Managing 6m Pile-ups
(c) Chris, GM3WO

With more and more countries having permission to operate on 50MHz, and more "HF" Transceivers having 50MHz coverage, many new operators are enjoying the excitement and unpredictability of 6m propagation. However, many of these new DXers may have no experience of being "in demand" and being called by a "pileup", which can happen for a variety of reasons. There is nothing worse than realising after the band has closed that you did not make the best use of the band opening.

This short article offers some practical hints - to maximise your enjoyment of handling the pile-up, to avoid you missing any "rare DX" that may be calling you, and to avoid frustration on the part of the stations calling you. The final section gives hints on calling a DX station in a pileup.

HF Band "Pile-ups"

Despite the bad operating habits which are often heard, there are clear lessons to be learned by listening on, for example 20m, to a major DXpedition working stations when the band is open to one of the main population centres e.g. Europe. Generally, the expedition will transmit on 14.195, and will work split frequency, listening from 14.200 to 14.210MHz. The disadvantage of this is that 10KHz (+14.195) is unusable for normal QSOs, but the advantage is that the frequency spread enables a good operator to maximise QSO rate - several hundred per hour.

POOR Pile-up handling!

A good operator will NEVER USE ANY OF THESE METHODS (all of which actually decrease the QSO rate):

Lists - the operator writes down a list of partial (e.g. 2 letters) or full callsigns, and works them in strict order, ignoring all other stations -what a waste of time (if the operator adds a reports and the full callsign as he acknowledges the station having called, the QSO is half-complete!)

Net-control - some well-meaning station acts as a "go-between" and prepares a list as above - an even worse waste of time, because many stations may be able to hear the DXpedition better than the "net control", or may call anyway without actually being able to hear the DXpedition at all!

By numbers - the operator asks for e.g. "only 8's" and then proceeds to handle this by (a) possible long wait before your number is called (on 6m Es any delay can lose you the QSO!) - causing frustration, and (b) inexperienced operators work far too many stations at each number - some countries have an imbalance of issued callsigns - anyone beaming to 0-land only and saying "9's only" will have on-one calling!

Telling the Pile-up off! Often you hear poor operators complaining about the behaviour of the pile-up, even telling specific stations that they will not be worked - again this is a waste of time - a good operator will just turn the beam a fraction or ignore deliberate QRM - there will always be a station stronger than the QRM (if not, pretend that there is, and the QRM will eventually go away!)

ON4UN sums it all up in his book with the recommendation that you stay at home if you can't handle a pile-up - many otherwise well-organised DXpeditions cause nothing but frustration because of their poor operating techniques.

GOOD Pile-up handling!

Propagation on 6m tends to change much more rapidly than on 20m and really the best method of working stations quickly is to handle the pileup, with them calling on your transmit frequency - the following hints may help:

Choose a sensible frequency - well away from 50.100 - 50120 - and stay there for as long as possible. A good DXer is first and foremost a LISTENER and your frequency will soon be announced on the DX Cluster or 28.885MHz. It may be worthwhile to work stations for a few minutes in the DX part of the band, and then QSY well away. Remember that some countries have restricted frequency allocations, and will appreciate you taking this into account.

Cut out all unnecessary information - the station calling wants to work you and really only needs the RST reports from you. Include full information on your QSL card.

(3) Don't repeat the same information too often - for example on 6m it is good technique to repeat your callsign once phonetically for every QSO made, but you may want to announce your Name/Locator/QSL manager etc. only once every 5 QSOs - most people sit listening to a DX station before or after working it.

Consider using a "pip-tone" to indicate the end of your short transmissions - this is a considerable help if there is rapid QSB or video QRM, etc. at the other station.

Use sensible, clear phonetics -some numbers, for example zero and three, can sound very familiar - the other stations may be having difficulty with understanding your language or accent. Don't vary the phonetics on consecutive calls.
Periodically judging by the conditions/stations calling) stop the pile-up calling, and ask for stations that you are particularly interested in working - a new DXCC country for you may have been unsuccessfully calling in the pile-up, or may be active on another frequency. Remember to also ask for calls from QRP or Novice stations only from time to time.

Remember what constitutes a completed QSO - in theory both stations have to repeat both callsigns, the correct reports acknowledged, and a "Roger" sent and also acknowledged - this is unrealistic -however it is your responsibility to check that a stations who thinks he has worked you knows clearly (a) that you are working them - don't be afraid to check their callsign several times until sure, and ~) that the QSO is complete and in your log. With 6m propagation, a station calling may be unable to hear any of the other stations in the pile-up, and if the timing of reports sent by you to another station coincides exactly with their transmit/receive timing, they cannot be blamed for thinking that they have worked you - avoid this by clearly repeating the callsign of the station you are working.

If you want to use split frequency - move well up the band e.g. transmitting on 50.235, listening from 50.250-50.260. This should minimise QRM. Stations in Italy have a severe QRM problem in their small allocation - working split (listening on one frequency in their band) will help you work Italian stations much more quickly.

Calling in a Pile-up

If you are a station calling a DX station, you have two clear objectives

- to break through the pile-up and work the station, and secondly, to do this as quickly as possible, giving time to work other DX. Whether you agree with it or not, DXers are a competitive breed, and tend to want to work a station first, before passing on information or helping a friend to work them.

On 50MHz, Es conditions are a great leveller - a station running l0W output can often work a DX station before a 1Kw output station - this never happens on 20m!

Timing - timing your calls is the real key - on 6m there can be slow or rapid QSB, and signals may suddenly peak up at your QTH - if you miss this chance you may not get another one. If signals are steadier, listen for a few minutes to ascertain what precise method the DX station is using to pick a station to work - is it just the loudest station or are they working just the last station heard etc.

Callsign - Choosing whether to send your full call or just two letters is a difficult decision (often the DX station will ask for one or the other) -sending just two letters can be effective, but it is often a surprise that three or four stations with the same two letters in their call may be calling at the same time! Generally, your full callsign, sent once quickly, using clear phonetics, is the best choice. A rare prefix is a great advantage, but part of it still has to be heard. Never send the DX stations call - they know who they are, they know that you are calling them (assuming no other QSOs on that frequency!) and you are just wasting time.

Listening - if you spend a lot of time listening, rather than calling CQ DX, you will often be lucky and hear a DX station calling - maybe before the pile-up has found them - this makes life a lot easier. Obviously someone has to call CQ or no QSOs would ever be made, but generally you can leave this to someone else. All the above hints are really common sense - try listening on 20m (don't pick up the bad habits!) and most of all have fun with the DX pile-ups!