What use is an F-call?

Nobody works in isolation, and neither do I. This weekly segment has now been running for 130 or so episodes and in that time I've received a variety of feedback about my attempt at making a contribution to Amateur Radio.

I remember when a random stranger walked up to me when I attended the WIA Mildura conference in 2012. He told me that he used my segment in training new F-calls and that he was most impressed. Last week, another random member of the HAM community told me that this segment made him return to Amateur Radio and upgrade his license. I've received cards and unexpected Christmas gifts, emails, phone-calls and other amazing acts of generosity which leave me quite at a loss for words. Thank you.


On the other end of the spectrum, an anonymous group of our community uses web-forms to write all manner of interesting comments. Let me quote verbatim one of the tamer ones:

"When is Onno going to upgrade to Standard or Advanced licence and get rid of his awful callsign. He is an embarrassment to the fine hobby."


This person claims to listen to the news every week, but clearly hasn't actually heard a word I've said. My callsign was randomly assigned by the ACMA and I'll be upgrading when I've achieved my QRP DXCC.

As I said, this was one of the tamer responses. It's been a continuing feast ever since I got my license. I'm no shrinking violet and if you know me at all, I tend to tell it as I see it.

What concerns me is that this is the feedback I'm getting. I've spoken to probably over a hundred F-calls since I received my license and the theme is a recurring one. There's bullying, abuse, swearing, accusations, active interference, emails, letters and other nastiness that this part of the hobby seems to think is appropriate to share and it's not just happening here in my state. I've had reports from all over the country.

Speaking directly to those miscreants is a waste of breath, but I know that they are surrounded by people who disagree, because I speak to them on a regular basis.

I'd encourage you to take these bullies to task, either in the public forum in which they spread their bile, or directly and face-to-face if that's more your style.

There is no place for this. F-calls are here to stay, just like Novice calls were in a previous life and what ever the next minority was before that.

One observation that fills me with great joy. Soon there will be more F-calls than all other licenses combined. At that point there will be more of us than there are of them.

In case there is a potential for misunderstanding. I support the ability for an F-call to upgrade. I will upgrade at a time of my choosing. That doesn't mean that everyone will or should feel compelled to do so.

Got a problem with this, let me know, publicly.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB