I agree with Al completely: QRP stations are much better off sending at
normal speed than at slower speed. As Al says, the odds of a static crash or
fade taking out part of the transmission are reduced that way.
Also, QRPers should *not* send "/QRP". This provides no help to the
receiving operator, and takes up valuable time. It's unnecessary in most, if
not all, contests. As far as I know, it's not required by any legal
jurisdiction and is not required for any awards. I never log the extra
characters. I will say that sometimes it's nice to know that you can work
people running 5W or less who are very far away (i.e., it's a great
indicator of conditions), and it's satisfying when you know you've pulled a
really weak one out of the mud. But I would trade both of these for faster
rate.
Finally, QRPers should not repeat the call or exchange unless asked. You
can't assume that you are weak at the other end. When conditions are good,
QRP stations can register S9 or better here, especially on 10m. This goes
for all stations: the first time you are asked for a fill, just respond
once. The other station might have missed only a single letter, and the odds
are good that it'll come through on one transmission. If asked a second
time, you should repeat twice. After that, it's clear that the other station
is having trouble copying and you can send the fill two or three times.
73, Dick WC1M
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aldewey@aol.com [mailto:aldewey@aol.com]
> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 5:32 PM
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] How do you get better?
>
>
>
>
> I do QRP a lot. Lots of guys immediately get my callsign, but that's
> cuz they
> recognize it
> or figure it out. I am always very happy when I send an exchange that
> isn't
> copied (I'm
> too weak) and they say, "Sri." At least I know to NOT log it!
>
> While on the subject of QRP, there is one thing I will never
> understand.? Why do some QRPers believe it is necessary to send?
> really slow?? When working a QRPer in SS, I would much rather they
> send at normal speed or even a little above average.? With QSB and
> QRM, I usually have a lot better success copying them when the are
> going fast than when they are going slow.? There is less time for a
> static crash or fade to take out a letter.? Still I think there must
> be some natural instinct to want to send slow because you are running
> real low power.? Just an observation.
>
> Hope to work a lot of you this weekend (at all power levels).
>
> 73,
>
> Al, K0AD
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kr2q@optimum.net
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:44 pm
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] How do you get better?
>
>
>
> Well, isn't this cool. Here was have (so far) guys like K5ZD, CT1BOH,
> and K4BAI
> telling
> us that they PRACTICE. Does that say anything to you?
>
> For a week or more before a CW test, I like to listen to morse
> callsigns at very
> high speed.
> It helps to reset my clock at a higher level. You don't have to COPY
> at QRQ,
> just get used
> to listening to code at those speeds. Then I find it easier to copy
> when things
> slow down
> to 40wpm as compared to not listening to QRQ ahead of time. Maybe
> it's just me,
> but give
> it a try.
>
> The other thing that I would urge everyone to practice is accuracy.
> It's easy
> to put
> "something" down, but is it right? Quality trumps Rate 100% of the
> time.
> Resist the urge
> to log it, "no matter what." Asking for repeats is not something to
> be
> embarrassed about.
> Logging a busted call or exchange is. If you're not sure you got it
> right and
> you've asked
> for repeats but get no cooperation, then don't log it. Equally, if
> you're asked
> for a repeat,
> take the time to repeat it! And if the guy asking for a repeat is
> going 10wpm
> or more
> slower than you are, SLOW DOWN when you give the repeat. There is
> nothing more
> sad
> (to me) than to hear an attempted exchange where one guy is sending at
> 40wpm to
> a guy
> who is going at 25wpm and who keeps asking for repeats but the other
> guy
> continues to
> send at 40wpm. DUH! SLOW DOWN!!
>
> I do QRP a lot. Lots of guys immediately get my callsign, but that's
> cuz they
> recognize it
> or figure it out. I am always very happy when I send an exchange that
> isn't
> copied (I'm
> too weak) and they say, "Sri." At least I know to NOT log it!
>
> de Doug KR2Q
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
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