Digital eqtiquette
July 28, 2009 - 20:12
I have been operating the digital modes for 6 years. In that time, I noticed a the lack of operating courtesy when sending a cq using the psk31 mode on 20 meters. Many stations don't check to see if another station is in qso. The individuals start sending their cq's on top of or too close to the other station. This is especially noticeable when the 20 meter band does open and there are many stations on. Just to be sure, I send a QRL? that's cw for is the frequency/are you busy? Now many new operators may not understand that abbreviation. Just as in SSB, an operator should ask, "Is the frequency busy or in use?" Again, if the band is crowded with signals, it is pretty difficult to find an open place to send a cq. If you do land on someone in qso and you realize it, just move off frequency. I bring this up because of the slow start to cycle 24 and the digital modes seem to be the most active now.
How does the assembled multitude feel? Have they experienced such situations? This is food for thought. 73
July 29, 2009 - 01:07
#2
Re: Digital eqtiquette
HRD 5.0 is an excellent free program despite some negative reviews on eHAM. I especially like the integrated logbook and dx cluster module. I have used HRD 3.0 and4.0 and by far this is the best one. It now employs RSID to detect incoming signals and informs you what digital mode the signal is. Like I mentioned earlier, it does have a learning curve. I like the program. I have tried them all: Multipsk, WinWarbler, Digipan, etc. HRD works for me.
Hey Fred! Good to have you in the community.
I have definitely experienced this from both angles; being affected by other stations’ transmissions as well as accidentally transmitting too close to another station. You make a good point about newcomers not knowing the proper procedure, possibly due to not having that QRL / CW foundation. I’ve thought about this myself, however more in the area of clean transmissions.
I think that clean transmitting practices can go hand in hand with operating etiquette. It seems that some people, unintentionally or otherwise, adjust their transmitters for “maximum smoke” to the disregard of other operators. It can be frustrating to attempt to copy a weak signal when a sloppy signal is on the air.
One possible solution to consider would be education. As far as I know, these topics are not included in the license study material. Well, the principals are there (listen before you transmit, tune before you transmit) but I don’t think they are applied to the digital modes (i.e. call QRL or something before transmitting, adjust for the AGC to be almost always at zero). When I started into PSK31, I did not know all about proper operating procedures (I also do not have the CW foundation). Maybe we should consider adding this to the PSK31 Guide page.
That’s just an idea for thought. Do you have any other possible solutions?
On another topic, how do you like HRD 5 Beta?
73,
Jacob, KD5TEN