I didn't know you knew Ray.
I go back with him to our novice days.
I think he is a silent key, hope I am wrong.
Now he had a signal!!!
There are a lot of high power guys here on 3913.  They wellcome anybody, but
especially so if you run lots of watts.
Anyway, Ed k9hss and I go back 40 years or more.
He is putting the final adjustments to his 80 meter two element quad, which
I assume will be on his 200 foot tower.
Imagine what that takes to keep it up and turning!!!


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Phil Scovell
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2015 4:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: It's my frequency

I've witness frequency wars for 50 years.  I even defended 3997, our teenage
channel for much of the Midwest, back in the late sixties.  If, on the other
hand, someone was on our frequency, we just went elsewhere till they left. 
This 3997 group of teens was a spin off of a group that befriended us on
3803 run by Ray, WA9SXJ.  This was before bands were expanded below 3800. 
Anyhow, there have been groups that held down a given frequency, such as the
Patriot net I mentioned on 38 43 most nights, who will do almost anything to
try and kick people off their frequency.  So there is nothing knew about
what I am going to describe but apparently, some hams actually believe they
alone command a frequency.  Last night took the cake.  There is a large
group, and I do mean, large, that watch dog 7195 on forty meters.  Most are
W5 stations but they have friends in Kansas, Colorado, and other Midwest and
southern states.  It is true, you can tune 7195 almost 24 hours a day and
there likely is a couple of guys from this group talking.  Many of them go
mobile on that frequency as well.  I hear them, do to my location, around
the clock.  There are no fewer than 30 hams on this frequency and many
monitor the channel all day.  I enjoy listening to them because most of them
to my location run 20 to 30 over S9.  Plus, a wide circle of hams rotate in
and out during a period of a day so some guys are listening for hours.  Many
are retired guys, too.  Last night, I heard, on 7195, two guys, who were not
very strong, and whose voices I did not recognize so figured they were guys
I'd just never heard before on that frequency.  They were weaker signals and
mostly at the static crash noise level from local area thunderstorms.  I
wasn't doing much at the time and I wondered where all the big signal guys
were from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.  As I listened,
the band began to lengthen and their signals crept up over the S9 noise
level.  Within 20 minutes of listening, I could hear them both quite well. 
It turned out they were brothers.  The younger brother was in Florida and
his brother was a K4 further north because they were discussing the younger
brother's trip up to his older brothers house to do some tower and antenna
work for him.  He said it would drive half way, spend the night, and drive
the rest of the way the following morning.  They visited back and forth,
discussing all they were going to do, and reminiscing of fun times they had
over the years talking on the radio to each other, climbing towers, and
stringing wire antennas together.  I actually enjoyed their QSO and thought
it was cool they were brothers and still were helping each other in their
later years.  The oldest brother can't climb any more but his younger
brother was looking forward to getting together and getting the antenna and
tower work finished up for his brother.  All the time they were talking, in
the back of my mind I wondered what this 7195 group was thinking because I
knew, at the time of the late evening, they definitely were there.  I
figured one of them would break in and ask these brothers to move but nobody
said a word to them while they were talking but after they signed, someone
did comment which I'll get to in a second.  Anyhow, there was a microphone
whistler toward the end of the brothers contact who continued whistling off
and on for several minutes and the brothers commented on it.  You could tell
that the brothers were not aware this frequency was privately held by about
40 or 50 hams the claimed it 24 hours a day as their own.  Then a carrier
started dropping on to their QSO but again, it wasn't loud enough to bother
their big signals between them.  They held the frequency for about an hour
and by the time they signed, the band had lengthen to the point their
signals were nice and strong and way over the thunderstorm noise level.  As
soon as they signed, a guy, whom shall remain nameless and callless, started
transmitting and said, "To the guys using the frequency, I heard that
whistler, too, and it wasn't me.  We have a group of guys, about 20 hams
strong, who have been patiently waiting for you to finish your QSO so we
could use this 7195 frequency which is busy 24 hours a day," and then when
he took a breath, another station spoke up and a third and a fourth and then
they started their regular rag chew.  I wouldn't have the nerve to actually
tell someone we used this frequency because he had the tone to his voice
that they should mind their manners and stay away from their channel.  I
thought it was funny and sad at the same time.  Due to poor 80 and 75 meter
night time conditions, even local Colorado boys are starting to use 40
meters so I've noticed a lot more activity on 40 the last few months.

Phil.
K0NX