Issue 20: Let's Ditch the One-Minute QSO!

That's a good point Rick. Those medical conversations are a real turn off. Contesting is scary for newcomers, though. It's like jumping into a very fast moving stream before you really know you can swim. Do the really ACE contesters feel it's OK for newbies to jump in ("You're 5-9. Number 001") or would they prefer NOT to have those on the band? I don't know, as I am not a contester. Once again, I'm not arguing in favor of really long boring conversations. I'm arguing in favor of adding another item or two to our short list of "the usual suspects" and maybe, just maybe, finding out that there are people out there you want to talk to again!

 

I learned to "play" ham radio in high school where our electonics instructor had a ham set up in the back of the room. We got to try it out whenever we wanted but it wasn't until he let some of us stay up overnight with him for the ARRL Sweepstakes contest in Nov where we got through the mike fright. We actually started calling CQ Contest, instead of stalk and pounce, in the hopes for more contacts. LOL. We weren't very successful but it was a handful of kids getting on the air with everyone else and we had a ball. We ordered pizza and slept on the floor or whereever we could. What could be more fun for a bunch of high school kids back in the day.

Admittedly, today I'm not much of a ragchewer. I don't avoid it but if the person I'm on with doesn't have the same interests beyond ham radio, the conversation doesn't take off.

 

Makes sense Rick, thanks. Funny story about the HS kids and the contest, Dave

 

Hi Dave
Since my family have all grown up i came bact to the hobby it was nice to catch up with old hams i chatted with many years ago and have learned about the new modes FT8 is a very big no for me made something for WSPR but i also have found what i call verble ft8 where you get a 5/9 best 73's and a QRZ all in the same sentence , so now i listen and if i hear a station doing this i don't bother going back ( i know in contest it has to be like this and during sporadic e season on the higher bands ) Now to the more posvite i found a good group on 29mhz AM who wanted to talk and were very welcoming and a Group in south wales who have a net on gb3 bc with the repeater groups permission ,all welcome also i have been on QO-100 and have had some qso's that have gone on for nearly a hour this is my sort of contacts with many qso with the same stations talking about allsorts .
So my message is there are still people who would like to talk and pass on info and offer help. There are more than you might think you just have to look .
all the best kelvin

 

Dave: enjoyed the article, and I can fully relate. When I got my General ticket, I had by then only made a few contacts with my VHF hand-held on the local 2m repeater system. Once I had the General in hand, and my HF station was setup, I sat there listening, and listening....and listening some more. I was trying to "learn the lingo" so I wouldn't seem like a total dork when I finally got on the air. I had words, notes on procedures, phrases, the "Q-codes"....even my callsign and first name completely spelled out in the phonetic alphabet...on a notepad on the desk.

Still, I was SO nervous the first time I heard someone calling CQ, and I screwed up the courage to respond. And then, the same nervousness when I decided to try calling CQ on my own; somehow it seemed like a bigger "responsibility" being the instigator instead of the responder? But eventually, like everything else in life: practice makes perfect, or at least brings a sense of ease and familiarity.

One thing I might add to your comments on joining in (breaking in?) on some other ongoing QSO. We all must be aware that others are potentially listening in on any QSO going on, so if you are open to others joining in....perhaps saying so and "opening the door" would be nice. Just as we need to ID at least every 10 minutes, why not throw out a: "Hey, anyone else want to join in on this?" statement occasionally? I know that personally I have listened in on QSO's that I would have loved to join into, but felt that it would be rude to just bust in unannounced. Sometimes there's a lull where you can slip in a "Contact??" and see if you get an invite reply, but that is not always the case.

On a different note, but sorta related: I really like it when a POTA activator, special event station, contester, etc...will smooth out a pileup by taking calls from each individual call section and/or operator type. I'm more than willing to sit there and listen while he/she rolls through each category: "only QRP stations please....OK, now only "1" stations....now the "2" stations...etc". Gives more people a chance to break the big pileups or be heard over the legal-limit crowd.

That's all I got. Catch ya later.
Brando

 

Did you mean FT8?

I've had more than 46,000 QSOs in the past 24 years without saying a word - they were all on CW. (I know this from LOTW).

 

I'm well over 40 and I do not like talking on the phone, I would much rather email or text, then I have written proof of what I said!

73

 

Yes, Dave. We've been talking about this exact point many times at our club meetings. The mic shyness syndrome is spreading even on us, the "not so youngs". I use to ragchew for hours in my college days, the radio ways always on, on my desk, and I used tojump to the QSO as soon as I heard someone around. I called CQ often over my Swiss Quad and someone answered from the other side of the world almost everyday... But now, I'm close to 60 and I have to recognize, I don't do it anymore. I enjoy digitals, I listen to local QSOs, I listen to DX stuff also, but I don't jump in. I became mic shy. It's sad for me, and I find it difficult to get back.

 

After the exchange of RST, QTH, and name on CW the conversation goes to weather, radio, antenna, and then to what one did for a living. Most hams had work that involved something technical, and the conversation goes on from there. One can always learn something new. Years ago, I used to work a ham in the Chicago area that was an engineer with Motorola and worked on writing the digital encryption for radio systems as well and many other things. He used a straight key, and I would kid him about staying digital even when not working. As heard many times they say they talk to people all day and sit behind a computer so why should they want to do that to relax when they come home. Some of these conversations can go a very long time. When learning as a Novice, long conversations were good to learn and improve use of the code and as for me that has not changed. You get to meet some very interesting people out there. Many here on QRZ I have worked a number of time over the years.

 

Hi Guille - I'm glad my article resonated. What do you think you have to do to get back to the old days, the quality conversation? There ought to be a way to blend our POTA's and contesting and short QSO's with some longer ones as well. Dave, W7DGJ

 

Hey Rusty, you sound like a CW ragchewer par excellence! Hope to run into you on the air and you can teach me a few things. One of the best things I remember from my code class when I came back to the hobby was the period of time when the teacher would ask us to send/receive code about random subjects, such as "Tell us about your first car." When that happened, you REALLY know what you are capable of. When the QSO goes beyond the three norms, that's when code is tough. Dave, W7DGJ

 

Thanks for the input Brando. I LOVE THE COMMENT about the "add on" to the ten minute ID on a multi-user conversation. I just revised the article in that section to include! Dave, W7DGJ

 

In 1995, internet was a major disruption to ham radio. In the old days, we would get on a repeater to coordinate a lunch meet up - or to discuss the latest gear. Communication was occurring because we had no other method. Now, much of what we do goes by text message or discord channel. How many of you texted your ham buddies instead of getting on the air? Sent them a video clip of that new antenna? The need for communications far and wide by radio is also diminished. We all used to listen to international chats and even listen in on phone patch traffic from around the world via HF - now it's all on the cellphone and internet with a whatsapp call or video via starlink satellite. Even the "most remote" places on earth are hardly remote now days. There is less NEED to talk about things on ham radio because there are other channels for that same communications. Technology in general has reduced our attention span -it's no wonder that Tik Tok has displaced youtube and facebook as youth entertainment.

A second disruption happened in 2001 with the elimination of the morse code elements for obtaining a ham radio license. It was one of the very few items in the hobby that bonded and bound hams together across the globe -- learning and using morse code to communicate broke down language barriers. Sure, some learned it for the test and dropped it -- but there was still that period of learning and doing by getting on the air to get that code speed up. That's all gone now. Many hams have their ticket and seldom if ever have been on the air. Amazing but true.

The hobby has always attracted its share of interoverts, wierdos, and geeks. That probably hasn't been a contributor for or against communication content as I think the above 2 factors far outweigh the introvert premise. The hobby has ALWAYS had a bunch of geek introverts - it's just that they, all of us infact, communication by other channels now so less goes "over the air". Look at this thread - 30 deep - all of it among hams and none of it over the air.

The introvert factor does likely have an influence on the types of activities that are popular today: FT8, POTA, contesting, or the 1 minute HF qso -- all are low contact activities with low risk of "exposure" or letting the world in.

The issue of mic fright is probably related to the growing trend of autism spectrum disorder and anxiety and depression that have both become a common mental health diagnosis. We are an older population and not surprisingly depression effects older people more than the young.

Finally, it is apparent that some hams are just scared of their own shadow. Talking on repeaters is just "too people-ey". They're the ones at field day spinning the dial up and down the band but with zero contacts in the log. You can't fix that... it's just who they are.

 

Well, I will admit I don't call CQ as often as I use to, but I don't get to go fishing as often much anymore either. However, I still do and when I do sit down at the radio, I enjoy most contacts I make even if they are just 1-minute wonders. I Strickley work SSB and I'm a casual DX chaser. I have done FT8 and decided it was not for me. What I will say is that my most memorable contacts weather state side or DX have been those where an actual conversation occurred beyond the usual 59 QTH report. There is something about those contacts where you realize that both parties are really engaged in the conversation, and you find out about common hobbies or interests. When this does occur it rekindles my passion for the hobby because that is part of the magic of it.

 

Hey, joe, let me be the first to say that this is a really good post and it ties in a great deal to the conversation. Some very good points made. Thanks for your contribution, Dave