I am 44, not exactly good ears, and
totally comfortable doing 40 wpm,
nothing more...
Vitor PY2NY (@PS2T ARRL CW)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen & Marilyn Haines" <steveandmarilynhaines@gmail.com>
To: <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 8:16 PM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] A Decent Rate?
> The ARRL DXCW contest was my best contest effort so far. After casually
> contesting since 2007 with only a search-and-pounce style, I finally
> worked up enough nerve to call CQ. The pileup surprised and buried me --
> I may have been the only ZP in the test. That happens if no one comes
> down to run Tom's station, ZP0R.
>
> Here's my question: Given my conditions, what would be a competent QSO
> rate during a run? I averaged between 1.5 to 2 QSOs per minute, with a
> few minutes reaching 3. I know I frustrated a lot of of the guys at this
> pace, but I never felt like I had control of the pile.
>
> I'm 63, with 50 years as a casual CW operator comfortable at 25-30 wpm.
> My rig is a Yaesu FT-757GXii with a factory 600 hz narrow filter. The
> antenna is a ground plane 10 feet from a two-story house, with wire
> elements for 15 and 20 taped to a fiberglass fishing pole. It's got 3
> radials on 20 and 1 on 15. My signal is always weak; 100 watts to a wire
> is what I've always had. When I operate split I can usually set up a
> rhythm, but in the test with a simplex frequency I couldn't be heard in
> the racket of nearly continuous callers.
>
> So what would be a reasonable personal goal under these conditions? From
> you experienced guys, what QSO rate would a competent (not world-class)
> operator achieve?
>
> Steve, ZP9EH/W9CPI
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