well put Dick......KISS works! There is nothing more dramatic than a pause
in your message
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard J. Norton" <ae327@lafn.org>
To: "CQ-Contest" <CQ-Contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2004 4:07 PM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Efficiently Calling CQ in CW Contests
> Although I do not officially speak for it, I do check the logs for a very
large
> DX Contest. This year I noticed a number of CW copying errors that
involved
> appending the letter "T" to the end of a few callsigns.
>
> The mystery of why this was happening was solved this last weekend in the
ARRL
> DX Contest. I worked one of the stations, an EA, who was signing with
"TEST" at
> the end of his transmissions. His character spacing and his keying could
> certainly be misinterpreted, particularly if the "E" in TEST got covered
up.
> Fortunately, for me, I was very familiar with his callsign in addition to
> understanding his country's callsign structure, so I had no problem
logging him
> correctly.
>
> Unless it is your objective to make your callsign easier to miscopy, in a
large
> contest like the ARRL DX, where over 99% of the activity on the band is
contest
> related, there is no reason to waste time and energy sending "TEST."
>
> There are still some people who may be attempting to determine your
callsign by
> actually copying it off the air rather than clicking on their packet
screens.
> If you are calling CQ (as opposed to managing an existing run), you might
> consider putting your time and energy into sending your callsign. You may
> appreciate others doing this when you are trying to copy the callsign of a
very
> weak station.
>
> Regarding the suggestion to call "TEST callsign TEST." Two thirds of the
> time and energy is wasted on non-information.
>
> When CQing, where I am not sure there is anyone still on the frequency
still
> waiting to work me, I always sign my callsign twice. My call is very
similar to
> both N6AR and N6AW, who are often also active. I find hearing a call twice
to
> be reassuring that it is copied correctly.
>
> In summary, I use:
>
> "CQ N6AA N6AA"
>
> without any "TEST" or "K."
>
> Capital punishment is recommended for anyone sending "K" after their
callsigns
> in a contest. Life imprisonment might be adequate if he had a 3-letter
> suffix. Even the least capable of contesters are able to figure out, that
when
> you have stopped transmitting at an appropriate place, it is a signal that
they
> should start transmitting.
>
> One big exception - Those unfortunate to have 3-letter suffixes ending in
"K"
> are permitted to send an additional "K" at the end to coax you into
including
> the "K" when you log their callsigns.
>
> In a contest with little activity, you might use "TEST, " but I would put
it
> before the callsign to minimize potential callsign confusion.
>
> CQ TEST W1ABC W1ABC
>
> If you send "CQ" or "TEST" more than once in your CQ, you are wasting time
and
> energy. If you need to use up more time, send your callsign another time.
>
> 73,
>
> Dick Norton, N6AA
>
>
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