The snow-free picture above is the only ski area I can claim any familiarity with - located on the road to heaven and imaged in May, 2015. There was (of course) snow a few hundred yards further up the road.
I have had S7 noise (and more) all over the 40m band throughout the holiday period and the other low HF bands haven't been much better. I've not spent a lot of time on the radio - but I've been on every day. I've not heard a single person calling "CQ QRP" and when I tried, I didn't get an answer. Also, I didn't get spotted on the reverse beacon network until I got depressed and stacked on 10dB of power.
Of course, I've had some QRO QSOs. There (and whilst listening to other people's exchanges), I noticed that people weren't even bothering to spell out complements of the season but - rather - were resorting to a telegraphic version of text speak with the lazy 'HNY'.
Of course, we do it all the time with our Q-codes and the like - and for good reason. But, surely, this is the one time of the year when everybody has a little more time for longer and/or slower exchanges (like the faltering first CW QSO I enjoyed with a new Polish ham on 20m on the 23rd). Unfortunately, it isn't easy with (as now) S8 of noise on the meter and somebody banging out CQ TEST on 7030 kHz.
So, bear with me all you speed merchants, as I waste precious seconds of your lives, which you'll never recover, to wish you all a very
Happy New Year
...-.- de m0xpd
No comments:
Post a Comment