From: gsm@mendelson.com   
      
   Doug Smith wrote:   
   > OK, we have a problem.  Continuous callers.   
      
   We as in whom? It's IMHO part of a much greater problem. Back when   
   morse code was required to get a ham license was first dropped,   
   many hams claimed that the ability to send and receive morse code was   
   a good way of testing for good operating practices. If you were competent   
   at code, you were competent at ham radio operating.   
      
   This was as it turns out, a red herring, a diversion from the real problem   
   that good operating practices are related to good operating practices and   
   not related to morse code, typing, building a radio or any other skills.   
      
   > DX de W9WI: 14027.3  E44M QSX UP 3    1807z   
   >    - or -   
   > DX de W9WI: 14025+/- E44M SPLIT       1807z   
      
   Your examples point out that in fact you are complaining about morse code   
   operators, although I expect that the same problem exists with voice   
   operators.   
      
   E44M may be a special case, because while there has been some propigation   
   to most of the world from this area, in the last few days, there has been   
   very little most of the time. In fact, worldwide propigation from here has   
   been very "spotty" since the decline of the sunspot cycle.   
      
   That does not mean that you can't use it, I have worked Europe with 2w SSB   
   on 20m, a friend has recently worked South America with less on CW. But it's   
   not a "sure thing".   
      
   However, the real problem is that no one wants to learn good operating   
   practice anymore.   
      
   Unfortunatley, I don't have an answer, but I don't think that a quick   
   software fix to a spotting program will do any good. If I were in the U.S.,   
   which I am not at the moment, I would concentrate my efforts of education   
   and raising a new generation of good operators.   
      
   73,   
      
   Geoff.   
      
   --   
   Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)