On Jan 9, 2006, at 1:42 PM, Scott Schultz wrote:
> I don't know if its a gut reaction or if there is an actual formula
> that
> tells them that after so many unanswered CQ's its time to S&P? And
> when they
> do S&P, how many unanswered attempts at snagging a rare multilplier
> do they
> try before giving up?
These are deep contest mysteries. A lot of times, it is in your gut,
sometimes, you count off. I'm no expert, but I'll try to answer
these. Note my contest experience is mostly Phone and CW, I've just
started using RTTY in the past year.
1) When do I keep CQing, and when do I switch to S & P?
A - Depends. If you just started CQing and you haven't gotten any
responses in a couple of minutes, it is probably time to move on. If
you have been CQing a while and you're in a short lull -- what's your
rate doing? If your rate is still above or around your best S & P
rate for that band, you're probably better off staying put.
One year in SS Phone I made a rule that if I CQ'd for more than 3
minutes without a contact, I'd move. I did a lot of moving around the
bands that year. It felt like I left behind a lot of good
frequencies. Nowadays, I focus more on the rate meter.
2) How many unanswered attempts do you make when S & P?
A - Good question. It depends on what is going on. If you call a
station and he just CQs again, that's usually a clue that he can't
hear you. If this happens to me TWICE, I'll move on. What happens
more often is that you call and he answers someone else. This repeats
over and over until you either work the guy or move on.
Making the assessment on whether to move on depends on what is
happening, and how much the station is worth. If it is a rare
multiplier, it's probably best to hang in a call a while longer. For
more pedestrian stations, you can probably find better luck somewhere
just down the band.
If you are running QRP or just have compromise (ie lousy) antennas,
you may need to be more tolerant and stick it out longer.
Even if you are QRO and have great antennas, you may have difficulty
getting through if the pileup of callers is big enough. This when it
is good to have practiced the art of pileup breaking during those non-
contest times, when you are just dxing. Listening and understanding
what is going on on the frequency is key to getting through. A well-
placed call is worth a lot more than a lot of shouting or button-
pressing. (This is especially true with RTTY - good timing may place
your call in the clear, rather than being all garbled up with the rest)
Finally, your best bet may be to tune on and come back. This is
especially true of packet-pileups. Even when I'm down at the NQ4I M/M
superstation, running QRO with great antennas, there are times I just
can't get through. If I come back in 10 minutes, often the pile has
reduced to something I can easily punch through.
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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