Thank you for the kind offer, Chip. If I get a 6 m rig, I want it to be a permanent part of my station. Aside from 220, it's the only band I don't have from 160 m to 440 mhz. If I do get one, be on the look out for a PM.
When, in a world long ago and far away, repeater activity was fast and furious, calling CQ would certainly have created some unnecessary QRM. Nowadays, it's probably a good idea to call CQ once in a while if simply to blow the dust out of the duplexers.
When I hear "<callsign> listening", I usually think.... hmm okay they are probably waiting for a friend to call them... maybe on the drive home from work. Who knows what exactly they are listening for? When I hear CQ I know it exactly what it means..
I have done exactly that, I checked into a net using MCW via a Pico Keyer . The people who knew CW thought it was great fun and talked about it for some time afterwards but the people who didn't know it were outraged and I made a few enemies that day and didn't even know until later. This is where the Old Timers generally show how much they contribute to the hobby because they have seen it all before, such things are nothing new to them and they can see the humor and fun in things. One of my CW Elmers was W5PEW, he has been a SK for some time now but I can see him laughing at this, he was a really cool guy. We called him Pepe Le Pew
It's really not that bad here. There is one 2m machine that is but that's only one out of many others. It's programmed in my radio but not on my scan list. DMR and Fusion do have some TG/rooms that do have issues so I just stay off them as well.
And hams wonder why more people don't pick up the hobby. I'm one of those "no-code Techs". Got my license back in 1997. Upgraded to General in 2008 and am working on my Extra. I -still- get castigated on HF by the "old-timers" because I don't use Morse code (that doesn't mean I don't know it, but hey, let's not let facts get in the way of a good chewing out). Slowly but surely, that attitude is dying out. Hopefully sooner than later.
Just send FQ then sign off. I have noticed many identify by "morse code extra" in their bio, signature files and even PSK 31 macro dumps. It is a little odd and it is very belittling to new extras because the code is not even offered so why are they belittled over that, something beyond their control.
Alas, that attitude is dying out because the "old-timers" are dying out. There is a great deal of knowledge in those older hams, if only they were more interested in sharing their knowledge than putting-down those who are less experienced. My uncle, W3HJE (Amateur Advanced) recently became a SK and took much of the knowledge he was trying to impart with him. Good luck with your Extra. My XYL (K3TBD) and I (K3IVN) earned our General tickets a year ago last week, and are now studying for our Extra exams. Once I get through the Extra license, I want to learn CW (or rather refresh myself on CW) and get into that as well, but heck, you have to start somewhere. We weren't all born with an iambic paddle glued to our fingers! Hihi. 73, Scott (K3IVN)
W5JCK, The repeaters near me (Baltimore/DC corridor) are often silent as well, except during drive time and ARES/RACES drills. As a relatively new Ham, I have asked my fare share of questions that I'm sure you would call "stupid." For those of us who got into the hobby without having an Elmer to look up to, it's tough to get over that hurdle and get started in the hobby. First, you don't want to spend a ton of cash on radios when you aren't yet sure the hobby is for you. Then, you have to deal with the limited Technician privileges, where you are relegated to mostly FM repeaters on 2m/70cm or certain portions of some HF bands... It isn't until you pass your General, and get a good introduction to HF that the world of Amateur Radio really begins to open up to new hams. I have to admit that if my XYL and I weren't going through classes at the National Electronics Museum and working with some outstanding Elmers in our class, we may have stopped at tech, as that was all we needed for our ARES/RACES nets. Ham radio really came alive for me when I went to Field Day for my local ARC last June. I was a newly licensed General at that point and had little or no HF experience. I started out as a participant on their GOTA station, and by the end of Field Day was coaching prospective hams and cranking out the QSOs along with my XYL. Over the past year we have built our shack in our basement, learned a great deal about grounding, antennas, how to eliminate RFI, digital modes, etc. Are we the best hams in the world? NO, but we're eager to learn and give back by helping others with even less experience than us. I'm telling you my XYL's and my story because I want you to see that just because new Hams don't know everything yet, doesn't make us stupid, it just means we haven't gained experience yet. If more of the experienced hams would act as Elmers to help coach-up new hams, instead of denigrating them, it would really improve the quality of those new Hams. Though we newbies may be annoying because we don't know everything, as we learn, we will be in a position to give more back to the hobby and help ensure that there is a future for amateur radio. 73 de Scott (K3IVN)
