Jim, my Dad turns 88 in August. He still does the New York Times crossword puzzle with a pen and still beats me at chess. However, since Jack (who was the author of one of my all-time favorite pieces of ham radio fiction, The Templeton Case in January 1963 QST, which coincidentally was the first copy I received as a member) is obviously not being rational about this particular issue, I think his age earns him a more polite handling than if he were a young squirt. That's all I was trying to say, although I may not have said it very well. If he were younger I would be tempted to say something like, "Jack, it's nice to hear from you again. Telling someone they're 5-9 in a contest or a pileup is a polite falsehood -- something like telling an overly persistent correspondent that it's nice to hear from them again." 73, Dave K1ZZ ________________________________ From: K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 12:54 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:16735] W5FG Dave, According to current medical science, W5FG's 88 years statistically puts him in only the middle 60's of about 20 years ago! I don't know his specific mental condition, but he statistically falls within a population of fully or nearly-fully functional people. Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je@arrl.org <mailto:k8je@arrl.org> ; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is! ________________________________ From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 5:51 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16735] W5FG Jack Najork, W5FG has made a considerable investment in postage stamps to share his views on the importance of accurate signal reports. His most recent letter dated April 28 quotes me selectively, so I thought I should share the complete text of my earlier response to him on Joel's behalf. Obviously, he is making a mountain out of a molehill but bear in mind that he's 88 years old. Dave K1ZZ April 21, 2008 Jack Najork, W5FG 2517 Hiwy 31 Hubbard, TX 76648 Dear Jack: President Harrison has asked me to acknowledge your letter of March 31. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about accurate signal reports. Swapping "59" or "599" does seem a bit silly. The essential piece of information being exchanged in a DX contact is the callsign of each station, but there is a longstanding convention that an additional element of information also must be exchanged in order for a contact to have taken place. For ARRL awards this additional element does not have to be a signal report. It's debatable whether sending a standard signal report that may or may not be accurate rises to the level of a moral or ethical issue. One also might argue that when there are many stations wanting to make a contact, the objective should be to complete each contact as quickly as possible in order to maximize the rate. When pulling callsigns out of a big pileup it is often impossible to gauge the strength of each individual signal. When the pace isn't as frantic there is less excuse for rubber-stamp signal reports. Perhaps your experience is different, but mine is that except for pileups and contests most operators do make an attempt to send an honest report. Thanks again for giving the ARRL officers and directors the benefit of your thoughts. Sincere 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ Chief Executive Officer