Let me say a few more words on my thoughts, as I truly didn’t expect this post to take a tumble.
If we can collectively come up with a WDX calling freq, I think that’s a good thing, but not an end-all be all. I hope we do get that together (no matter what it is) because there’s enough of us to make a difference.
38lsb is a train wreck at times. We all know that. Very rarely do I hear anyone call “CQ DX, please QSY...”, as I do on the highly illicit, underground and renegade “freeband”. I heard one station doing this the other day, and I’ve heard WDX1183 doing so...but generally rare to observe such a courtesy.
Also, it’s simply not possible to accommodate every person, their gear, and their situation. I have freqs I can’t talk on due to QRM, and have never had the notion that the world should revolve around that. It just sucks, and that’s the way it is.
Kind of the same with 23 channel radios. I love that old gear remains in service! I spent some time working on my Eico 772W last night. I would love to have it on the air again. However, I can’t realistically expect that a club freq will be designated based on my ancient four channel radio, AM only, or the two crystals I posses (one of which is channel 9). That leaves 11AM...which I suspect we’d all agree would make an absurd club frequency.
All we can do is have a primary, and alternate, one of which falls within the abilities of 23 channel radios. That is pretty reasonable, and coincides with very deliberate and earnest efforts by members to revive 16lsb. I’m down, if that matters.
And what else we can do, which is what I was hoping for with this post, is to have a place to share on here that we’re alive and listening for WDX callsigns. In my eyes, that’s the easier solution that trying to confine everyone to a single freq, or contributing to a 38lsb pileup.
Anyway, I hate that this was Ill received by a couple folks when it was intended as nothing more than a way to facilitate comms from member to member. It doesn’t have to - and shouldn’t have - come to down to a suggestion that the club “promote illegal activity”. Not the intentions of this post whatsoever