[LCC] How to Make a Contest QSO
K5FNQ
k5fnq at lusfiber.net
Fri Jul 22 08:08:03 EDT 2011
"Speak clearly without rushing or mumbling "
I keep speaking clearly into my cw key but it does not help at all.
Art K5FNQ
On 7/21/2011 11:04 PM, K1DW at aol.com wrote:
> A great write up which every contester should read... also that is
> part of the The ARRL Contest Update that Ward Silver puts out once a
> month.... it is available for the asking by ARRL members... If not a
> member of the ARRL and a contester, his monthly Update is work the
> price of membership... fortunately I am a lifer.
> have fun and good luck in the contest of life... 73 BCNU de
> Dallas... k1DW
> In a message dated 7/20/2011 4:48:10 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
> w5wz at w5wz.com writes:
>
> CONVERSATION
>
> How To Have A (Contest) Conversation
>
> After the last issue was emailed to readers, I received a most
> reasonable request. "This issue shows how NOT to make a Field Day
> QSO. How SHOULD I make a Field Day QSO?" Here is a good example of
> how experienced operators (i.e. - your editor) can forget that
> criticism without instruction is not helpful. One has to
> demonstrate the right technique so as to illustrate why the wrong
> technique is, in fact, wrong! So here goes...
>
> Here's somebody having fun learning the right way to make Field
> Day QSOs! That's Scotty Wright, son of KØMD at the controls of
> WØSAA (Photo by KØMD)
>
> First, a disclaimer. There is no One Perfect Method for efficient,
> effective contest operating. The "right" technique depends on band
> conditions, how many are (or aren't) calling, the intensity of the
> competition, and the skill of the operators on each end. What
> follows are guidelines and I am assuming that the contest is a
> phone contest. The reader should be able to apply the same
> principles to CW and digital contest operation.
>
> To make a lot of QSOs in a fixed period - the goal of nearly every
> contest - you need to minimize the time you spend making each QSO.
> The first step in minimizing the duration of a QSO is to remove
> all unnecessary verbiage. In a perfect world, the only thing you
> should hear going back and forth during a contest is call signs
> and exchange information. It should sound like this:
>
> 1 - CQ Field Day KOØA
>
> 2 - [pileup]
>
> 3 - W1ABC 2 Alpha Missouri
>
> 4 - 1 Alpha Eastern Massachusetts
>
> 5 - Thanks KOØA
>
> Not a wasted bit of transmitting exists in that exchange. Lines 1
> and 5 are "bookends" in which KOØA identifies and solicits QSOs.
> (This style of operation is sufficient for W1ABC, as well.) This
> is the standard to which you should aspire on either end of the
> QSO. In Line 3, KOØA has pulled out a full call sign from the
> pileup, sent it to notify everyone who the QSO is with, given the
> information in the expected order and stopped transmitting. KOØA
> does not say, "Please copy..." or "You are..." or repeat any
> information or say, "Over" or "Go ahead" or any number of other
> things that take up time but don't add anything to the flow of the
> contact. In Line 4, W1ABC responds when called, gives the contest
> information, and stops transmitting. That's it - no extra "stuff"
> to slow things down. In Line 5, KOØA acknowledges that the
> information was complete and the call sign ends the transmission.
> No "QRZed" or "CQ Field Day" or "from" is required. If no stations
> call, then a longer CQ transmission starts the cycle again. (A nit
> to pick...when a station says "You are" and then describes their
> own configuration, shouldn't that really be "I am"?)
>
> When should you deviate from this ideal? There are lots of reasons
> to do so. In Line 3, KOØA should not give out any exchange
> information until sure of enough of the caller's call sign that
> only one station is likely to respond. For example, if KOØA
> doesn't get the last letter of W1ABC's call..."W1AB-something 2
> Alpha Missouri, what's the last letter?" W1ABC should respond with
> something like, "W1 Alpha Bravo Charlie, last letter is Charlie, 1
> Alpha...etc" Why does W1ABC repeat the full call? To confirm that
> the missing letter is the last one and that the call is not W1CAB
> or just W1AB. Similarly, if KOØA has W1ABC's call wrong, W1ABC
> might simply respond with, "W1ABC". At that point, KOØA can resume
> with Line 3 shown above.
>
> What about repeating your information? If not requested to do so,
> don't! 9 times out of 10, even a QRP station will be perfectly
> readable in Line 4 above. The other callers are standing by
> (hopefully) so KOØA is probably going to get the information on
> the first transmission - don't waste time with unrequested
> repeats! If a repeat is requested, repeat only the information
> requested.
>
> Should W1ABC give KOØA's call sign in Line 4? Whenever there is
> any question about the intended receiving station give the call
> sign. It is very common under crowded contest conditions for two
> stations to be extremely close together or even on the same
> frequency if they are in each other's skip zones or have antenna
> nulls aimed at each other. When this happens, don't depend on
> timing - give the other station's call sign before sending your
> own information. If you don't, you take a chance that the "wrong"
> station will log you. The extra information often saves losing a
> contact (and the multiplier and the possible penalty).
>
> What if W1ABC misses some of KOØA's information? Then W1ABC should
> request a repeat ("What is your section?") BEFORE proceeding with
> "1 Alpha Eastern Massachusetts." W1ABC should not transmit any
> exchange information until all of KOØA's information has been
> received. If W1ABC waits until after sending the category and
> section to ask for a repeat, KOØA will likely assume W1ABC
> received the information OK and will proceed with Line 5 too soon.
> This gets everything out of sync for everybody, including any
> callers waiting to contact KOØA. Yes, W1ABC could wait until
> KOØA's next contact to copy the information but I can tell you
> from personal experience - it doesn't always work out that way!
> Get the information you need during the contact and don't assume
> you can get it on subsequent contacts - that's a big waste of time
> for you.
>
> Obviously, there are many more variations on the basic theme. By
> practicing, you'll learn the basic principles of snappy, crisp
> operating. To learn more about effective, efficient operating,
> listen to the top operators on the air while they are "running"
> and try to emulate them.
>
> * Learn to pull a full call sign out of a pileup whenever you can
> * Give your /full /call whenever calling in a pileup
> * Transmit exchange information the same way every time
> * Eliminate wasted syllables and words
> * Speak clearly without rushing or mumbling
> * Speech audio should be non-distorted and free of background noise
>
> The top operators are flexible, too. When conditions require it,
> they will "change gears" to a faster or slower technique in order
> to maintain the flow of information and keep the contacts coming.
> Just like a long-distance runner who only lifts each foot enough
> to clear the ground, the top operators only transmit enough
> information to keep making contacts. You might not think the
> difference between "Thanks" and "Thank you" is worth much, but if
> in a 48-hour contest the goal is upwards of 5000 contacts, saying
> the extra "you" 5000 times is significant. This may be "cutting
> the tags off the teabags" as the backpackers say but work on
> eliminating non-essential transmissions and see if your log
> doesn't fill up a little quicker!
>
> Should this be the style of operating for casual, non-contest
> contacts? Of course not! But it would be completely appropriate
> for a net control station trying to run an emcomm net with many
> calling to check in, pass traffic, report status, etc. When trying
> to handle that load "extra stuff" can really gum up the works. The
> habits and skills formed under contest conditions help make you an
> effective operator when the chips are /really/ down - in a
> disaster or emergency situation when every minute counts.
>
> 73, Ward NØAX
>
>
>
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>
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