just exchanging reports and QSLs for a QSO. I won't work with those people who need only my report and QSL. And I will be on whatever band I like to. Those belong to my own choice. It is rude to offend the other's freedom in operation.

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    3. Shin,

      I just like working FOC guys, which happens perhaps once a week, usually in very poor conditions. I usually just call CQ. I worked Brian 9J2BO a few weeks ago and all I could offer was the usual rubber stamp QSO because I could hardly hear him. The conditions are terrible. There was absolutely no chance for a decent QSO.

      Another problem is G-land. They usually call me in a pile up. I try to engage them in conversation but they are very polite and think I want to get hundreds of QSOs in the log, which I don't. So they sign off quickly thinking they are disturbing my "Q-rate", which actually does not interest me at all.

      I want to burn down the houses of those who invented the clusters and sing comic songs on the ruins.

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    4. John,

      I can imagine you struggling in the mess. Yes, G guys are always polite and conservative in QSOs. I hope the band conditions will favor you a little bit.

      Amen to your idea against the cluster. I would add RBN to it! Damn thing in the world. We might belong to the Luddite.

      Shin

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  2. Hi Shin!
    Oh well!
    I used to calling CQ DX or cq mid west etc, but I pretty soon realised that, no matter what I call
    some Italian or Ukrainian will always call me back.
    I never surprised, because my signals were huge. I was operating from a contest station at HG5A HG7B etc and people always love to work some body who has big signal, no matter who the caller is.
    I decided years ago that I won't call cq DX etc, because it is meaningless.
    If I call a simple cq that's good enough, because if the DX hears me he will calls me back any ways, but if not......a few EU guys certainly won't ruin the look of my logbook would it? :-)
    If say.......I call cq west coast and there is only east coast guys coming back to my call, I'm like oh well
    I might not be that loud, or just the prop ain't that good to west coast at all, so I make them east coast or Caribbean. Who really cares?
    People calls you back, because you might be strong or they need your country or they are heard about you or just like the way you operate etc.
    My point is: giving out a few quick 599 won't hurt anybody right?

    CQ test is different, because if someone calls cq test that means he is in a contest.
    Quite a few days ago I heard some one called cq FOC and he was succeeded big time.
    People more understand that, one working with his own club members then excluding certain part of geographical territory.
    I fully aware of many Eastern Europeans are completely idiotic without any respect of other stations and they shouldn't disturb anybody who is in a QSO, but
    saying that you would work only Western European stations, that is not the proper way to treat hams.
    How many times do you think I have calls from I2, UR, OM, SP, LZ etc stations? but I never turn them down, just because there is band open to whatever continent.
    I love to work West Coast too, but..... hey Imi! News flash for ya: You are too weak for them :-)))
    I also experienced cool things, like three N7 station called me back one after the other, but obviously that won't happens too often.
    No matter if I can hear them W6/W7 stations, many times they are just simply can't hear me or
    doesn't pay enough attention towards Europe, so they are just talk to each other on the North American continent.

    I also hate to give a quick 599 qsl tu kind of procedure on the bands, but I already realized that, most of EU station has no English knowledge at all, so what can I do?? I give them 599 qsl tu.
    Fortunately I know quite many EU guys who capable and willing to have longer conversation with me on the bands, so it's not that bad at all.

    I am really sorry and I would like to apologies if you feel offended by me. It wasn't my attention to do that.
    I respect your choice of freedom in operation Shin.

    Take care
    Imi HA7AP


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