What use is an F-call?

I keep having the same conversation, almost word-for-word, over and over again. I cannot do anything with just 10 Watts, it's not enough, it's useless, I cannot make any contacts, no-one hears me, I'm wasting my time.

The United Arab Emirates and Denmark, two countries far from our shores. Seemingly these two have nothing in common, other than that we share our globe with their citizens. However, these two countries were contacted by an F-call last week with a 4/9 signal report.

This time it wasn't me making the contact it was another station who is free to brag about their contact to the community. I'm bring it up here because it's not just me saying that you can make contacts, it's not just me making contacts, there are many amateurs who on a daily basis make contacts across the planet. Some of them hold a foundation license.

What it takes to achieve is some patience and a dose of luck. Neither of which are hard to come by or hard to achieve. Sitting at the radio for a few hours will likely get you a result.

Don't despair if it doesn't, try again, try a different band, check your radio settings, is your antenna pointing in the right direction? Is it connected? See if you can make a local contact and nut out if there are ways to improve your signal.

It keeps coming back to the same thing. Amateur Radio isn't an Instant Gratification kind of activity. It's one where some preparation and patience goes a long way. If you're looking for a quick fix, get on the Internet. If you want to get a sense of personal achievement, try making a long distance contact. There are amateurs on air all day long calling CQ, just waiting for a call from a station on the other side of the globe - this is your domain as much as it is theirs.

I cannot make you push the PTT button, but I can encourage you to have a go. I've seen a ten year old key the mike like an old hand, if he can do it, so can you. It won't bite!

I'm Onno VK6FLAB