[3830] NAQP CW K7IA Single Op LP

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                    North American QSO Party, CW

Call: K7IA
Operator(s): K7IA
Station: K7IA

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: SW New Mexico
Operating Time (hrs): 9:58

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    9     6
   80:   63    29
   40:  310    48
   20:  266    47
   15:    8     2
   10:    2     1
-------------------
Total:  658   133  Total Score = 87,514

Club: 

Team: 

Comments:

Band conditions were better for the NAQP than for the past two weekend events. 
Although there was a fair amount of QRN, we had no local electrical storm
activity, which is unusual for this time of year in Southwest New Mexico.  QSB,
while present, was much better behaved than in the past two weeks, so nearly all
signals were copyable and only a few were with difficulty.

It was great to check 10 meters and find a couple of signals!  160 appeared to
be the band where the 80 meter ops moved needed mults to, so I enjoyed being
the "move-ee" and picking up a few mults for my own log.

A few tips to newer CW contesters:

1.  While it is not absolutley necessary to zero beat the running station's
frequency, be careful not to be so far away that you are outside of the
runner's passband.  If you are, he won't hear your calls!  With sparse activity
on 10 and 15 meters, 20 meters becomes the workhorse band.  Yesterday, there was
a running station every 500 Hz on my bandmap, so being outside of one operator's
passband will put you in someone else's, and you won't make contact with either.
 And just to add some potential confusion, I'll add this:  If you exactly zero
beat a runner's signal, it's great if you are the only one calling.  But if you
and a couple of others are at exact zero beat, the runner hears only a single
tone.  Soooo, there's an advantage to being slightly off the runner's frequency
when things are crowded.  How far off, you ask?  Best I can advise is to
experiment and see how "visible" you become in a pileup.  Rigs with XIT make it
simple, but there are other ways.  Even a QRP signal can be heard under (really,
beside) a pileup of KW stations.

2.  Keep in mind who you are--are you the running station (calling CQ) or the
Search and Pounce station (answering CQs)?  The running station gives the
exchange first, and then the S&P station has a turn.  S&P stations giving the
exchange first destroys the rhythm and costs more time in the long run.

3.  Running stations go for score and like to make lots of contacts quickly. 
Give the exchange briskly and make certain that both of you have the exchange
information correctly.  Then go find another runner.  The running station has
only one shot at getting the exchange correctly.  Once the S&P station moves
off, there's no chance for the runner to correct an error.  The S&P op can
always hang around and listen to the next exchange to make corrections.  Any op
submitting an error in a log loses credit and is usually "docked" a penalty for
it.  The runner is usually the only station that sends both callsigns.  Listen
to yours, and make sure the runner gets it right.  So if a runner who is
making, say 150-200 contacts per hour doesn't get your callsign (QRM, QRN, QSB,
fat fingers), please get his attention and help him correct it!  A good
attention getter is to send some dots or dashes continuously for a second or
two.  I squeeze both iambic paddles.  The other ops in the pile should respect
it if they hear it, because they want to get things right, too.  Only a lid
will ignore your effort.  Someday, all S&P ops will become running ops, so what
goes around comes around!

4.  Think the Big Guns and runners are the most important part of a contest? 
Think again!  Runners cannot do their 150-200 Q's per hour without S&P ops, so
the S&P operators are in control in my book...

Many thanks to the S&P ops who provided the best sustained rates in this Little
Pistol's experience!  Thanks also to the F1 who called with his "sounds like a
local" signal on 20 meters!  It didn't count for points, but it was memorable!

73,
Dan


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