What use is an F-call?

When I started recording this weekly segment, there were lots of things I didn't know. I was apprehensive about how my contribution to Amateur Radio might be received, about what I should talk about, how long it should last, what tone I should set, how technical I should be and all manner of other considerations.

When I started in Amateur Radio itself, not long before I started this segment, I had similar concerns and considerations, things I was worried about and skills I was unsure about.

Today that is still the case, but of course in time, the what's and the hows have evolved. I still question the things I know to be true, just to make sure that I understood what I was being told, or that I had completed the procedure correctly.

I speak to new Amateurs almost every week. I also speak to senior members of our community regularly. One thing is clear is that human frailty is universal.

There is one thing that sets the experienced members aside from the new members, that is how they react to this uncertainty. New members almost universally defer to their seniors, to the point of being silent when a senior member speaks out and says or does something wrong.

In an aeroplane, such circumstances can lead to planes crashing, in Amateur Radio, the consequences are less likely to be quite that catastrophic. Nonetheless, if you're a new Amateur, it doesn't mean that you're wrong or what you might know is something that the other person didn't know, or, might have forgotten.

So, don't let your newness to the hobby prevent you from speaking up and asking questions. There's nothing wrong with asking someone to explain something, perhaps you'll learn something or perhaps they'll learn something from you.

Communities like ours can only thrive if all members participate, so, new or old, go out, get on air, play during field days and participate in contests. Have fun!

I'm Onno VK6FLAB