Open letter to 30M (& other) Pactor users

Dear Pactor users,

You may or may not be aware that there is a fair amount of other kinds of digital traffic where you tend to hang out. I suspect you may have been there in that part of the band before our modes were invented or before I even got on HF. So I won't suggest you move, even though it would be easier for you few than for us many. But could you at least please listen before you transmit?!

That might cut half of the the unnecessary Pactor QRM at least. Remember that some of us enjoy weak signal modes which sometimes run below the noise floor. Those will occasionally be pretty hard to detect so we don't expect perfection. But we surely would like SOME reasonable consideration here! Probably 95% or more of us should be easy enough to hear.

Oh, your computer is set to automatic mode? Well, please tell your computer to listen for other modes first! Seriously! It is rude as all get out to suddenly run anywhere from a couple to a dozen ongoing QSO's off the band. Illegal, too. We know you don't do it on purpose, but this really does need to get addressed. Please ignore this no longer. It has been going on for many years now. It isn't getting any better. And it isn't that the Pactor community hasn't been asked. It is still poor practice, even if you aren't in the shack when it happens. Maybe you should get a consensus to change the listen protocol in your software or something? There have been some easily implemented methods proposed. Where is the progress on this?

Or how about just adapting to one of many newer, easier, cheaper, cleaner, & possibly somewhat narrower new modes which seem to do all you need and maybe then some? All you'll need is a sound card interface, and I bet you already have that! Keeping bandwidth down keeps more room for others to have fun on the bands too. (My preference- there is room if careful for wider/faster modes for those who desire) And pass messages from time to time if they are so inclined. There are some extremely robust modes out here now which require little power, are less affected by polar path, aurora, QSB & QRM, and decode to better than 10dB UNDER the noise floor. You have some good options for alternate methods, seems to me. Why not come join us in trying some of them? Several newer modes are being developed for NBEMS with ARQ and are capable of handling high volume text passing I understand. Software is free.... Available for your favorite flavor of OS, too.

So whichever way you choose to go, there really needs to be SOMETHING changed. It is time for action. We'd prefer this stay a friendly conversation. And we'd sure appreciate it if you'd try harder to cut us some slack on the bands. Please do the right thing here. Please stop QRM'ing (as in running off the band) multiple ongoing QSO's whenever you or your computer chooses. You are responsible for your station's operation are you not? Then please fix this- now- in whatever way you can.
And by all means stop by on one of the sound card modes and say hello! Or stop by one of the online forums to get more information on some of the modes which might be most suitable for supplementing or replacing the venerable Pactor. Many of the better software developers are really responsive & extremely helpful, and most seem to be fairly available via the various forums.

Thanks for listening!

73,

Stu AF6IT

From: QRZ.Com  :  http://forums.qrz.com/showpost.php?p=1998696&postcount=1

Thank you, this is interesting to watch!

Should we "spin the dial" when we encounter bad on the air behavior, and put our energy into policing ourselves instead of others?

Policing yourself is where you control your own behavior, and assume that others in your community will do the same.

- Not to be confused with "self policing" as applied to a large social group, where members police each others behavior in order to maintain a viable, independent group standard without outside intervention.

"Police yourself" is an admirable and laudable homily, but it obviously only works with those who really do not need to be restrained from bad behavior in the first place, thus leaving the real bad actors under no restraint at all.

Like "spin the dial", the "police yourself" ideal cedes territory to the bad actors until finally there is no place left to run and hide. - The end result can be seen by what happened to 11 meters. - Eventual and inevitable chaos, when the "police yourself" recluses are finally so outraged at the growing chaos around them that they leave the community - to the bad actors.

More and more territory is ceded to the bad actors - until they finally end up with all of it.

10-4, good buddy?

"Self-policing" on the other hand implies more personal involvement in the community, and a deeper investment in its long-term viability. Instead of running away from problems, you confront them, and find a way to deal with them before they can damage the community further. Bad actors who of course will not police themselves are subjected to peer pressure or direct community action and are thus policed by the community.

With this in mind, imagine two communities... Community "A" operates on the principle of "self policing" while community "B" operates on the principle of "police yourself" and the "spin the dial" mentality...

Which community do you really think is more likely to endure and hold true to its principles in the long run? - Hmmmmm?

Which one holds most true to what this country stands for? - Self-absorbed detachment and retreat, or active involvement in preserving and conserving the community along with its standards?

Retreating and running away from problems, or facing them and dealing with them?

Thus endeth the lesson.
__________________

Chicken Vegetable Soup:

The meat:

I use chicken breast meat, but any of it is good, as long as there are no bones or gristle. I cut it up into 1/2" to 3/4" chunks, brown it in some oil, and put the pieces into a bowl with a little teriyaki sauce dribbled on top while I prepare the vegetables.

The vegetables:

I use frozen corn, peas, broccoli chunks, and 1/4" frozen carrot cubes. I also use some 1/4" potato pieces which need to be microwaved or fried until done.

The Soup:

After dumping the meat and vegetables into a saucepan, I put in just enough water to almost but not quite cover it. To this, I add:

Garlic ( Powder, granules, or slices... Whatever you have on hand, however much you like )

Onion ( dried or fine chopped, and not much of it )

Black pepper ( Your favorite grind )

Chicken bullion powder ( or crumbled cubes ) according to how much water you used.

Maggi seasoning ( a dash of this is optional, will give you that "Campbells Soup" flavor.

Corn Starch to thicken the soup so that the ingredients stay in suspension, and do not immediately drop to the bottom of the pan. Try two tablespoons to start, add more later if necessary.

Add milk until the liquid just covers the meat and vegetables.

Stir it all up good, then turn on medium heat and let it come to a gentle boil, so that the cornstarch will thicken the soup. If the soup boils but does not thicken, Mix another two tablespoons of cornstarch with just enough milk or cold water to make a thin paste.

Slowly add the paste while you thoroughly stir the boiling soup. You will notice an immediate effect, so take it slow and quit when it's as thick as you like.

Enjoy!



Chicken Pot Pie:

Make Chicken Soup, as noted above. Let it cool to where it is just warm...

Add still another go-round of cornstarch to the cooled soup. It will thicken later, as you bake the pie.

Pie dough is now sold in or near the dairy department of most grocery stores, rolled up and stored in long, thin boxes. - Or make your own pie dough, if you like.

Put the pie dough in a pie pan, bringing it up and on top of the edge, all the way around. Make sure it contacts the pan all over the bottom, and around the bottom edge.

Pour the soup mixture into the pie dough shell, leaving about 3/8" space on top.

Put another round pie dough piece on top of the pie, and let it drop down to the level of the soup mixture. - Then press the edge of the dough onto the bottom piece all the way around the rim, sticking them together for a good seal.

If there is extra dough, it is better to have it on top of the edge of the pan, than to have it hang over.

Use a fork to press little lines into the dough, all the way around. A gentle press will do.

Then use a sharp knife to gently stab three or four places on the top of the pie, to let out steam as it bakes.

Bake the pie or pies at 350-375 degrees for around half an hour. It is done when the pie dough takes on a light golden color and is no longer doughy to the touch.

Usually the rim gets browner than the rest, so don't be alarmed. When the rim is medium brown, the rest will be light brown and it will be ready to take out of the oven.

Now for the hard part: It will smell wonderful, but you must let the pie or pies cool for at least 20-30 minutes before you cut them. If you don't wait, the filling will be all runny and too hot to eat... - If you do wait, you will be able to cut and lift a piece of the pie, and the filling will stay in place.

If you let it cool a bit more, you will be able to pick up a piece of the pie and eat it from your hand.

(  Click image to see it full-size.  )

See what is going on at the BOP oil leak.  All the underwater robots have cameras. 10 cameras are active right now.
Interesting to watch.


http://www.jtnog.org/

Click the link to read Barry's 9-11 column, posted on 9-13.

http://www.davebarry.com/misccol/Americans.htm

Hello all, this is Scott, ke4elf. I've been around for a bit as you can see by the call and just recently started blowing the dust off the radios and getting back on the air.

One thing I have noticed is there doesn't seem to be much vhf/uhf traffic during the day. Unfortunately I work nights and therefore haven't been able to get in on any of the nets.

Well, look forward to "seeing" you on the air.

73's KE4ELF

Courteous, knowledgeable and competent operators put out a special effort to avoid lessening the pleasure of their fellow amateurs at all times, as a matter of course. Nobody has to tell them to do so.

This is only a matter of debate among lids. - Meaning that only a lid would question good operating practice in the first place.

While it is true that legally, one may transmit anywhere within wide swaths of spectrum; Competent, knowledgeable operators know and understand the concept of the gentleman's agreement that allows hams who enjoy net operation, contesting, or the use of a particular mode like PSK31, Olivia or SSTV for example to operate without fear of interference.

Discourteous, ignorant and incompetent operators do not respect, understand or support these simple concepts that allow civilized coexistence between hams who pursue different interests within our shared spectrum. - These individuals are known within the hobby as lids.

Lids are the amateur radio equivalent of the Trolls that sometimes infest internet discussions.

They are universally recognized around the world as being the very lowest form of life to be found on the ham bands.

Remember the Oklahoma City bomber? I lived in north Texas at that time and was active in Skywarn.

I was sitting at home and heard the first reports about the bombing on an AM radio station, and knew that there would be a large-scale disaster response including north Texas ARES assets as much of Oklahoma and north Texas is rural, so we tended to work together.

So I got on the local wide-coverage repeater and made a brief announcement about the catastrophe, telling ARES members to prepare for a response while standing by for the call. The repeater had coverage down to the D/FW area in Texas, and northward to cover roughly a third of Oklahoma. I made the announcement five minutes after the actual explosion, long before most hams in the area would have been aware of the event otherwise.

Later on, there was one ham who thought it was suspicious that I was able to announce the disaster just minutes after it occurred. There's always a certain amount of hysteria after a disaster, especially so when terrorism is the cause instead of nature.

The point here is that with amateur radio, I was able to inform the ARES folks about the situation some hours in advance of when they might have heard about it otherwise. At the same time I was able to suggest a measured response ( prepare and stand by for a call to action ) that may have cut down on some of the confusion.

Was this call on the repeater a big deal? - Not particularly. But it did get the information out to the disaster relief folks in my area in a timely manner, much quicker than could have been done with a cellphone and most certainly much faster than by depending upon eMail.

There was no newspaper or TV coverage about my announcement but my concern about that, then and now, can only be measured in sub-micro give-a-hoots. I made the call so that the ARES folks could listen up and follow the news about the bombing, not to get more members for the ARRL to "represent".

What did hams do to help out in OK City?

I can only speak about ARES involvement by north Texas hams who lived over a hundred miles away from OK City... There were a few guys with EMS experience who helped search the rubble for bodies and survivors, and one family of north Texas hams who worked with the Red Cross to provide coffee and snacks to the disaster workers.

The ARES folks in Oklahoma of course carried most of the load, but I was not there so I can't really speak for them.

The Oklahoma City bombing had very little effect upon the infrastructure there and sad to say, there was no overwhelming overload at the hospitals there as there were not that many survivors. As far as I know, no communications were provided except perhaps for the Red Cross and other relief agencies.

This occurred some years before the DHS grant program, or the ARRL deciding to copyright the ARES logo and cash in on EMCOM in order to boost membership. Whackerism was virtually unknown in that era, so most of the ARES folks then did not have to be told when to stay out of the way, or when and how to provide unglamorous grunt labor as required. In other words, amateur radio EMCOM was light years ahead of what passes for such today.

Once again we see that quantity is a very poor substitute for quality.

Thus endeth the lesson.

Tim, AB0WR recently commented on hospitals utilizing amateur radio for backup communications. Tim often cuts through the fog to make points that we all wish we had thought of ourselves:

AB0WR:

It is an idiots choice to put HR in a hospital as the backup communications service.

Exactly what benefits, i.e why would it be beneficial, does that station provide to the hospital? They won't be able to communicate with any public service agency or ambulance service using their Part 90 equipment. The HR equipment will provide exactly ZERO communications to any first responder in the field using their Part 90 equipment. They won't be able to give any instructions directly to EMT's in the field trying to save someone's life. They won't be able to talk with FEMA personnel using Part 90 equipment if and when FEMA has to respond.

HR provides exactly NO interoperability with any other organization using Part 90 equipment -- NONE, NADA, ZERO.

What was one of the PRIME lessons learned from Katrina?

THE NEED FOR INTEROPERABILITY AMONG *ALL* RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS.

A Part 90 backup system would access to the field first responders, to the 911 dispatch center, and to city, county, and state Emergency Mgmt Centers. A Part 90 backup system would enable the system to be used by *ANYONE*, not just by licensed hams (do you *really* understand just how much of a benefit this is?). A Part 90 backup system would provide interoperability with *everyone* the hospital needs to communicate with.

That's not to say that a HR station in the hospital wouldn't be of use. It would certainly give the general public another access point from locations where ham radio is the only communications available. But even that should probably be handled by a ham station at the 911 dispatch center or EMC instead of a station at the hospital.

The ease of setting up stations is really a non sequitur. If the station is already installed at the hospital then why must it be "set up"? It is just as easy to install a Part 90 ground plane on the roof as it is to install a ham-band ground plane should the antennas get blown down.

There is a huge upside to a Part 90 backup system and not very much of one to a Part 97 system.

I'll say it again, using the ARS as an emergency communications system is an idiots choice.

tim ab0wr