On occasion we will post some “opinion” oriented articles on the GERATOL Website, to spur discussion and thought regarding a variety of topics, germane to the hobby of Amateur Radio.
This article discusses, “The lost art of rag-chewing”
Based on GERATOL Net participants, the majority of GERATOLers have quite a few years as licensed operators under their belts. The success of our 50/50 Award is proof of that fact. Luckily, for the survival of the net going forward, we also have a good cadre of fairly new operators, who also join the net in search of their basic award qualifications, and for the comradery experienced on our net. While I realize, our GERATOL Net is not conducive to lengthy Rag Chewing, but rather is dedicated to a specific activity, we can, none the less, look at our hobby from another, non-Worked All States perspective.
I’d like to pose a question to both groups, namely, the old timers as well as the newer members of the fraternity of Ham Radio. Whatever happened to the age-old Ham Radio tradition of Rag Chewing ??? For those not familiar with the term, RAG CHEWING means to have a fairly lengthy conversation with another amateur operator. I think the Rag Chewers Club (RCC) was the first Amateur Radio award for which I qualified. To qualify, one need only provide evidence of having made a single QSO that lasted more than 30 minutes. The implication being that such a contact involves interacting with another Ham to cover more than the abbreviated signal report and location contact.
Such lengthy conversations were prevalent on all bands, not just the HF bands at one time. I recall having rag chew round tables on Six Meters back in the 60’s, with as many as 20 stations participating, that would last for two hours or more. I remember putting up omni-directional stacked Cushcraft Squalo antennas, so I could hear the stations from all directions… My RCC Award was initiated by a fellow ham in the same state, on six meters, where we had chatted for over an hour.
Seems today, the norm is more like, “Your 5-9, state is MA, 73’s” Along this same trend, is the loss of VHF Repeater activity. I also recall, as do many of you, no doubt, the 2 Meter daily “round tables” with fellow sufferers headed into the salt mines each day. A one hour commute, was shortened in scope, by interacting with fellow travelers along the asphalt jungle, via 2 Meter or even 440 repeater activity.
In addition to the “5-9, see you later” QSO’s, we can now add in the newest modes of communication, via digital exchanges. Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in new and exciting modes of operating. It is clearly one of Ham Radio’s greatest contributions to communications. Namely, the adoption, development and use of new modes of communication. Heck, I am not only a believer, but a user of them as well. On the plus side, it allows communications via using much lower power, with more simple antenna arrangements, and under poor band conditions, which of course, we have been subjected to the last several years. However, with the advent of modes such as FT-8, two ops don’t even need to be at their respective radios when the exchanges are made. It’s all mechanized, without the personal touch that comes from legacy-mode human-to-human contacts and conversation.
The good news about our net, the GERATOL net, is that we are lucky to have Net Control Operators who not only promote the original mission of the net, namely, to allow two stations to confirm QSO’s in the effort to obtain working all 50 states, but they also promote a friendly, and cordial dialogue, not only between check-ins and NCS, but from one operator to another. We ALWAYS, exchange names along with QSO’s. Some WAS nets, don’t even bother with that. We get to know each other, and our interests as well. If you need proof, check into the net on Wednesday evenings, and listen to how cordial, friendly, welcoming and down right FUN the net can be when Bob, AI4IL runs the net.
Beyond our net though, “I’m Just Sayin’ “ let’s take the time to reach out to new Hams and have a real conversation with them. If you are into CW, jump down to the slower speed areas of 80 and 40 meters, typically around 3.535-40 and 7.035-40 respectively, and have a nice QSO with a chap learning the code. Or, jump on to any of the HF bands and put out a CQ !! Or, fire up the 2meter rig for something other than a local net, and say, Your call sign, followed by “Listening” and have a QSO with someone….
Let’s not lose our ability to communicate human-to-human with our fellow Ham operators, but above all, HAVE FUN !!
Feel free to weigh in, and make a “Comment” on this opinion POST. Am I right, or am I wrong ? Let’s hear from our fellow GERATOLers about this.
I’m Just Sayin’ – Kevin N1KL
