Packet & M/S

[JSTEINMAN at aol.com]

N5RZ and I did have an HF packet station from
P40L in the WW SSB last year, but it worked at
most 50% of the time. I would say it was worth maybe
20-30 multipliers, and especially helpful for a 2 man M/S
crew. When RZ went to bed I found myself craving a 
2 radio switchbox! With none in site, I just donned two
sets of headsets!

But we found most of our mults the old fashioned 
ways:
1. We tuned around, found and worked them
2. We moved them from run to mult

No secrets, except maybe that we carried down about 50
pounds of bandpass filters and coaxial stubs.
I mean, in the CQWW, if you can't hear on your mult station
while the run station is transmitting, you have a MAJOR
PROBLEM to overcome.
73
Jeff  KR0Y
jsteinman at aol.com


>From ken.silverman at atlas.ccmail.AirTouch.COM (ken silverman)  Sat Aug 20 05:23:09 1994
From: ken.silverman at atlas.ccmail.AirTouch.COM (ken silverman) (ken silverman)
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 94 20:23:09 PST
Subject: CQ WW M/S and HF Packet
Message-ID: <9407197773.AA777352989 at atlas.ccmail.airtouch.com>

I totally agree with KR0Y.  HF packet is a benefit from a DX-
location, but not the end all to winning the contest.  

Lets look at the 1993 CQ WW CW M/S results:

#1 J6DX
#2 4M5I
#3 L40F (I think that was the call)
#4 VP9AD

J6DX took the world, and set a new North American record along 
the way.  From my talks with the ops, they essentially had zero 
HF packet.  They had a few mults passed via HF, but they were not 
listening to a packet system.  All their mults came from finding 
them or passing them.  The old fashioned way.

4M5I had receive-only HF packet from the states which was in 
about 40% of the time.  J6DX made mince meat out of our mult 
totals.  Just how bad?  After sunrise saturday, they were up by a 
hundred mults, soon after a 150 mults, and we NEVER caught up.  
We just didn't pass the mults, and the other 4M5I ops can attest 
to my ranting when I saw juicy mults being worked on the mult 
station, with no attempt on passing them to the run station.  A 
mortal (and loosing) sin.

No insight to L40F, a late entry to the ranks

VP9AD didnt have any packet.  They too did a great job at passing 
the mults.

Moral of the story, first learn how to be world-competative 
without packet, then use it to gain an additional 10% or what 
ever its worth.  

One of these days I'll finish a neat paper I've been writing for 
the NCJ (with support from J6DX and VP9AD) about competitive 
CQ WW M/S strategies between North and South America.

Regards, Ken WM2C

4M5I team of 93'