Are You a CQ Caller, a Listener or Both?

Without Ying and Yang we might not be. Certainly if no one ever calls CQ, we’d have no QSO because everyone would be listening. And if everyone only called CQ, we’d also have no QSO because everyone would be calling.

There are, like with all things, extremes, and then there is the wide middle. On one side we have those who derive pleasure from listening only, and they may be so extreme that they never reply. These are called Short Wave Listeners (SWL).

We delight in receiving their QSL cards and they delight in listening, many have no interest in becoming a licensed amateur and transmitting.

On the other side we have those who call CQ only, with the volume down or perhaps with the RX disabled, their only goal is to hit the top 100 then the top 50, top 10 on RBN.

These two extremes, obviously, never result in a QSO. And they do both exist, although perhaps also in dwindling numbers, with the trend perhaps moving from more SWL to less SWL and more CQ only, even without RX, eyes on the RBN.

QSOs result from those who are somewhere in between these two ends of the spectrum. They may be the type who mostly enjoy calling CQ, after all, sending is great fun, and CQ has an addictive rhythm to it. Sending CW is soothing and reassuring to be in control of a key, a great stress reliever.

Then there are those who mostly tune around looking for the CQ callers to respond to, or not. Those also include the discerning types who are looking for a particular type of QSO – it might be they want to avoid anyone who would go beyond a 5NN TU or it might be that they want to avoid anyone who is only after a 5NN TU, or perhaps they are looking for some rare stations only.

There will also be those who are in between: who call CQ and listen around in equal measure.

Of course if any particular operator wanted to maximize the number of QSOs they may opt to first tune across the band or even several bands, and if they don’t hear a CQ to respond to, will start calling CQ themselves. This strategy also makes good sense.

We also have those who when otherwise occupied listen or call from time to time on the CW QSX (Listening) / Calling Frequencies, or add this into their mix of operations.

As mentioned at the outset, we’d never have QSO without those slightly less than the two extremes mentioned as well as all those in between, and we may not even be conscious as to whether we might be primarily a caller or listener. We may simply choose what suits us at the time.

Perhaps the trend, as I somehow suspect from my listening around the bands, is these days tilting more toward the CQ callers than the CQ listeners, if so then we’ll be having a lot less QSO than could actually otherwise be the case?

It is quite common to listen on the bands and hear several stations calling CQ but no one getting any replies. Perhaps if the callers, after every three CQ calls or so, used at least the other VFO to tune around, they’d get more QSO as a result?

Let’s have your comments! Are you primarily a caller, primarily a listener/chaser, or a bit of both?