Well said Steve. I certainly try to do that on a daily basis. Richard G3OQT
> On 17 Mar 2020, at 23:15, VE6WZ_Steve <[email protected]> wrote: > > With many hams around the world staying home and "practicing social > distancing” to “flatten the CV-19 curve”, what a great time to be on the > radio! > > Lets get out there and call CQ to stir up the band. (or ANY band for that > matter) > > There may be some out there that somehow think calling CQ is just for the > rare DX, and not for the average ham. I know there are many that have no > interest in woking just “plain old DX” that aren't new DXCC counters. I also > realize there are many that live in high noise city locations that have a > legitimate “alligator risk” by calling CQ. > However, to state the obvious, if no one calls CQ, no one is going to work > anyone! The conclusion will be “the band is dead”. > > Speaking of another benefit of RBN…..one comment…..”if I look at my waterfall > and don't see any traces, then the band is dead”. Well….often NOT true. It > is not unusual to see a blank pan-adapter, but then when checking the RBN > there is NO-ONE calling CQ….anywhere in the world! Is the band really dead?? > How do we know it's dead if no one is calling? (And yes, there are enough RBN > skimmers worldwide that almost any CQ will be decoded within a few seconds) > Many nights I have CQ'd into a “dead band” (blank pan-adapter, but also no > RBN activity) and been rewarded with lots of EU DX callers. > > There are a number of NA stalwarts calling CQ regularly on TB and a handful > from EU, VK and JA, but it would be great to see more activity. (last night I > heard Jon AA1K filling his log with EU). This winter I have worked quite a > few EU that have been running 100w from backyard antennas so it's not limited > to the big guns. > > For those that lament that everyone is on FT-8, perhaps it would be a good > idea to get on the band and make some CW noise instead of waiting for some > else to call CQ??? Thats what the FT-8 guys are doing…they hit the send key > on the FT-8 program and wait to see what happens. There is a lot of FT-8 > CQing going on…every 15 seconds, for hours. Maybe thats why it seems there > is more DX being worked on that mode? This season I have logged 1,587 EU > QSOs on CW with 498 unique callsigns, so CQing can be rewarding. 113 DXCC > since August. This has been one of the best TB seasons here at VE6WZ. The > season is not over yet. > > While stuck at home, turn on the radio and call CQ….on ANY band. See what > happens. Kinda like “old school” radio…using the “legacy" mode. > CQ..CQ…CQ….. > Why not? > > 73, de steve ve6wz > > > _________________ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
