It's not a hard-and-fast rule, John, nor is it limited to QRP. Good operating practice is to listen more than talk. In a QSO you may talk as much as the other station, for a 50-50 ratio. If you're long-winded, you may exceed that, Hi!
But, when looking for a contact, take the time to listen to what is going on around the band and especially on or near the frequency where you plan to transmit if preparing to call CQ. Then, after asking if the frequency is busy (send QRL? if using CW) and then calling CQ, listen far more than you send. Even though most people will call you on the same frequency nowadays, it often takes someone a while to 'tune up' on your frequency to call you. Some ops leave only a second or two between CQ's but it's usually more productive to allow more time between calls. My Ham experience goes back to the days when most Hams used crystal control and I keep the habit of tuning up and down a couple of kHz from my calling frequency after each CQ. Even today, I'll occasionally get a call from a crystal-controlled rig near my frequency, but not on it. That's especially true around the common QRP frequencies. (I usually move to his freq as soon as we hook up.) Years ago we often spoke of certain "Alligator Operators" - all mouth and no ears, Hi! They are still around. The bottom line is to have fun and behave as if you are at a party where a lot of conversations are going on. Now, contesting is another matter. Presumably the same rules apply but exchanges are going fast and furious. In reality, a lot of people get rude, stomping on other QSOs, calling without listening with their robo-stations, etc. Personally, I stay out of bar room brawls in town and contests on the Ham bands :-), but I know a lot of people have great fun with them. 73, Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- Good Day Everyone, In a recent discussion concering KX3 battery life, Wayne N6KR mentioned: "Transceive operating time from an internal battery will be determined by voltage or energy-density limitations of the 8 AA cells being used. You'd probably be transmitting something like 10% of the time (good QRP practice)." I'm really new in amateur radio and even newer (if possible) in working QRP with my KX1 and working on my skill set. My question is why is a 9:1 listen to transmit ratio "good QRP practice"? Tnx es 73 John KK4BOB John Flynn Tallahassee, Florida USA ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
