Amen to that Tree!
If in doubt, send both calls... But I always find it helpful in extremely
congested situations if the replying station leads off with my call, versus
theirs. No questions then...
There were several instances while S&Ping I had three stations think I was
calling them, sending the station I was going to log call first hopefully
eliminated anyone getting a NIL.
It would be of benefit if somehow this message could be spread to
non-contesters who play in events like this better too... Maybe notes in the DX
columns and awards forums?
73,
Julius
Julius Fazekas
N2WN
Tennessee Contest Group
TnQP http://www.tnqp.org/
Elecraft K2/100 #4455
Elecraft K3/100 #366
--- On Wed, 1/28/09, Tree <tree@kkn.net> wrote:
> From: Tree <tree@kkn.net>
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Sending the other guy's call - AGAIN!!
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 9:54 AM
> The CQ 160 contest is one that will go down in history.
> Many records
> were broken. However, along with that went really bad QRM
> as the narrow
> spectrum available to places like Europe and Japan were
> packed full of
> big signals.
>
> This situation really requires some improved operating
> techniques to
> make as sure as possible that real QSOs are being made and
> logged.
>
> Most of these have been mentioned before, but are worth
> repeating.
>
> 1. Learn how to QNZ!! QNZ is a old CW traffic term that
> really should
> have a "real" Q signal. It means to zero beat
> your signal to mine.
> The term zero beat can be best understood if you listen to
> two carries,
> slightly off frequency, in the AM mode of a receiver. As
> the two
> signals approach the same frequency, you will hear a beat
> tone that
> represents the difference between the signals. When the
> signals are
> on the same frequency, there is "zero beat".
>
> When the band is crowded - most people have to crank in
> narrow filters
> in order to hear weak signals calling them. I was running
> at 250 or
> 300 Hz bandwidth many times. This means I can
> "hear" signals that are
> only 125 or 150 Hertz withing my transmitted signal.
> Furthurmore, the
> guys next to me are listening to signals that might be only
> 200 Hz from
> my signal. If you call me 200 hertz off (as perhaps one or
> two percent
> of the people who call do) - I might not hear you. And if
> I did, the
> guy on the next frequency might think you are working him
> instead of me.
>
> This results in a certain number of "not-in-log"
> situations every contest.
>
> I always kind of laugh to myself when someone calls me way
> off frequency.
> I can only hear this when they are pretty loud - but what
> it means is
> that when they call a DX station - there is NO WAY they are
> going to be
> heard. If you are having a hard time having people come
> back to you, it
> might just mean that you need to turn off your RIT. I had
> one station
> calling a DX station who was up about 300 Hz right in the
> middle of my
> passband. He wasn't ever going to work that DX station
> and he was just
> making a bunch of QRM for me. This was not a good
> situation for anyone.
>
> 2. I have ranted about this before - but there were times
> that I was not
> sure a QSO had occurred because the guy who called me never
> bothered to
> send my call. I have two QSOs that I initially took out of
> my log because
> I was not 100 percent sure I was the one being worked.
>
> Imagine the following situation. I am happily CQing and
> working USA
> stations, and out of the blue - a DX station sends his call
> just after
> I finish a CQ. Normally, I would expect that this station
> is calling
> some loud zone 15/16 station that I can't hear - and I
> ignore it. But
> let's say I just decide that maybe this guy is calling
> me... so - I get
> brave - and send the call back to the guy and then I hear
> an exchange
> come back with the right timing. Did I just have a QSO?
> Furthurmore,
> if I ask something like "call?" - I often get
> nothing in return. Normally,
> I will erase these "QSOs" from my log. Had the
> station just sent my
> call once - then I would have known for sure I was the one
> being heard.
>
> I know it takes some time - but if you don't do in
> cases where the QSO
> isn't a "slam dunk" - you are risking a
> not-in-log. I ended up putting
> these two QSOs back in my log because they were at the
> start of a run
> of DX stations - so I had more confidence that I had
> control of the
> frequency.
>
> Sometimes in this situation, the station calling me bothers
> to send THEIR
> callsign - when I sent it perfectly. This really confuses
> me even more
> and makes me more likely to think they were talking to
> someone else.
>
> 3. Move up the band if you can!! Lots of people reported
> having good
> results up the band.
>
> 73 Tree N6TR
> tree@kkn.net
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