Dale - KG5U, et al:
This young fellow ( I THINK KC5AJX is young) is taking some pretty
heavy heat now on this issue of his call sign length. I would suspect
he's got the message. Let's not poison him, and treat him in a way
that causes him to become a contest hater. At the very least lets
be encouraging in a positive way.
Earlier today (Wed. 11th) I sent him a private message and reminded
him that 2 x 3 letter call signs have been around for about 40 years
now. The 4th and 6th districts....maybe 2nd as well, began receiving
2 x 3 letter calls around 1959 or 1960. Some of you OF's will remember
WB2RKK in the old CD-party days (who is he today, anyway???)
It is absolutely true that a 1 x 2 or a 2 x 1 call sign is BETTER than
a 2 x 3. Look at any contest summary that Jimmy posts on this
reflector............98% 1 x 2 call signs. Nevertheless, the comments
that many of you have made about the 2 x 3 not being at fault are true
also. I have never had a 2 x 3, but I sure had a crappy 1 x 3 call sign
early in my life. It was W7CFJ....and I recall getting my first
Official Observer report from W6IBD-sk (later he was K6NA, and then W6EE)
for sending "FJ" on 15 mtr cw to a 9J2 in about 1961 or 62. I hated
my call and couldn't wait until I could get a 1 x 2.
With all that said it is imperative, in my judgement, that full call
signs be sent on both cw and ssb nowadays. As so many of you have said,
when you're not getting through, do SOMETHING to get a better signal,
improve your skills, wait for better propagation, etc. Blaming the
call sign is just not on. It is TRUE however, that there are some
operators with BIG signals that DO NOT allow enough time between their
CQ's. During the ARRL-ssb Contest last weekend, I listened to half
dozen DX stations that called CQ 6 or 8 times without an responding to
a calling station. Often there were several weak stations calling those
big signal CQers. I was often one of the weak stations, and there is
certainly ROOM for IMPROVEMENT in some of the techniques being used.
Dale KG5U: Please note that in your posting on this issue (see below),
in your 5th paragraph, you use the words "two letter calls"........which
I've highlighted for you. You MEAN "calling with only 2 letters", and
not "two letter calls". There is a small syntax difference in the
words here, but a BIG difference in meaning. I have a 2 letter call sign,
but I never call with only 2 letters. I know you know the difference
obviously, but your words reflect something different. Just a small
nit-pick.
73 & GL
Dale K5MM
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-------Original message from KC5AJX------
>I try to use my complete call in contests, but having a 2x3 call is
>hard if not impossible to get my call in befire the CQing station
>starts calling CO again. Sometimes if I say my call as fast as I can
>with no phonetics I can just get it in but not allways. I listen to
>see what can of calls he is answering, if he is coming back to calls
>that use just the last 2 letters then I do the same "Juliet Xray" if
>he answers me then I send my whole call phoneticly and keep at it
>till he gets it right. Sometimes I have to use Kilo Charlie 5 Alpha
>Japan Xray to get the J across.
>I just follow the rest of the pile up to get through. Some of these
>big guns or experience contesters are used to working 1x2 and 1x3
>calls and they don't give some of us newer guys with the longer calls
>time to get it done right so I have to do what works. But I always
>make sure they get the call right before I give them my exchange.
>I don't mean to flame anyone but it seems that some get so caught up
>in run rates that they keep trying to go faster and faster to get the
>rate up, and I can understand that but it is like running 45+ wpm on
>cw, not all can work at that speed. I not suggesting you slow down
>your rate but leave a extra second or 2 between CQ's and or QRZ's for
>those of us with the longer calls to get our call signs in.
>73
>KC5AJX
*********************************************************************
-------Message to KC5AJX from KG5U-----------
The fact that you have a 2x3 shouldn't keep you from working
stations. There may be other factors at work that prevent you
from getting your full call out before the station is calling
someone else; poor signal, good signal in with BIG signals, poor
audio quality; off frequency; all sorts of things. If they are
like me and you are using two letters, I'm not going to work you.
I will always work to copy a complete callsign and ignore the two
letter station.
As for waiting an extra second or two, it sounds like you feel
like you are purposely being cut off by the running station.
Absurd. There is no one who, when running, is going to take time
to do something like that. If you are 'cut off' it is because
the run station has copied the callsign of another station. When
he says QRZ, call him again. The length of your callsign has
nothing to do with you being cut off.
N5KO had a two by three (WN4KKN--up until about a year ago!),
K5RC had a two by three (WA5LES and others), K7BV had a two by
three (KA5CHW), and beaucoup others had two by threes (me
included, WA5WFP). I think I can say with confidence that that
none ever consistently used two letters to get through a pileup.
I know the others I listed had done exceedingly well in spite of
the length of their callsigns.
I also think you may find (if not hear from others) that the use
of two letters in fact lengthens the QSO time--I used to
acknowledge the two letter stations. There have been a number of
times a station who I acknowledged with his two letters never
gave me his full callsign and after calling him asking for his
call and hearing nothing (he moved already!) all I could say at
the end was that he was not in the log.
I also can't tell you how many times I have sat on the better end
of a pile-up at W5RRR and just listened to the
"two-letter calls"
being thrown at me. I've learned to ignore them. I refuse to
answer them. Their use of the two letters tell me they don't
think I have the ability to copy a complete callsign. They are
also telling me that they don't have the sense to realize that I
CAN copy a complete callsign even when faced with my performance
of working station after station who called with full calls. Two
letter users deserve to not be worked.
After about fifteen or twenty minutes of listening to a couple of
them throw their two-letters out at me a couple of weeks ago in
the School Club Roundup, I addressed both with their resepective
two letters telling them they had exceeded the 10 minute rule
without properly identifying, then I said QRZ and worked other
stations.
Even when I ask for full callsigns only, there are still some
calling with two letters....
Dale, kg5u
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