NOTOM 008: KW and HAPPINESS

A: how do you hear me now?

B: You're S9

A: Wait... now?

B: Wow! Now you're 9+20. What did you do?

A: Ha ha ha, I turned on my power buddy

C: hooooola hoooooola test test sorry, how do I sound?

A and B: very strong 9+40

C: great thanks, I'm using hoooooollaaaa... 4.5KW.

This is what happened a few nights ago on 40 meters with local stations. They didn't talk about anything but their signal. After countless tests, they were very happy, satisfied and said goodbye. I kept looking at the S-meter, which only showed S3 of noise. 

Don't get me wrong. This post is not another one that wants to criticize power, but the correlation between happiness and power. Is happiness measured on a logarithmic scale like signal strength? To the posterity the tough sentence..

I repeat, everyone is free to use the power they deem appropriate, but my question is: what changes? If I can hear you well, what's the point of adding more power? But even if this operation is, let's say, to make you feel more powerful, where is the happiness factor? Is it because you're stronger than others? Maybe because you are the most powerful? So we talk about airwave hegemony. That feudal desire to flaunt a power that is most often ephemeral.

I don't have a linear amplifier. I've used quite a few in contests in the past. If I could afford to buy one, I would do so without hesitation, mainly to operate the radio at low power and preserve the final transistors. Is there a rare station on air? A bit of power might help, perhaps, to break through the pileup. But can someone explain to me why one feels happy using 2.5kw for a QSO on 40 meters with a distance of 400 miles? Again, this is not a criticism but a sincere request to understand.

If happiness is directly proportional to power, are those who do QRP unhappy and miserable? Just imagine a line at the psychologist's office of numerous depressed and sad people saying to the doctor, 'Doc, I'm sad because I use 5W!'  The doctor replies, 'To cheer you up, pull out $5000 for a 2kW linear... plus $500 for my fee.' hi.  Come on, guys, isn't it possible, maybe, that the problem is we're bombarded with messages saying 'spend, spend, spend and you'll be happy, happy, happy'? Does consumerism make us think that the more we spend, the happier we are? As for me, I'm happier when I don't spend. Am I wrong?"

I remember when I was in OA9, I had a pileup with Australia. I was using a horizontal dipole and 100W in SSB. I had a QSO with a friend I hadn't heard from in many years and decided to stop the pileup to do some ragchewing. He told me I was coming in exceptionally well for 100W, with an S9 signal; not bad for 7500 miles. He asked me to lower the power to 50W and then to 5W. Well, with 5W, I was coming in at S6, and we continued the QSO in low power. I was ecstatic. So, for me, my happiness was inversely proportional to the power. Am I wrong? Power, power, power. If you don't have watts, you aren't happy, if you don't have the latest radio on the market, you aren't happy, if you don't have a Bagali keyer, you can't do CW and therefore you aren't happy... meh... (ps. This last statement was made by a well-known CW operator who said that with a "cheap" $80 keyer, he just can't do QSOs. My response? I'll leave it to your imagination.)

I remember when I was part of the IR1I Contest Team. We had a 'dream station' with 5-element monoband antennas, vertical antennas for 80 and 160 meter bands, beverages antennas, linear amplifiers, and Yaesu 9000D.  Since we would go to the station a couple of days early to prepare the multi-op station, I brought my small Kenwood 480SAT to test it with performing setups. I assure you that what I could hear with the 9000, I could also hear with my little Kenwood. Not long ago, I did the same test with a Yaesu FTDX101 and my little 891. Guess what? What I heard on one, I almost always heard on the other as well. The difference between the radios, filters, and technology is undeniable, but if we want to make a QSO, do we need to feel unhappy because we can't have the latest radio or linear? We can be happy with a small setup. I'd better say, we will be happier.

Getting back to the topic of power, there are those who have 2+kW and put them into a vertical antenna. One might ask me: is it wrong? No, it isn't. "I cannot install a tower with a directional antenna, so I'm obliged to pump up power.." some state. The problem, however, arises from the fact that while his signal will go far, he won't hear many stations responding. So, is it worth it? I don't know. Do you feel happy because you called with 1 or 2 or 4 or 100kW? Quite hilarious tha fact that you'll blame the lack of propagation for contact failure. "I called with full power, but when there's no propagation, you can't do anything," they say. And they are happy nonetheless because it's not their fault for the missed QSO; they had the POWER. Then, a few miles away, another station with a 'measly' hexbeam and 100W reaches stations around the world and collects new countries. What will the kilowatt cowboy say? 'All luck, I wasn't on air at that time.'" Omg, that's sad. 

I’ll close by saying that we should try to be happy even if we don’t have kilowatts, the latest radio models, or a cluster connected through a new 2Gbit fiber line. Happiness in radio comes when we use it to connect with the world.

Radio doesn’t just carry a voice, a tone, or a digital chirp. It also carries our minds, hearts and emotions, allowing us to visit places we may never, perhaps, be able to see. It enables us to contact those small, remote stations hidden in a forest, on an islet, or in a desert.

We don’t need massive equipment—just a great passion. At least, that’s how I see it!

Big hugs to everyone.