First some mail from your readers:
Warren, NF1J writes:
> The one thing I was hoping you'd talk about, and haven't yet, given the
> target audience is accuracy. Especially since in Sweepstakes, (a), the
> exchange is the most complicated, (b), the top ten can be separated by a
> handful of QSOs, (c) you get a lot more people than normal who aren't very
> good at CW, and (d), the contesting community has gotten puritanical as far
> as checking every single submitted log (which, IMO, is a bit much).
Puritanical? Well, perhaps. Since I am somewhat involved in the log checking
process for the SS, I can certainly agree that we do check every single
submitted log. As far as that being too much - I guess I have a hard time
knowing were to draw the line - and in the end, I don't think there is any
reason not to check all of the logs. I should point out in self defense
that log checking is not used to deny anyone getting a clean sweep mug.
You can get that mug even if you don't correctly copy the information
correctly.
> And if you're a contester who's taken the summer off, and might be a bit
> rusty, it's probably too late now to get some practice in.
No, but being aware of the issue and taking some extra time to make sure
you have things right might be enough for some.
Here are more thoughts that Warren put together:
> Generally, CW copying errors fall under two categories. Counting errors, and
> transposition errors.
> Counting errors are when you drop or add a dit or a dah.
> For example, B vs D, J vs W, S vs H, R with F, U with V, M vs O, 2 vs 3 and
> 7 vs 8. Many people tend to add one that isn't there, or drop one that
> wasn't there.
> Transposition errors are even more insidious.
> There are a lot of people who'll confuse N with A; F with L, 3 with 7, 2
> with 8, and the like. You'd think it would be impossible, but it happens
> time after time after time.
> What to do?
> If you're rusty, practice. If you're not rusty, but you're going to be
> serious, practice anyway.
> SS is the one contest where you hear the call sign twice. Therefore, there
> is never any excuse to get a call sign wrong.
> If you're going to send at 38, you need to be able to copy 100% at 38. Don't
> work at a speed higher than what you can copy--it just makes trouble for all
> of us.
> In SS, you deal with a lot of what I call "unexpected numbers". You expect a
> certain number as part of the call sign; you know the check is going to be
> one of six letters; the sections are all predetermined; but there's no
> telling what someone's check is going to be, and they can change from year
> to year (trust me). So if you've not been listening to a lot of CW numbers
> lately, maybe this is a good week to tune in some W1AW CW high speed
> transmissions.
> Finally, probably the largest cause of copying errors is simply a failure to
> ask for a repeat. Don't be afraid to sound foolish by asking for a repeat of
> the exchange, or any part of the exchange. If you guess, you *will* guess
> wrong, nearly every time. If your mind isn't right, to paraphrase Cool Hand
> Luke, you'll fail to communicate.
Great stuff Warren. About all I can add it remind everyone that their log
will be checked regardless of how small or large it is. If you sent in a log
last year, you can see your report card (Log Check Report) on the arrl web
page that shows the contest results (and if you are logged in as an ARRL
member).
Over 99 percent of your callsigns and received information will be checked.
Over 70 percent of your log will be cross checked. If you are not sure of
the information you are putting in the log, then you should take the time
to get it right. Otherwise, you will likely lose the contact, and possibly
a penalty to go with it.
Shelby, K4WW writes:
> Tree, I have been "reading through", and even kept them for reference, your
> SS CW Secrets. Being "CW challenged" above 24-26 WPM, I think your advice
> should/could read "when in S/P, call the CQing station at their speed", not
> necessarily a specific number, just don't make them uncomfortable and
> intimidated, or they may "just disappear"! Many lose a contact with me, not
> sure if that matters, just because they won't QRS for me to "get it right"!
> I find that if I wait until Sunday afternoon to get on, my chances are
> greatly increased, simply because I'm the "new meat"? I also plead guilty to
> "not being a novice, but calling high in the band", almost always in the
> "novice" area of the band! Usually enough will find me, to allow me to make
> the necessary 100 contacts, and the others just miss getting "the one that
> could make a difference"?
Great points and thanks for sharing. Yes, when answering someone calling CQ
at a slower speed, or if someone answers your 38 WPM CQ at 27 WPM, it is
only common sense that you should slow down. Certainly getting on during
Sunday will find more stations sending below 30 WPM.
KL9A writes:
> Off times? Best to sleep at night from 12-6 or...?
Ah yes - another thing I was going to cover and forgot.
Let me back up a little first. The SS is really two different contests.
One is called Saturday and the other Sunday. You will find your average
rate on Saturday is about twice what it will be on Sunday, or even a bit
more. Therefore, it is important to maximize your operating time on
Saturday and save your off time for the slower periods of the contest.
As a general rule, I always try to operate the first 12 hours of the contest
without any breaks (or one at the most). After that 12th hour, it seems
that most of the stations who are active are sleeping. Depending on my
circumstances, I will get back on the air with 3 or 4 break times to use
during Sunday.
There are other stations who will never stay off the air for longer than
30 minutes and they basically don't sleep. They will end up way ahead of
you on Sunday morning when you wake up, but it isn't clear that they will
be ahead of you at the end of the contest. Personally, I find I function
much better on Sunday if I have had some sleep.
If you find you need to take a break for some kind of equipment problem
early in the contest - try not to let it upset you too much. One year at
W5WMU, I had to take 30 minutes off in the first hour, but was still able
to win the contest.
I am not sure any break strategy that has you on the air for 11 1/2 of
the first 12 hours can be very broken.
So - what kind of rates should you expect? Depends on your power level
on the first day, but on Sunday, I think most everyone's rate is the same.
If you are QRP, you have more stations that you haven't worked, and that
helps your rate on Sunday.
For high power stations, your rate on Sunday will be about half of what
you had on Saturday. In some cases, they will be even less than that.
Here is some data I just pulled out of the 2002 SS CW logs. It shows
the distribution by hour and by band for all of the QSOs showing up in
the electronic logs that were received. Since I have logs from both
sides of many QSOs, these numbers are higher than the "actual" QSO numbers,
but you can use this as a relative indication of where the activity is
and when.
Total logs processed = 1158
HOUR 160 80 40 20 15 10 TOTAL
2100 0 66 2296 5240 7923 15367 30892
2200 0 1 2198 5333 11198 12770 31500
2300 0 2 2960 7748 13145 5727 29582
0000 0 79 5652 10082 10942 1765 28520
0100 0 863 8542 12488 5693 40 27626
0200 0 3244 11287 11552 772 11 26866
0300 0 5765 14532 5903 8 10 26218
0400 0 7101 15450 3414 0 0 25965
0500 0 7743 14495 1433 0 1 23672
0600 0 7369 11517 280 0 0 19166
0700 1 5747 7664 22 0 1 13435
0800 0 2618 3850 1 0 5 6474
0900 0 697 893 0 70 73 1733
1000 0 142 697 50 33 11 933
1100 0 916 1931 55 0 17 2919
1200 0 2640 6188 458 20 4 9310
1300 0 453 9461 4050 269 72 14305
1400 0 4 5277 8427 3276 70 17054
1500 0 1 3094 8886 7104 1334 20419
1600 0 0 965 7552 7602 5087 21206
1700 0 0 581 5294 6557 7255 19687
1800 0 0 170 4401 6403 7288 18262
1900 0 0 487 4672 6707 6832 18698
2000 0 26 746 5201 6339 6126 18438
2100 0 0 1834 5186 6404 5106 18530
2200 0 17 2796 5400 7760 2679 18652
2300 0 401 4163 6356 6367 443 17730
0000 0 1544 5310 6617 3120 31 16622
0100 0 2613 6952 6291 474 0 16330
0200 0 4164 6502 4115 0 0 14781
As you can see, the hours 0900, 1000 and 1100 are great ones to get
some shuteye. Some club must have had an activity hour at 2000 on
80 meters!
This year, things might be shifted down some if 10 meters isn't open.
Although with the crazy stuff going on with the sun this week, who
knows how conditions will be.
Well, I am going to send this off. I might not make another post
until after the contest as things are rather hectic.
Good luck in the contest and hope to work you in the SS!
73 Tree N6TR
tree@kkn.net
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