[CW] Etiquette(SP!) question...

[David J. Ring Jr - N1EA]

I seems I stirred up a hornet's nest with a comment about QRP stations.
Some of them are so darned weak it hurts my ears - and I'm a professional
operator.  I have to admit that I am used to Distress and Safety circuits
where I was paid to get signals - but it can be irritating when a guy is 20
dB below the noise and calls you - only to figure out he is a W5.

It is also really irritating when some ham spends 15 minutes calling you
then after you get his callsign, goes to 100 watts where he is S9, but at 3
watts (for some unknown reason) he is unreadable without terrible effort.

I am talking about Readability 1 or 2  - signals that are really RST 119 to
219.
When they finally are copyable they are probably up to 229 or so.

I have at least four friends - probably more - that have permanent hearing
loss because of digging weak signals out from the noise.  But I also have to
say that because they did so, thousands of people are alive today.

I'm using a ICOM 756PRO and DSP and my ears and still I can barely copy
them.  Well, I guess I stepped on the QRPers toes!  It IS terribly exerting
to copy signals so weak.  I have friends who have suffered permanent hearing
loss because they listened to weak signals they HAD to copy on SOS circuits.

This isn't SOS communications - don't make people dig so hard for you unless
you do have some sort of emergency.  MANY QRPers who I've said "I can't copy
you" come back at higher power and I make an enjoyable QSO.

What happens when you run high power is that tons of really weak signals
call you.  It can be enjoyable to work someone when the band is really open
who is running 2 watts from Central Asia.  But it can be really frustrating
when a low power, poor antenna fellow calls you when conditions are POOR.

The other problem involving low power stations is the guys who have been
sold a "bill of goods" thinking that two watts is all they "need".  That is
bunk.

Many of these people leave the hobby because they've spent their money on a
QRP radio, it didn't work well, then they never had the cash to buy a decent
radio.

Someone should tell them:  Buy a 100 watt radio, then run it at QRP if you
want to.

That at least makes sense for everyone.

73

David Ring
N1EA