Ouch.
Obviously the topic of "how frequent should we ID" is one of great interest,
and its been fun reading and contemplating everyone's opinions.
And that my skills, or lack thereof, would sometimes be mentioned is at least
interesting for me, and for those who think I've maybe "done it right"
sometimes in my 50 years of contesting - thank you.
But believe me, I'm strictly an AMATEUR. I kind of adopted the use your call
at the end of a QSO from one of our best, Katashi Nose KH6IJ. As I started
contesting from W 7 land in the mid-1950's, Nose's style was one we all
marveled to hear.
So when I first started contesting from DX in 1967, it made sense to try and
sound like Nose. Fat chance, but what a standard to try and emulate, huh?
What I call the Nose Rule: just sending your call says three things: (1) I QSL
your report, (2) I am XXXXX, and (3) QRZ. A lot said, in very short order.
How efficient is that??
Keep in mind, that for most of us, pre-1970 there were NO MEMORY KEYERS, NO
COMPUTERS, and everything was sent long hand.
Now, certain principles still apply, I believe, and for those who want to
continue reading, follows my Secrets of Contesting, Ch. 15. I take no
exclusivity on any of this; many will perhaps disagree, but that's OK too.
1... A major secret to life (and contesting) is to AVOID THE EXTREMES. Simply
stated, there's no one size that fits all. And for most of us lying well
within the extremities, whatever we feel comfortable doing, is probably the
right thing. Sign your call whenever you wish; you won't please everybody
anyway, so what the heck................
2. How can anyone take exception with the way Jose CT1BOH is doing it?
Numbers that truly boggle the mind.
Yes, sometimes I beat Jose - usually now he beats me. His analysis, for the
most part, is right on, I believe. Incidently when Jose started contesting in
the late 80's, he always told me I IDed too often, and he could've generated
bigger scores than I from D44BC. Maybe he was right; I certainly have learned
from him.
3. Whereas I have a 'reputation' of signing after every QSO; I must confess I
don't always today. Sorry.
4. Obviously the appeal to sign your call every Q is greatly diminished, as
VR2BG suggested, if your call is a basket case. I've been very fortunate to
have the ZD8Z call since 1968, and I suppose it is easily recognized. Each
character ends with 2 dits, and a few hundred thousand QSO's later - well I'm
sometimes astonished when it ends up BUSTED on packet. Oh well. Now if my
call was XQ9ABY, I doubt that this EXTREME call would motivate me to send it
after every Q.
5. As N6AA and others have observed, the frequency that you sign is pretty
well dictated by the pileup. And I have noticed that when I sign every Q, my
pileup definitely grows, leading me to believe that when I don't sign, many are
patiently waiting for the call. Truly interesting dynamics.
6. For me, I have evolved into (1) signing after every QSO when the pileup is
not robust, and (2) signing after every two to three Q's when the pileup is big
and the rates are good. At a minimum, one should never go longer than a minute
without IDing, in my opinion
7. The gentleman that I am trying to learn from is my good friend Al 4L5A.
And with his D4B call, what a GOLD STANDARD he is setting for the rest of us.
Can you imagine eleven straight 200+ hours this past CQ WW CW? With best hours
exceeding 260 Q's? Not even CT1BOH has done that!
Anyway, enough of this. Strive to feel comfortable in what you're doing.
Realize that others might be listening and set a good standard for
non-contesters and beginners. Do what Don Wallace W6AM used to call "friendly
CQing". Play the game fair. Cheaters know who they are, and they're not the
only ones who know............
Winning is important, but it's not everything. As Ville OH2MM shared with me
in Brazil two years ago, after awhile, only YOU remember your No. 1's.
And if any of us strive to be remembered one-half as fondly as KH6IJ, then
that's a nice legacy with which to depart.
Very 73
Jim Neiger N6TJ ZD8Z (this March) TO4A (last November - fun
call, but what's your country?) ZF2TJ (next
month - ARRL DX CW, and NO the opr is not
N5TJ)
'still crazy after all these years'
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