ARLA/CLUSTER: Escute antes de falar e respeite as frequências que estão a ser usadas

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Foundations of Amateur Radio

*Is this frequency in use and other lies we tell ourselves*

When you switch your radio on to start a radio fishing expedition you join
all the other spectrum users across the planet. To be fair, you'll likely
only become aware of some of those for the time that your radio is switched
on, even if there are thousands around.

One of the ways you can find other users is by ditting out "QRL?" in Morse
or saying "Is this frequency in use?" into your microphone.

This simple courtesy of checking to see if the frequency you're on is
actually being used by someone, is part of your license. You're taught to
do this and it's expected.

What's not clear is what happens next.

It's simple if you hear a callsign, or a "yes", but what if you hear
nothing?

Sometimes nothing means exactly that, there's nobody on the frequency, but
that's not always the case. There's plenty of opportunity for the frequency
to be in use and you still not getting a response back.

Let's imagine for a moment that the frequency you're on is in use by two
stations talking to each other. You come on frequency, hear nothing and ask
if the frequency is in use. You hear nothing. You try again, still nothing.
You start calling CQ. Moments later, you get an earful from some random
station.

Sound familiar? If it doesn't, you'll need to spend more time on-air. I can
guarantee that you'll experience this in your amateur adventures, much more
than once.

How does this happen? You did everything right.

Imagine two stations, let's call them Amanda VK4FRST and Marc VK3OHM,
having a conversation, a QSO. They're discussing the ins- and outs of the
WIA awards system and having a grand old time.

You turn your radio on, happen to tune to the same frequency as their QSO
and after listening to nothing for a bit, you call "Is this frequency in
use?". You still hear nothing so you try again: "Is this frequency in use?
VK6FLAB". Still nothing. You call "Nothing heard." and start calling CQ.

You're on one side of the country, Amanda and Marc are on the other side.
They cannot hear you and you cannot hear them. Then the sun moves a bit and
all of a sudden your CQ is all over their discussion. Unhappy people on
both sides of the country.

There are six paths to consider here. The one between you and Amanda, and
the reverse. Similarly the path between you and Marc and that reverse. If
you ask for frequency in-use, neither Amanda, nor Marc can hear you.
Similarly, you cannot hear either Amanda or Marc. You should also take a
moment to consider the path between Amanda and Marc and vice-versa. They
might have a really great 5 and 9 conversation, or they might be struggling
along with a 3 and 2.

I've simplified this, because of course, you calling over the top of a
conversation can also disturb the contact under way. Saying that the
frequency is in use makes it worse.

While all this is happening, the sun is moving, the ionosphere is moving,
propagation is moving, the whole thing is like the Cat in the Hat balancing
on a beach ball, complete with cake, rake and a fish still in its bowl.

The first thing you need to do when this happens is stop and take a breath.
Nobody owns any frequency, so claiming that this is your frequency is not
going to help anyone. If the other station is having a QSO and you're
calling CQ, it's time for you to move, change frequency and QSY.

If you're Amanda or Marc, you can tell your contact that there is some
interference and then call the other station that the frequency is in use.
If they change frequency, all good, if they don't, tell your contact to
change frequency.

There's no need for aggravation. There is no ownership. There's no point in
getting upset and no mileage in making life hard for the other station. The
fact of the matter is that there was what we call in networking, a
collision. It's time to back off and renegotiate.

All this is exactly the same if you're using voice, Morse, FT8, or any
other mode.

Take a breath, renegotiate, move on.

Now, if you're a QRP station like me, it's much more likely that you'll not
be heard most of the time. In that case it's often much quicker to just to
move without going through the negotiation process. Of course you can
attempt to make a QRP contact with one of the other stations, but it's
considered pretty rude to stick your head between two people who are having
a cup of coffee together and ask them for their autograph, so don't do it
on air either.

If you assume malice from the get-go, you'll find yourself unhappy most of
the time. If you celebrate that all of a sudden there's propagation between
VK6, VK4 and VK2 you'll end up much happier with your on-air experiences.

While I'm giving out advice, here's something I learnt during the week.

If you break a toe, tread carefully. Stubbing a broken toe hurts. Really.
Badly. In case you're wondering, my new boot is not a fashion accessory.

I'm *Onno VK6FLAB*
------------------------------

*•* This article is the transcript of the weekly 'Foundations of Amateur
Radio' podcast, produced by *Onno Benschop, VK6FLAB* who was licensed as
radio amateur in Perth, Western Australia in 2010. For other episodes,
visit http://vk6flab.com/. Feel free to get in touch directly via email:
cq  vk6flab.com

*•* If you'd like to join a weekly radio net for new and returning
amateurs, check out the details at http://ftroop.vk6flab.com/, the net runs
every week on Saturday, from 00:00 to 01:00 UTC on Echolink, IRLP, AllStar
Link, Brandmeister and 2m FM via various repeaters, all are welcome.
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