On calling CQ (II)

I think N8LXR followed by WB2WIK/6 have come up with a very important topic. I agree in everything you both have said. But unfortunately in the meantime the topic got completely changed into another - #the “old stories”. No doubt, the old stories are very interesting, bring back good old memories and shed light upon amateur radio history. I love old stories but I would like to get back on track “How to call CQ” and how to finish a contact.
I think it is most important to tell amateurs how to do that, particularly how to spell a call sign correctly, because there are thousands who (knowingly?) ignore the Radio Regulations.

Some people find it trendy and smart to SUGAR around with ABLE and BAKER across the OCEAN and to meet people from UNIVERSITY with NANCY and VICTORIA in CANADA, MEXICO, GERMANY, ITALY, LUXEMBURG, JAPAN, WASHINGTON, PORTUGAL and TEXAS not to forget to take some photographs of the KING and the QUEEN listening to their RADIO, UNITED with MARY on a ZEBRA while they are on a visit in YUCATAN and HONOLULU.

These are some of the “modern” most frequently used phonetics that you can hear - daily. 90 percent of the amateurs do it the wrong way. It has become a real disease. But why?

A #correct “CQ” call has become an exception. The worst thing is to call “CQ” and “QRZ” at the same time. These people never have understood what “QRZ?” means and have urgently to become acquainted with the Q-code. But on the other hand the Q-code was created for CW-purpose only and is of no importance in a phone contact. If you do not agree you have to go “Morse”.
The reason why “CQ and “QRZ” is mixed up by so many amateurs is to be found in the contests. All analyses show that it is absolutely evident that contests have had the main effect on all bad manners and still have. Contests have corrupted correct operating to a very high degree. That is a fact. You only have to listen during a contest to know what’s going on.

There is much to say about all these bad habits, but let me return to a correct phone-call:
A correct DX-call would look like this:

“CQ long distance, this is DJ7YE, Delta Juliet Seven Yankee Echo, calling from Germany (3 times) and standing by”

If a contact has been established and you “pass the mike back” to your partner you ought to say:
“Go ahead please!” #It’s so simple to add that little word “please” …
There is no reason why not to say “please”, except #you are in a hurry like the contesters and the fifty-nine-mafia. Their only objective is to work as many stations as possible. Have you ever been aware of the fact that you mean absolutely nothing to them. The one thing they need is your call sign – nothing else. They don’t care the hell for your person and your personal concerns, feelings or emotions. Human relations symbolize just as much garbage to them as a correct report.

When using CW send a 3 by 3 “CQ”. This means the letters “CQ” sent three times, followed by your call sign sent three times, and then the same group sent again, for example:

CQ #CQ #CQ #de DJ7YE DJ7YE DJ7YE #

sent twice and finally end with the letters “ar pse k”
Some other countries included the U.S.A. do not use the abbreviation “pse” for “please” when working CW. This is something that I never have understood.
Why no endmark “ar” and why no “pse”?

A friendly “please” may be a way to distinguish amateurs from the commercial "robot" on a control tower (but even some of them are very polite).
It is so very easy to be courteous and to add the "pse" what I have done since 1962 and I do not understand that there are only very few nations doing it (teaching it) #this way.

This is (was) the method which is (was) used in Germany and several other European countries for many years.
New unconventional behaviour has taken place and has changed the practice of many amateurs. Don’t be surprised if you will hear adaptations absolutely impossible leaving out “de” and “k”
something like “CQ XX1XX ar”.
What you hear frequently is “QRZ XX1XX k” which means “you are called by XX1XX, over”. But it is taken as “Who is calling me, here is XX1XX, over”.
The confusion is perfect.
“QRZ” WITHOUT a question mark instead of a “CQ” has become most up-to-the-minute. This is one of the worst habits that I have ever registered in amateur radio. In a word: everything is upside-down in our fun-society …...

There are many possibilities for a directed CQ :

CQ DX de ….. # # (for CQ long distance)
CQ pacific de …. #(self-explaining)
CQ OC de …. # # #(for CQ Oceania)

At the end of most transmissions/conversations you will hear people sending their “seventy-threes”, another impossible abbreviation. Seventy-threes have never existed because this would be the plural of “73” and “73” means “best wishes” , “many greetings”. If you try to form the plural you will get something like “best wisheses” or “many greetingses”. That is why writings like “73s”, “73’s” and similar versions are nonsense.
What is more, it is no good style to use Q-code and any other CW-abbreviations in a phone-contact. Why don’t you say “Who is calling me?” instead of “QRZ?”. Our languages have so many nice words to please your partner, but if you are using Morse-code you may show your fellow amateurs how plentiful your collection of all kind of abbreviations is.
Let us keep it this way and return to the good customs of amateur radio for the benefit of #CLARITY and unambiguousness. This applies to the spelling of a call sign just as good as for a CQ-call. And if you hear a station calling CQ that you wish to answer, please do not forget to transmit the call sign of the calling station first when you reply, followed by your own call sign. If you pass on only your own call it may cause a lot of confusion.
I have listened to many poor guys operating “5 up” not knowing that a “rare one” was awaiting his “customers”. These unlucky fellows had called “CQ” on the listening frequency of the “rare one” and did not know what was going on there. After they were standing by, they picked a call out of the (rare ones) pile-up and answered in a correct transmission but the calling station (of course) did not come back. After the same procedure had happened to the poor fellow several times he gave up, highly frustrated and never answered a call again unless the call was clearly directed to him with his call sign transmitted first.
All this shows how important it is to obey the rules and regulations. At any rate it is a good idea to comply with good old customs. Don’t make a fool of yourself inventing new eccentric modes of operation because good operators will identify you as a “lid” or a “wouff hong”.
With best regards
Bert, DJ7YE

[WG7X]

Hello, Bert.

Lots of good points in your post, but your anti-contest bias detracts from the overall content.

It would have been a better post without the editorial slant.

Are you going to beat the anti contest drum with every post?

If you become a one note player, most folks will not bother to read your posts, which would be a shame, because you ovbiously care about the hobby/service.

73 Gary WG7X

[K3XR]

["it would have been a better post without the editorial slant"...wg7x]

i think not....last time i looked this forum was called...talk and opinions....bert is free to give his opinion all he wants...you are free not to read it.

dan k3xr

[N7CPC]

Count the words in thisn', Glen. I think he's after your record!

73 de Craig...........N7CPC

[W3SY]

Not to be picky, or anything, but a wouff hong is not a lid. It's an instrument of torture to be used against lids. (As are rettysnitches and uggerumphs.)

Q-signal abuse and "Best 73's" (best best regardses) have been with us for decades. A free Mark-V Field should be awarded to whoever can figure out how to eliminate such usage.

And *I* will spring for a shiny new 100 foot Rohn tower for whoever succeeds in eliminating the use of "QSL" to mean "yes," "I agree," or "TAIN FOAR." Good luck.

As for Phonetics (or Funnyetics), yeah, there's the ITU standard alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta...). But can I still be W3 Strawberry Yogurt?

[KB9BVN]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (w3sy @ June 14 2002,12:31)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">And *I* will spring for a shiny new 100 foot Rohn tower for whoever succeeds in eliminating the use of &quot;QSL&quot; to mean &quot;yes,&quot; &quot;I agree,&quot; or &quot;TAIN FOAR.&quot; Good luck.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Hmmmm...according to what I have here for refernece...QSL means &quot;Can you acknowledge receipt?&quot; #and if used as a reply, it means YES, I acknowledge receipt.

If I were sending my address in a QSO I might add QSL? at the end. #The other op might just reply QSL with no question mark.

Now if i said, &quot;I caught a 10 pound Bluegill #today, gotta be the biggest fish I ever saw.&quot; and he said &quot;QSL&quot; then I know he&#39;s really saying &quot;Yup, uh huh&quot;....but that&#39;s not what QSL is supposed to mean, it&#39;s just what we&#39;ve come to understand it as.

QRL? #- Is the frequency in use?
QRL - The frequency is in use.


73 de KB9BVN

[W3SY]

Hi BVN --

I dig what you&#39;re sayin&#39;. #I&#39;m referring more to the following:

&quot;Yeah, that ol&#39; snuffskeeter KF9XQL sure is a cotton pickin&#39; bucketmouth&#33;&quot;

&quot;CUUUUUUE ESS ELL&#33;&quot;


-or-

&quot;Are you gonna be puttin&#39; up that new Signal Kicker on top of yer Moonraker? Break&#33;&quot;

&quot;QSL&#33;&quot;


Dude, I know what the PROPER USE of QSL is. As a question, &quot;Do you acknowledge receipt?&quot; As a statement, &quot;I acknowledge receipt.&quot; # # In the fishing example you gave, I&#39;d say QSL was inappropriately used, wouldn&#39;t you?

So are you gonna compete for the shiny new tower, hmm?

[K9STH]

QBE

For those who are not familar with the Q signals:

QBE = I am reeling in my antenna.

QBE? = Are you reeling in your antenna?

This was used by CW operators on aircraft that used trailing wire antennas that had to be reeled in before the aircraft could land. It basically means the same as QRT.

That is basically all that I can think of to say about this particular subject&#33;

Glen, K9STH

[W3SY]

Proposed NEW Q signals:

QET? #Do you have to QRT to eat?
QET # I Must QRT to eat.

QFU? #Did you just cuss me out?
QFU # I&#39;m cussing you out.

QCB? #Do you think you are still on CB?
QCB # I think I&#39;m still on CB.

QLD? #Am I a lid?
QLD # You are a lid.

QRB? #Do you dig my new &quot;Roger Beep?&quot;
QRB # I dig your new &quot;Roger Beep.&quot;

QWF? Did you hear me arguing with my wife on the Autopatch?
QWF #I heard you arguing with your wife on the autopatch.

QTF? #Tain foar?
QTF # #TAIN FOAR&#33;&#33;

[K9STH]

You forget the tried and true Q signal QLF that was used when working someone with a really bad CW &quot;fist&quot;.

QLF = Now try sending with your LEFT foot

QLF? = Are you sending with your left foot?

However, there was a handicapped amateur back in the late 1950s who really did have to send CW by working his key with his left foot. But, he really had some fun with that particular &quot;made up&quot; Q signal (he had a very good sense of humor).

Glen, K9STH