I am conflicted; being both a POTA activator and rag-chewer. I am mostly a CW operator and I love both the long and sometimes pointless rag-chews and also the excitement of working pileups during POTA. Unfortunately, pileups are rare for me; but nevertheless enjoy park activations. However, even on the days where the hunters are slim, I rarely engage in rag-chews during activation. Allow me to explain...
In addition to being an activator, I hunt POTA stations as well. I do not prefer busting through pileups and will look for easy pickings. Occasionally I will run through an activator involved in a long running exchange with a hunter. I will usually wait for about 2 minutes before moving on. The activator certainly has the prerogative on how to run their activation and this is not a complaint about their practice. But based on how I react, I have decided it is a trite impolite to keep hunters waiting. I have also encountered hunters who basically come with their call once. If I ask for a repeat, they're already gone. Therefore, even if I encounter familiar hunters and known rag-chewers during an activation, I keep my exchange short; usually a sentence of two of banalities...
Are you a POTA hunter? If so, how long will you wait to get your callsign in?
Barring such narrow activities such as POTA activations and contests, I'm always open to a nice conversation. So if you hear me calling CQ, please do stop by and let's chat
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