Let me add few remarks from the tech oriented oldfashioned EU contester.
CW is naturally dying art but wide availability of computers and contest
programs enables everybody to send perfect high speed Morse code. However, one
still needs some brain to copy code and that is not in the wide supply :-)
People are simply trained to copy only easy numbers and short callsigns. Do not
ask them often about your real signal report, tone quality or QSY as the
majority will simply run away. Thanks God they are still around giving us
points...
Packet users are of the same bunch! Spots with a bad callsigns almost outnumber
the good ones. Calling practices are as they develop over the week and rare
DX-pedition madness. It is simply not fair to disqualify net operations and DX
Clusters as a whole.
Now we come to the contemporary malaise of the top scoring stations as
illustrated by amigo Trey of HC8N fame. He guides KK7SR through the proper DX
calling procedures in the following way:
o something Radio, again?
(possibly answering you, give your call once phonetically)
o something Sierra Radio 59-10
(probably answering you, give your call once phonetically then
your report)
o Kilo Kilo Seven Sierra 59-10
(probably answering you, say "My call is Kilo Kilo Seven
Sierra RADIO, you are 59-03")
So far, so good although I'd expect smarter HC8N operator to get KK7SR by now as
he had all the relevant parts of it! This is also a good example for using
callsign database as a help for partial calls.
o Again?
(this is like a CQ, give your call phonetically)
This is simply NOT fair! Previous callsign should have been confirmed in plain
English
instead of inviting new pile-up of all the nervously waiting people.
o CQ Contest CQ Contest...
(he didn't hear your call .. maybe your signal is too weak)
Bad luck, nobody called before and I wonder what was written in HC8N and KK7SR
logs? Neither station benefited from the sprint style of HC8N robot. What is
KK7SR supposed to do next? Wait for a better condx or give up on HC8N senseless
operation? HC8N probably lives in the over-supply-side-of-callers world and
doesn't care much. I never used above brute force ignorant approach from
9A1A...
I rarely call CQ but one of my greatest rewards was recent letter from W5
station praising my ears for picking up his 5W to indoor antenna on 15 & 20m.
RTTY is a good training ground for a proper callsign's recognition by eyes &
brain only.
73 de Mario, S56A, N1YU with a limited DX-pedition experience but a good CW
pile-up scores!
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>From k0hb@arrl.org" <k0hb@arrl.org Sat Jul 31 04:07:13 1999
From: k0hb@arrl.org" <k0hb@arrl.org (K0HB - Hans)
Subject: [CQ-Contest] SS SO Unlimited question
On Friday, July 30, 1999 10:11 PM, TOMK5RC@aol.com
[SMTP:TOMK5RC@aol.com] wrote:
>
> ARRL contest rules seldom change without input from the CAC. Does
> your representative know how you feel about ARRL Contests?
>
If I want something changed I'll let him know. I sure never
saw any groundswell of sentiment for adding an SOA category
to SS, nor any request for comment by CAC in advance of this
change.
While the CAC should not make decisions based solely on "popular
opinion", neither should there be "stealth" changes announced
just three months before such a popular event, with no obvious
"feeling of the pulse" of the contest community beforehand.
Packet-assisted SO sweep! What a proud accomplishment!
73, Hans, K0HB
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