An Amateur is Friendly

What’s this “An Amateur is Friendly” tenet of the Amateur’s Code? Aren’t all Hams friendly? Isn’t that why they’re in the hobby? Is this important? Does it help our nets?

Being cordial is easy with our friends. We know each other on the nets and in much of our daily operation. We’ve shared stories, problems and family concerns. It’s not hard to show some empathy.

When we encounter operators new to us, it’s important to remember to be just as friendly, just as tolerant, and just as helpful as we would be with those we’ve known for years.

A few years ago, under some terrible sunspot conditions, I had traffic for the east coast, which I took to 9RN. No 9RN. Skip too long. I took it to CAN. The folks on CAN had a very difficult time hearing each other and asked me to take it to EAN. Okay, I thought, maybe the skip gods will smile on that.

I checked into EAN, identified myself as coming from 9RN and CAN, and listed my traffic. The net control must have assumed I was just some individual operator trying to get traffic out east and told me to please list it on a local section net. I was not in the mood for a lecture. I had been fighting bad conditions for hours. Because I wasn’t a regular TCC operator, I suppose he figured I had no business being there getting in the way. I tried to explain. He dismissed me, ignored me, and efficiently continued his net.

Not to be dissuaded, I waited, I called again – and was finally connected to an EAN RX station.

My point is this. A bit of cordiality would have helped. Traffic would have been passed sooner, and isn’t that what the system is about? Being friendly doesn’t mean we’re necessarily less efficient. Taking a moment to fully understand what’s going on actually saves time – and, I suspect, saves the good image of the NTS.

As we welcome new members to our nets, let’s continue to promote the friendly atmosphere that helps lubricate the system.

Don’t forget - if you’d like to help us keep track of the formal messages handled in Wisconsin, you can file a Station Activity Report each month with me. Such a report includes five numbers –

  • the number of messages originated (that is, they come from a third party – someone not at your station),
  • the number of messages received on the air from another station,
  • the number of messages sent to another station on the air from your station,
  • the number of messages delivered to someone not at your station,
  • and the total.

We tally and publish these reports each month in the STM report. They’re forwarded to ARRL Headquarters so the communications department can get an idea of our activity, too. 73 – K9LGU/STM - WI