When I work a contest, most of the time I’m calling CQ and I always work duplicates. If someone calls me and my log flags that they’re a duplicate, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I work them again. Some operators flatly refuse to work duplicates but I think that’s a mistake and I’d […]
Tag: Operating tips
Are you transmitting illegally on 70cms?
An interesting subject came up on our 70cms voice repeater earlier today following an incident on a local DMR box yesterday and it got me thinking. There are a lot of 70cms repeaters in the UK with input frequencies between 430 MHz and 431 MHz and many people don’t realise that our licence only allows […]
Data (RTTY/PSK) contesting – The anatomy of an ideal QSO
I like contesting. I like data contesting and I operate a lot in data contests. I don’t generally have the time to dedicate to making a winning entry although for the big events, I’ll try and make a good score and aim to finish high up in the table. I’ve done well enough though and […]
Ignorant and rude operating – A rant
I got home from work this evening and within about thirty seconds of getting in, the phone rang. It was Tony, G0MBA so I put the wireless on and we had a chat on 28MHz. Tony was on the outskirts of Colchester in his van and was a good signal with me. As we signed, […]
73 – A rant
In amateur radio terms, the numbers 73 are an abbreviation for “best wishes” or “best regards”. Note the plural. At the end of a contact people generally sign off using that abbreviation, it’s polite. But if you say “seven threes” or “seventy threes” then what you’re really saying is “best wisheses“. That sounds a bit […]
