[Meteor-Scatter] Perseids and operating procedures!

[Hannu/OH6MAZ]

Hello all ping-jockeys!

Perseids are over for this year and we'll have to settle for sporadic rocks
and/or wait for the next big one.

General opinion tends to be that Perseids this year may not have been what
was expected. Though on the other hand I was a bit surprised about the
amount of stations in .370 and neighbourhood.

There has been a lot of discussion and debate about what is the best and
ultimate real meteorscatter operating mode. I myself will continue working
them all (SSB/HSCW/WSJT) but I suspect that WSJT will take time from SSB,
since I have found out I'm not very good on SSB. Also I tend to think that
the really weak ones come better on HSCW.

There has been lot of comparing operating practices (WSJT/SSB/HSCW). In all
these modes people tend to stick on the calling frequency, though most
tranceivers now have vfo-knob that is quite easy to use. In HSCW there is a
practice where 144.100 is used only for calling and then both stations move
up to make the QSO. Unfortunately not all stations use this procedure. In
SSB too many stations stick to 144.200 and in WSJT it was almost useless to
try to call CQ outside 144.370.

There has been a suggestion that we should start using the same procedure in
WSJT than in CW to indicate the frequency shift. So CQA would mean +1kHz up
and CQE +5kHz up (How to indicate negative shifts?). But why should we use
the letters, why not indicate the shift itself (CQ 2UP or CQ 3DWN)? Whatever
the way is, we should agree on the procedure and then advertize it in local
ham-magazines and web. Without shift the result this year was that a few big
guns ( or stations with good locations) seemed to dominate the bursts and
the weak ones were left under them.


There was another issue that I also would like to raise up. It seemed to me,
that many (nonexperienced?) stations wanted to make only fast and easy qso:s
causing lot of fuss on the band. What I mean is that when they heard a CQ
they answered the proper way. OK, I heard them calling me and begun to send
calls+raport. After sending that for couple of periods I get a burst of the
same station forgetting me and calling CQ.  These guys have not understood
that even if you don't hear another station for 5 minutes, he may still be
there trying to make the QSO. Though I must confess that I spoiled one QSO
myself thinking that the other end had already got my final RRR's and went
downstairs for tea and sandwitches. After coming back to my radios I heard
the other end still sending me RRR. 'Oooppss' I thought and sent a few
periods of RRR73MAZ and the QSO was complete. Sorry!

But all in all - MS is fun! It was great to make 1700km QSO with stations
running only 20Wtts. Perseids brought me two new DXCC:s this year (GW and
HB9) even if I had to go to work for monday. I did not manage to complete
the almost 2200km HSCW sked, but at least we tried. I did not work a single
QSO on SSB this year. I'll look forward seeing you during weekends on
sporadics and wish you gl and a lot of nice contacts via MS!

Hannu/OH6MAZ


 ---
 Hannu Forsstr�m (OH6MAZ)
 mailto: oh6maz@sral.fi
 VHFDX = LE3  (= Luck * Experience * Endurance * ERP)