I am not so far from my first days on the radio that I have forgotten some of those initial experiences. For example: I well remember my first several nights trying to check into my local Traffic Net. Nervous Sweat and Frustration were my constant companions. It took me several days to first figure out that the repeater required a “tone” input… and then (more frustration), to determine how to manipulate the menus on my 2 meter rig accordingly.
However, long before I ever checked in to that Net, all I did was listen. For many nights, I would simply listen; nothing else… just listen. I was allowing my ears, or more correctly, my brain to become accustomed to a brand new language. This new “radio” language was filled with new terms, abbreviations, acronyms… I had to learn a new “foreign” language. So, I just listened.
After many weeks, with a new legal pad of paper on my lap, I began to write/copy everything I heard. If a radiogram was being sent, I used blank radiograms that I had produced on a copier. I don’t know how many messages I copied, but I am confident that it was many dozen. I was handling traffic long before I handled traffic.
One of the most difficult to copy were call signs. It was hard enough when I heard them spelled phonetically; but, trying to do it without the help of phonetics was impossible. All I heard was: KATE BE OATEE or INDY ATE JAY ESSO, or KAYBE ATE O CUTIE, or DUB’YA DEE TO WHY PEE… And I felt good about getting even that close! But most of the time, all I got was: K$##%%8QX*&!!!
One other thought: If you have an FX in your call, be careful... To the untrained ear, at best it comes out Fecks… but sometimes, it comes out F*cks !!! So, for example: N8FXD comes out NATE F*CKS DEE!!! I am certain that the FCC does not approve… Hi Hi.
But, despite feeling completely overwhelmed I pressed on… night by night… listening and writing.
Today, hundreds of radiograms later, I still sometimes get frustrated with copying traffic. The reason: varying voice delivery rates. There are some traffic ops, from whom I receive radiograms, that cause me to begin to sweat even before they begin sending. Why? Because I know what is coming… Buddy, you better get your pencil sharpened and ready. (Actually, I use a ball point pen. I find it faster.) Their delivery speed is darn near reading speed. And, reading speed is not good copy speed… unless perhaps, you are typing your received messages. I know with CW ops that sending speed in something of which everyone is well aware. Well, I am here to say, it is also very important with Voice/Phone operations.
As I result, when the day came that I began to pass traffic, I made a conscious effort to be aware of my “voice” sending rate. I’d like to think that I continue that awareness yet today. I still find myself drawing my finger across every word of a message, while imagining myself writing it as I speak it.
Today, however, I was reading again the ARRL NTS Methods Practices and Guidelines and I came across this suggestion:
A useful trick to overcome the natural tendency to speak too rapidly is to say a group or phrase, pause, spell it to yourself as though you were writing it, and continue when you visualize that the receiving operator is also finished. KC3Y, Maryland Slow Net NM, teaches actually writing it out while voicing it.
Wow!! Why didn’t I think of that? KC3Y’s method is brilliant. I am definitely going to keep this in mind. If ever I am called upon to work in a high Pucker Factor situation, I may very well pull this out of my bag of tricks to insure that, in the pressure of E-COM operations, I keep my sending rate down to copyable speeds.
73
