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The Rag Chew -A Lost Art?

iiiquaziii

iiiquaziii

Member
Jan 17, 2014
57
17
18
42
Buffalo NY
So I'm basically a year old ham, and learning, as some of you know. I'm interested in radio tech, to a certain degree....I mean I do have a radio, after all. Heh. What I guess I miss out on is a good rag chew with some new people in other areas. My grandpa put me on his knee 25-30 years ago and we used to chew the fat with people all over the world about all kinds of random stuff. I vividly remember talking to a guy named Sid in New Zealand about my whole childhood life! Now that I'm older and have my own gear, everyone I talk to on the radio just wants to talk radio, and gear, and antennas. I guess I am just interested in actually talking to new people in new areas, and finding out what the weather's like, how the economy is, what the car show scene looks like, and talk news....etc. It seems the only people on the radio anymore are the die hard radio tech geeks. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is really genuinely hard to meet an average human being and just shoot the crap about life.....but I guess that IS life these days. Am I alone here? I dunno, I guess people just wanting to talk radio tech is them trying to create a bond thru shared interest being as I'm on it in the first place.

Do any of you just meet random people on the air that you become friends with and chat about life events? Do you meet anyone you actually talk to regularly outside of radio club contests and stuff? I mean its nice to get a personal distance record quick contact in during an event or something, but do you talk to these people afterwards?
 

It happens sometimes,
Just need find the right time and bands, 20.40.75 meters are good rag chew bands, and also 17 depending on who you make contacts with.

Friend of mine calls CQ CQ ( insert band) looking for a rag chew ( insert call sign), that way who ever comes back to your call knows you wanting a rag chew not a 5-9 rs report
 
It's becoming a lost art but there are still good conversations on the bands. I have a friend in Salt Lake that I routinely talk to, we grew up together and he was responsible for my getting into ham. We flip though the bands till we find one that is open between us.
 
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Never seem to have a problem finding someone to chat with...every morning before work chat with a group and evening on occasion...most generally on 75/40m...
I Always stay away from Religion and Politics conversations...unless I REALLY know the guys ahead of time...
Always a chance to chat on 7.200 on 40m(y):)
All the Best
Gary
 
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The art of the Ragchew is definitely losing ground, but it's not totally dead yet. I hang out with a few guys on 27.370 LSB and chat there quite a bit and that's a lot of fun. The local scene is pretty quiet, but only because they talk at 5:30 AM, and I'm not up that time of day on my off days from work. It's still out there, but you definitely have to go look for it a little harder than in the past. :)

~Cheers~
 
it seems that there is a contest of some kind almost every weekend and definitely on 3 day weekends, during contests it is hard to find a rag chew and if you do, some clown will set up right next to your frequency and turn up his amp with his "CQ Contest"....on those weekends 17 is your best bet for a rag chew...
as the others have said there are still rag chews out there... several folks have regular spots they meet at and most are willing to allow others to jump in with them...
40 meters is good for that most evenings.
 
Obed said:
it seems that there is a contest of some kind almost every weekend and definitely on 3 day weekends, during contests it is hard to find a rag chew and if you do, some clown will set up right next to your frequency and turn up his amp with his "CQ Contest"....on those weekends 17 is your best bet for a rag chew...
as the others have said there are still rag chews out there... several folks have regular spots they meet at and most are willing to allow others to jump in with them...
40 meters is good for that most evenings.
Click to expand...

Exactly! It seems to ALWAYS be contest! Like I said, having someone repeat my callsign for a new personal best long distance is fun, but only for about 30 seconds. I want to TALK to these people a bit!
 
I chat on repeaters and on 160m the most. Every so often on other bands. I actually like a group as the group members can bounce things off each other. Some groups are a free for all--whoever keys the mic first might win. :D Other groups keep a strict round table format where the opportunity to talk gets passed around the group. After more than three or four people things start to get unwieldy as transmissions get unbearably long since someone has to offer their take on what everyone else before has said.

Sometimes I can have a long ragchew with a total stranger but it really has to be the case where we found a lot in common to chat about. It's almost like dating. :eek:
 
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ExitThirteen said:
The art of the Ragchew is definitely losing ground, but it's not totally dead yet. I hang out with a few guys on 27.370 LSB and chat there quite a bit and that's a lot of fun. The local scene is pretty quiet, but only because they talk at 5:30 AM, and I'm not up that time of day on my off days from work. It's still out there, but you definitely have to go look for it a little harder than in the past. :)

~Cheers~
Click to expand...

I wasn't gonna go there but since you did ;)... 11 Meters AM & LSB is a great place to be long winded in the evenings. Just scan around and hold one of the 40 channelized frequencies for a couple of minutes. Its easy to pick up on a conversation and join in that you would normally miss if you just spin the dial. You may be surprised with the quality of the conversations when the propagation is good. I don't necessarily "look" for the conversations, I kinda stumble into them.

Some of the 10 meter nets are pretty loose. Like our local SNUBWAP net in the Philly area every Sunday night 8-10 Pm EST on 28.4120 MHz USB.

Sunday Night Useless Banter With A Purpose :)
 
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On amateur radio rag chewing is becoming a lost art to the point I am spending most of my time on CB if I want a conversation, the last gear I bought was CB gear and the last gear I sold was amateur radio gear. On HF everyone only ever seems to want a 5/9 report then onto the next. On VHF/UHF you get morons keying you out with cheap £20 chinese HTs.
 

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