[Elecraft] Data mode and filters

[GRANT YOUNGMAN]

> On May 9, 2015, at 4:50 PM, Matthew Pitts via Elecraft <elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> 
> Phil,
> This is a good idea, … or they deliberately make bad adjustments for whatever reason, and don't want to accept the negative signal reports as fact.
> Matthew PittsN8OHU 
> 

Look .. some guy you’ve never heard of sends you an email telling you your signal is wide.  And sends a screenshot from somewhere.  I think it would be the reaction of most people to ask “who is this guy, where is his badge, why is he trolling me, and who the <deleted> does he think he is .. the president of my HOA”?  For those of you sending “friendly” emails, to presume that your "fabulous highly educated, K3-whatever-based signal measurement expertise” or the fact that you’re “famous” (real or imagined) as a signal quality control genius in your close-knit group  is going to push a concrete block out of the way is assuming too much.  After all, the guy receiving the email has a Wizeroo 1000 transceiver and Gozmodics 1500 amp, and .. well … they’re the BEST, and they’re connected together just like they’re supposed to be … and the score is everything anyway, which is why all the knobs are turned all the way up, and if there’s a problem it’s YOUR receiver.

So maybe the fellow sending you the report of how wide your signal is is tuning around on a SX-28(?).  After all, your contest score is fine, your sidetone is clean, and NO ONE else told you your signal sucks.  

What are you going to think?  You’re going to blow the guy off.  Of course you will.  I would, too — because I MONITOR my signal, and would know one way or the other (it’s amazing the number of hams that don’t own a scope, but that’s another issue).

Sending someone an email after the fact might make a difference in a minuscule number of cases.  Teaching someone new to it all how to properly adjust a transmitter/amp will help, too.  My cynical view is that an ever increasing number take the “open carry and it’s all about me me” society we increasingly live in into radio — if you think you can gain an advantage by screwing up your signal to <deleted>  everyone else … well …the score and potential for celebrity is everything.  Or some bit of all of the above.  Which is why during the seemingly never ending contests on the weekends, I go outside and find something actually productive to do … :)

Grant NQ5T