John, it's not just the west coast... There is one in the middle of the US that does about the same thing. On the linear birds, he calls over top of others who are already trying tomake a call. And he also tends to act like a 'grid traffic controller' on SO-50 with unnecessary chatter. Especially on SO-50, one needs to be as brief as possible and get off... it's common courtesy. Personally, I've quit the birds for a while... no need to put up with such nonsense, ham radio is supposed to be fun. I have some recently purchased antennas, preamps and an AZ-EL rotor in the closet. I was anxious to get them up this fall, but now I think I might wait until spring and see how things are. Maybe I will see you then. =^) Just wanted to let you know, it's not just you.
Good luck on the weak signal work. As for me... I'm plan to work on some radials for new verticals and invest my time in chasing DX on HF and 160m. 73! N4UFO
From: John - VE7JZ My daughter, who is a new ham has just given up on trying SO-50. 5 times now she has set up the station to work someone and the moment she unkeys, there is someone calling and not listening. We here, have a TS-2000 with az-el setup and 2 yagis with auto tracking. I totally agree with the comments here on this subject of wild west operations on SO-50. It is out of control. Here on the wet coast there is a WA6 ( wont say his call here ) every day that is constantly either ruining qso's or using way too much power and wiping out transponders completely. And if you call this LID, he either cannot hear you or ignores you and continues his ignorant disregard for other users so HE can get HIS contacts and to heck with anyone else. A constant and rather rude transponder HOG that is on almost every pass of every voice satellite. So as of today, we (my daughter and I) will go back to weak signal work and drop off satellite use until these LIDS either disappear or something. Our 2 cents worth. Everyone have a great day wherever you might be. 73. ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Control is the need of the fearful mind. Trust is the need of the courageous heart."