Search

Title

Author

Article Body

Manager


Manager - AB7RG
Manager Notes

You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em

Created by Paul Signorelli, W0RW on 2020-07-30

You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em

 

You probably have heard the old DX'ers Adage: “You Can’t Work ‘Em, If You Can’t Hear ‘Em”.

I think the statement was to encourage operators to get a better receiver or antennae.

Well I have a good receiver, plus a vertical and a noisy location.

The Old Adage isn't true.

 

I ran an experiment to see if it could be done and I worked a DX station that I could not hear...at all, Not even ESP.

 

I know it is against the DX Code of conduct, but this was an exempt experiment.

I saw E6GG's (Niue) call and frequency on the cluster. He was on 80 meters CW.

I tuned to the frequency but could only hear other guys working him. 

His signal never came up for me to copy him.

He had a very regular rhythm. After working someone he sent '’TU” and listened for 3 seconds.

I could hear guys from all around working him (simplex), so after the last guy worked him and when no one else called him, I called him ‘'W0RW W0RW'’

and waited for his 3 second reply (W0RW 599 K), Then I answered, calling back in the blind, "R R 599 TU"....

Then I checked his "Online Log" and there I was, I worked a DX station I could not even hear!

I never did hear him.

This was just a test, don’t do this at home. Really…

This was not a valid QSO, Just an experimental QSO.

 

The reverse also happens, sometimes they don’t hear you.

 

I was working the big BS7H Split Pile up (2 May 2007, 0127z, 10107), The Scarborough Reef Dxpedition. These guys were sitting on little platforms just above sea level in the middle of the South China Sea. I heard my call,   I answered… Send my $$$ and QSL card off in the mail.

 

Nine months later I got my QSL card back (without the $$$) and it said, “Not In Log”. Aughaaaaaah.

 

 

Paul, W0RW

 

G7NQL2021-01-17
You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
I've got a variation to this. I use a compromise antenna at home and I find a combination of QTH and webSDR as a supplemetary receiver works very well, as often DX can hear me even with 100W.
K6AER2020-08-05
Re: You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
Despite what many hams believe there is a big difference between running 100 watts and 1500 watts, I see all the time on 20 and 40 meters, When you make a contact on SSB running 1500 watts and they give you a solid S9 on your report and they are S3 on your end all you have to have is a S4 noise level at your station and you cannot hear them. My guess is there are about 10% of the HF operators running an amplifier. Even running 600 watts makes a big difference.
Reply to a comment by : K0UA on 2020-08-03

You should have used a remote receiver to hear the DX. There are thousands of them around the world. Then you would have heard him. :) No need to "listen" in the blind. Plenty of "DX's" do it. Some notable ones in Spain. :)
VE3CUI2020-08-05
You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
Paul, I'm convinced that you are NOT the first Ham in the world who has ever monitored some DX spotting website on-line, caught sight of a desirable station to work, cranked the rig to the frequency quoted on-line, & then repeatedly sent your callsign --- in, or out of sync --- with the flow of the pile-up...

I've noticed more than one obviously "...odd ball" caller like that in the past, when I was immersed in 160-meter CW DX'ing at the time. It struck me then that these wannabe log entrants were simply calling their quarry blind, & were marching to the beat of a far "different drummer," if you will, from everyone else that was on, or near, the DX station's frequency.

All that that undisciplined behaviour ever created --- from my personal perspective --- was a lot of undue QRM, such that the efforts of the DX station operator to establish modicum of structure & progress in his management of the pile-up were unnecessarily & unduly challenged, or thwarted.

Nothing personal against you, Paul --- what you accomplished here was apparently just a "...one off" experiment, anyway --- but our collective laziness in the self-serving pursuit of DXCC sheepskin to hang on the wall has robbed many of us of the personal discipline required to be truly effective (& successfully) DX'ers. We increasingly ignore the old advice of, "Listen, listen --- & then listen some more!" & instead, subscribe to the new adage that advises, "Watch, watch --- & then watch some more!" the screens of the laptop that shares residency with the rig in our shack.

More than once, in the frustration of a pile-up of yore, I wished that the wannabe log book entrant who was essentially just ruining the fun for everyone else on frequency, would forsake Ham radio for stamp collecting, instead...!!!
HL1ZIX2020-08-05
Re: You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
i use a RX antenna in the city, and I can hear ops out of Japan (I'm in Korea) that cannot hear me at 100w, due to their high city noise or QRM. If you live in a big city, it's not uncommon to face S9 noise levels on low bands, in the evening. Using a RX antenna like this lowers that noise floor, but makes the other OP's signal easier to hear. In those cases, I can't always work everything that I can hear, because they are facing such high noise, they cannot hear me.

https://youtu.be/4JK5PBhRYww
Reply to a comment by : KB1THM on 2020-08-02

Definetly have had times when I hear a station loud and clear and cannot make contact, like there is one way propagation or something.
K6AER2020-08-03
Re: You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
In 60 years of ham radio I have never heard one way propagation. I have had and other operators have had very high noise levels which changes what you can hear.
Reply to a comment by : KB1THM on 2020-08-02

Definetly have had times when I hear a station loud and clear and cannot make contact, like there is one way propagation or something.
K6AER2020-08-03
Re: You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
In 60 years of ham radio I have never heard one way propagation. I have had and other operators have had very high noise levels which changes what you can hear.
Reply to a comment by : KB1THM on 2020-08-02

Definetly have had times when I hear a station loud and clear and cannot make contact, like there is one way propagation or something.
K0UA2020-08-03
You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
You should have used a remote receiver to hear the DX. There are thousands of them around the world. Then you would have heard him. :) No need to "listen" in the blind. Plenty of "DX's" do it. Some notable ones in Spain. :)
W3TTT2020-08-03
You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
"...KB1THM 2020-08-02
You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
Definitely have had times when I hear a station loud and clear and cannot make contact, like there is one way propagation or something..."

Yeh, I hate when that happens. Some other reasons...

1. He is running QRO high power, and you are QRP
2. He is using a CW reader, and can't decipher your perfectly readable signal
3. He is hard-of-hearing and really doesn't hear your perfectly readable signal (lotta old men out there)

I have had many instances where the other station is calling CQ with no one answering but me. I hate that, especially in contests. Oh, well, It's part of the ol' game. Otherwise, I would use my cell phone.

W3TTT Joe
KB1THM2020-08-02
You Can't Work 'Em, If You Can't Hear 'Em
Definetly have had times when I hear a station loud and clear and cannot make contact, like there is one way propagation or something.