Ok, guys, here's the word straight from the horse's mouth. The operation here in Montenegro at 4O3T is a mix of very experienced ops and really anyone who wants to come down and help get the new country on. This is deliberate on the organizers' part. How are new people going to learn if they never get the chance to jump in and just do it.I've been licensed a long time myself, but operate only sporadically, being fond of 10m ssb contesting and 10 ghz and the occasional new country, so it's quite an experience to be plopped down in front of a radio I've never seen, pointed to a foot switch sliding around the floor (which I haven't used in at least ten years) and thrown into the mix.The pileups are indeed not orderly. Often I catch part or even one letter of a call and try that person only to have no response or at least be unable to hear the response so I go on to whatever
signal I can copy at that point. There's not much point to screaming "shut up" to all the other stations calling out of turn and it would be a waste of time. And being out of practice, I need to repeat the whole call to make sure I've logged it correctly (not to mention ZZ throwing a fit if I make too many mistakes!). What works best seems to be to stay calm, ignore the most egregious idiots if possible, but if they're the loudest thing on the band, drowning out everyone else, I might as well work them and get them out of the mix. If you add in the occasional deliberate QRM (sometimes even worse for a yl op) and it can get a bit tiresome (on both sides).Still, remind yourselves that this is supposed to be fun, not work! So enjoy.Linda KA1ZDLinda Churma Sumner 860-202-2999
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