kevin redding wrote: > Well, I can honestly say that I have never written an engineer for > anything in at least 10 years if not more. I don't QSL because I > record everything. Last time I asked an engineer for anything was to > run a test when I was with Lynn Hollerman doing the job that Les does > now. I do have to give Les kudos though. His ability to schedule > tests is better than mine was.
Les is indeed doing yeoman work, and deserves to be paid at least twice as much as he's now getting for it <g>... I want to clear up a misunderstanding here about engineers: I know a lot of them. I deal with them frequently in a number of contexts - as a consultant to them on various issues, and as a journalist covering their industry for Radio World and other publications. While no generalization is perfect, I can say with confidence that the vast majority of engineers are anything but thin-skinned. Most of the engineers I know are delighted when ANYONE takes a real interest in what they do, because it so often goes unappreciated, even (especially?) within the walls of their own stations. I've been consistently impressed at how many have opened their doors and given generously of their time when I've come calling for a tour. (On the way out to the convention last year, there was one engineer in one Oregon market who didn't have time to go out to his transmitter site with me, so he actually gave me the code to the lock on the gate and to the transmitter building door so I could have a look around - now that's a generous bit of trust!) Most of the engineers I deal with are hams, and many do at least a bit of DXing in whatever spare time they can find for themselves. A fair number of them first developed an interest in the business through DXing. A few are still in one or another of the clubs. A lot of what DXers perceive as resistance from "station engineers" is really coming from higher up the food chain. Like most businesses these days, radio stations are increasingly corporatized, and that's put all sorts of new strains and demands on engineers. Something as simple as getting a new batch of QSL cards printed can turn into a nightmare trip through corporate bureaucracy, and it's the engineer who still gets the blame when the cards don't go out. Les is quite correct to note that it doesn't help our case as DXers at all when the engineer then gets abuse from DXers as a result. My point here is pretty simple: there's no reason for DXers to avoid contact with engineers, or to treat them as some exotic species of thin-skinned alien who spits fire whenever he's spoken to the wrong way. Treat them with courtesy and respect, and understand that they're sometimes limited by factors (time, finance, intransigent upper management) beyond THEIR control, and most engineers will respond in kind. That's not so complicated, is it? s _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
