CQ-Contest
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [CQ-Contest] Whither CQ WW?

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Whither CQ WW?
From: Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: k9yc@arrl.net
Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2022 20:24:53 -0700
List-post: <mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
On 10/30/2022 8:23 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
OK, I'll bite.  I briefly operated CQWW SSB remotely at a friend's station yesterday, and was appalled by the small number of spots being generated.  Take a look at DXSummit for W3LPL, who appears to be multi-2 this year.  Up until 15 minutes ago, since they went to 15 and 10 at 1200Z, where you can assume they are running constantly, I count only 16 spots (in 3+ hours).

Since I don't live or contest from anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean, I'm not really in the contest, even if I enter it. I got on for an hour or two, sampling 10, then 15, then 20, figuring to give a few points to NCCC members at stations they travel to, or which they operate remotely in exotic places. I made a few QSOs, if for no other reason than to confirm that my antennas still work, but with zero motivation to compete, or to waste more time in it. It's been at least ten years since I was motivated to operate CQWW or an ARRL DX contest. I DO take all three WPX contests seriously, simply because, thanks to scoring rules, I AM in that contest.

I was also surprised by the meager number of spots. I suspect that may be the result of getting used to automatic spotting by many skimmers, and getting out of the habit.

I also took a few minutes to let a couple of Texas stations know that they were splattering badly each time I tuned past them. Both hadn't a clue about simple things -- when I mentioned that some rigs inherently generate lots of splatter (Yaesu sold a bunch in relatively recent history that do), he said he was running a 6700, and I observed that I'd heard that they were pretty clean, so asked about ALC to his Expert power amp. He said he wasn't using any ALC, but when I told him that he needed to set the amp's output power by reducing drive from his radio, he repeatedly told me that "power was set automatically."

Sounds clueless to me.

Surprisingly, while there were the usual number of stations with badly over-driven audio that made them hard to copy, particularly their CQ messages, I found only those two stations splattering. And there were the usual number of ego-driven lids who finished a QSO with "QRZ" instead of their call. I love K6XX's advice at the Contesting workshops that NCCC organizes at Visalia -- "QRZ is not your call," making the point that your call is ADVERTISING, QRZ is not. Have these lids never operated S&P? Do they not realize that any decent op who tunes them and doesn't hear them sign their call after every QSO is going to move on to someone who does? Given that most operators with a serious shot at winning are using a 2x1 or 1x2, why use QRZ, three syllables that say nothing in place of four (without phonetics) that ADVERTISE?

73, Jim K9YC
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>