Appropriately enough for Thanksgiving, last night I worked Tom, W1EAT. When I asked him if he’d had a big Thanksgiving meal, he said that he and his wife were taking the opportunity afforded by the pandemic to lose weight, and that, in fact, he’d lost 20 pounds since March. When I mentioned that I’d made a pumpkin pie, he said that he didn’t even have any dessert this year!
Here’s Tom’s QSL from a previous contact. This QSL card, of course, is part of my collection of QSLs from stations whose call signs spell words.
Downside to having a good receiver
The Flex 6400 really has a fine receiver. More than once, I’ve had someone sign off on me, complaining that I was too weak or that my signal was fading, while his signal, though perhaps weak, was perfectly copyable. Of course, it could be that my signal was sub-par, but more often than not, they’re using an older rig, or often a compromise antenna.
Playing down to the competition
It seems that whenever I work someone who is making a lot of mistakes sending, my fist seems to deteriorate as well. Conversely, when someone is sending very good code, I’m motivated to send as well as I can, too.
I suppose something similar happens on phone. When you’re working someone who is a good operator, and by that I mean following good operating practices, such as speaking at an appropriate volume, using phonetics to identify, and so forth, you’re also motivated to do the same.
The moral of the story is that we should all strive to use good operating practices whenever we’re on the air.
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