Operating notes: POTA ops becoming ragchewers, all quiet on 30 meters, give me a BK

Last week, I heard someone calling CQ on 7028 kHz. Band conditions weren’t great, our signals were weak, and the other op’s sending was a bit shaky, but I replied to the call. After a little back and forth, we finally got each others’ calls correct, exchanged signal reports, names, and locations, then had a short conversation.

The next morning, I found an email from the guy in my inbox. It read:

Hi Dan,

This is Joe [name changed to protect the innocent :)]. I got your email from QRZ. Thanks for bearing with me. I somehow got the courage to actually call out CQ for the first time and there you were. I had done CW POTA hunts before but never an open ragchew. The band was in and out but I got about 60% of what you said. Anyway. I hope to run into you again down the wire.

Take care and thanks again!

How cool is that? I was on the right frequency at the right time to be someone’s first ragchew! I certainly do hope that I run into Joe again and that we have a longer QSO next time.

The point here is that we should always be on the lookout for newcomers to CW and encourage them to ragchew. Organizations like POTA, LICW, and SKCC have gotten more hams on CW. Now, it’s our job as seasoned CW operators to get them to take the next step and become ragchewers. So, watch out for these operators and help them along. And, after you contact them, follow up with an email or a QSL card. With a little encouragement, they might become the next CWops member and a lifelong friend.

All quiet on 30 meters

Is it just me or has activity dropped on 30 meter CW lately? Over the summer, I thought the lack of activity was due to it being summer and people were outside doing things, and that it would pick up in the fall. That’s failed to happen, however.

I hope this is just temporary. 30 meters is my favorite band, but it’s no fun if I’m not making  any contacts.

Give me a BK

Operating procedures, like language in general, is always changing. One trend that I’ve noticed lately is the increased use of BK to signal the other operator that it’s their turn to transmit instead of sending “<their call sign> DE <your call sign>” or “DE <your call sign>.

I’m all for this change in procedure. The rules state that you only have to identify every 10 minutes, so this is perfectly legal, and I think it facilitates conversation. So, give me a BK instead of your call sign next time we make contact.