[SFDXA] How to be a LID

Sun Aug 25 11:32:10 EDT 2013

Please don't forget to modulate your overdriven amplifier with plenty of 
cooling fan audio;  an S9 signal of pure electric motor fan noise sounds 
plenty lid like when calling DOG X-RAY Beaming Asia!

73 de W4DL   Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Marx" <bmarx at bellsouth.net>
To: <sfdxa at mailman.qth.net>; <qcwa69 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2013 8:44 AM
Subject: [SFDXA] How to be a LID

> From Tony N2MFT
>>
>> Thanks to Trent N4DTF
>>
>> Lids
>>
>> Guys, I thought this was funny. Posted in a ham radio group on Facebook. 
>> But the article is from 1978. Not much has changed.
>>
>> My personal pet peeve is "N4DTF for ID" on the repeaters, LOL
>>
>> SO YOU WANT TO BE A LID!
>> Lid...a term used in amateur radio to denote a poor operator; one who is 
>> inept at the practice of the art.
>>
>> A monumental problem facing amateur radio today is the alarming amount of 
>> poor operators filling the air waves. It is the opinion of many that one 
>> of the reasons for this is the fact that many of the new operators really 
>> have not been advised about proper operating procedures. Too many of the 
>> "amateur radio classes" produced today spend very little, if any, time 
>> correcting operating procedures. Their major thrust is to teach the code, 
>> cram  the theory, and fill out a 610 form!
>>
>> It is easy to be a lid, it must be, there are so many of them. If you are 
>> already a lid, read on. you may find some new "lid-isms." If you are not 
>> yet a full-fledged lid, you may learn some new material for your next 
>> transmissions.
>>
>> Probably the most popular is "QRZ the frequency." Nobody can be quite 
>> sure what the exact meaning of this is.  The ARRL Handbook lists QRZ as a 
>> CW "shorthand" signal meaning "Who is calling me?" On phone it may mean 
>> something else, although I can't imagine a frequency calling someone! I 
>> even heard a W5 utter "QRZ the channel!" Now this guy is a chief lid. The 
>> frequency was silent for a while (Probably as most good operators were in 
>> a state of shock) and then a signal from afar responded, "This is the 
>> channel and I wasn't calling you!"
>>
>> I think "QRZ the channel" and "QRZ the frequency" are real winners. Use 
>> them a lot. You'll chase the good, experienced hams out of their gourds.
>>
>> Actually, the use of "Q" signals on phone is in itself a true "lid-ism." 
>> The "Q" signals were devised by high speed CW operators as a form of 
>> "shorthand" in order to speed up their transmissions. What use they have 
>> on phone is questionable, as in many cases you can say the actual meaning 
>> just as fast. In many cases they cause more confusion than if you would 
>> have said the actual meaning. Then you get the real lid who comes off 
>> with  "QRM-Mary or QRN-Nancy?" Good heavens, why didn't he just say he 
>> had interference?
>>
>> Now, you must be ready with this one at a moment's notice: "HI." Never, 
>> ever, laugh if you find something funny. Say "HI" or even better "HI-HI." 
>> It doesn't really take the place of laughter, but it tells the other 
>> operators that you know how to laugh on CW.
>>
>> Another one. Always give your callsign phonetically when operating on 
>> phone, especially when conditions are good and signals are clear. It's 
>> another small way to take up valuable air time without really adding any 
>> intelligence to a conversation. To cut a fine line, it is not legal to 
>> identify your station by saying "Whiskey Five Victor Sierra Romeo." If 
>> your call is issued W5VSR, the identification is "This is W5VSR." If copy 
>> is difficult and for clarification, then, "This is W5VSR. Whiskey Five 
>> Victor Sierra Romeo." So continue your lid-ism and show how clever you 
>> can be with ridiculous phonetics. A good friend of mine is W5BS; he has a 
>> lot of self-restraint!!
>>
>> Are you interested in DX? Put these on your DX lid list, "CQ Dog X-Ray." 
>> jazz it up a little by saying, impressively "CQ Dog X-Ray, beaming Asia." 
>> Not only does that improve your antenna's directionality, but it lets 
>> everyone hearing you think you have a beam, whether you do or not.
>>
>> The number one, all time lid award of the century goes to those great DX 
>> operators who listen down on one frequency in the foreign part of the 
>> band and transmit up in the American phone band without ever listening on 
>> the transmitting frequency to see if it was clear. Of course, you must 
>> use two processors, in tandem, mike gain wide open, and drive your three 
>> 8877 final tubes with an SB-220 while bellering forth, "CQ Dog X-Ray" for 
>> five continuous minutes, before listening. This is the way to attract 
>> lots of attention. Lots of it!
>>
>> Next on the list is the subject of "Break." I do believe that we 
>> inherited that one from the CBers. Just find a comfortable roundtable in 
>> progress, and say "Break" or better "Break-Break" or best 
>> "Breaker-Breaker." Don't give any calls; neither the station you hear nor 
>> your own. Don't listeh for a few minutes first to find out if you can 
>> hear all of the stations in the roundtable. Just break in and disrupt 
>> everything. If that doesn't work, start tuning up your rig on that 
>> frequency. After all, aren't the frequencies there for all to enjoy?
>>
>> Here are some quickies: Say "Go" or "Come back" or "C'mon, Good Buddy," 
>> instead of "Over" if you think you must say anything at all to let the 
>> other operator know you are ready to listen to him. Don't forget the all 
>> time Broderick Crawford "10-4" or better "That's a big 10-4."
>>
>> It is a shame the F.C.C. no longer requires us to indicate portable 
>> operation. They have taken away another opportunity for the 
>> lid-ism---"This is Whiskey Five Very Strong Radio, Port Five." I just 
>> typed this on my port typewriter!
>>
>> RESULTS GUARANTEED!!
>> Did you ever hear a phone operator who sounds like he's operating from a 
>> dungeon? Maybe he is, but even without a dungeon you can get the same 
>> effect by turning up your mike gain and holding your Golden Eagle D-104 
>> at least one foot, ibetter at two, from your face. Never close talk a 
>> mike. Disc Jockeys never do and they are "cool." When you are on the air, 
>> you are "cool" too, so you do the same. Communications microphones are 
>> designed to be close talked. Keep that mike gain at a minimum level. That 
>> way you won't be transmitting the voices of your wife and kids screaming 
>> five rooms away. Of course, to be a super lid in the audio department, do 
>> use a "power mike" driving a processor. Everybody knows that the 
>> engineers who designed your transmitter purposely made it short on mike 
>> gain.
>>
>> Lastly, when giving your name, refer to it as your "Handle." It's folksy. 
>> And be sure to say, "The handle here is Beaver." That's liddier than just 
>> plain, "My name is Beaver." It also helps to punctuate your remarks with 
>> "By golly" whenever possible and remember whenever in a large roundtable, 
>> especially on a VHF repeater, give each and every call sign in the group 
>> complete with phonetics when IDing. Also don't forget to add "For ID" 
>> after your callsign.
>>
>> There are many other ways to be a lid, but I feel confident that if more 
>> operators were to take a look at this disaster from the lighter side, 
>> perhaps we'll all see just how ridiculous most of the phone operation on 
>> the ham bands is today. Phone conversation should really not take on a 
>> much different atmosphere from talking to your friends on the telephone. 
>> Do you say "Over" or "Break" or the worst "Come back" when you are on the 
>> telephone? Well then, why do so many do it on the amateur bands? All of 
>> that is ever so redundant on a repeater system where most have 
>> "End-of-transmission" beep tones; and of course, there is usually a 
>> squelch burst ahead of that, so you actually ended up with a fellow 
>> ending his sentence with "Come back".... followed by a squelch burst 
>> followed by the repeater's beep and in many cases the repeater carrier 
>> dropping. You have just four indications that it's your turn! QSL?
>>
>> Let's all pay more attention to this problem and see if we can help 
>> "Clean up" our operations and put amateur radio operations back up to the 
>> more professional nature that it enjoyed before many poor habits of the 
>> CB band crept up on us.
>>
>> This article appeared in the September, 1978, Ham Radio Horizons, 
>> entitled "So You Want To Be a Lid!," by A.J. "Buddy" Massa, W5VSR.
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