November CQ/10 Meter Contest Canceled?

[HENRYPOL at aol.com]

The ARRL 10 Meter Contest was not listed in the latest CQ column Contest
Calendar sidebar 'Calendar of Events'.  The TARA RTTY Sprint, held the same
weekend (12/14-15/96), was listed.  Just because 10 hasn't been great lately
is no reason to cancel a contest; is it?  A quick check of the latest QST
confirmed that, at least as far as the ARRL is concerned, it is still on!

So mark your calendars, and plan to get on and try to work KE5FI and myself;
we'll be there calling and listening, and maybe reading a book or watching a
video between the QSOs :-).

73,
Henry Pollock - WB4HFL
henrypol at aol.com


>From 103650.1312 at CompuServe.COM (Jim McCook)  Thu Oct 31 01:55:43 1996
From: 103650.1312 at CompuServe.COM (Jim McCook) (Jim McCook)
Date: 30 Oct 96 20:55:43 EST
Subject: FW2OI'S "LAST TWO"  HABIT IN CQWW
Message-ID: <961031015543_103650.1312_IHL138-1 at CompuServe.COM>

During the SSB weekend of CQWW I was appalled to hear FW2OI INSISTING that
people calling him give their "last two letters!"  He repeatedly insisted people
call again using the last two, and on many occasions refused to work people he
obviously heard unless they played his game.  On one occasion I heard NH2C try
to work him by giving his full call phonetically over and over again, and FW2OI
refused to ever work him. Later I worked NH2C, who was obviously frustrated with
FW2OI.  Additionally, he would occasionally stack up a group of his "last two"
collection and run down his "list." It was beyond belief how anyone actually
operating a contest on any level could show such a degree of ignorance.  

I watched the reflector for a couple of days after the contest to see if there
were any comments about this, and was surprised to see none.

It goes without saying that this approach is not only grossly inefficient, but
is inconsiderate to those who choose to operate properly.  If a station is
assigned a call with 4 or 5 characters, he should give his whole call, or he is
bootlegging a false call not assigned to him during his identification.  One of
my friends who was in the top 5 world single op group even suggests his log be
thrown out for advocating such an approach.  I think someone in his part of the
world should try to explain to him how he should reduce his ignorance.  His home
call is DJ4OI.

The old argument that "this is his game and he can do what he wants" doesn't get
it.  It would be interesting to see some thoughtful comments about this.
Thankfully there are CW contests where this kind of infection has not spread.

73, Jim McCook W6YA


>From kr4dl at mindspring.com (Steven R. Schmidt)  Thu Oct 31 02:13:11 1996
From: kr4dl at mindspring.com (Steven R. Schmidt) (Steven R. Schmidt)
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 02:13:11 +0000
Subject: US QSL Bureau
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19961031021311.0069c9e0 at pop.mindspring.com>

I sent the following message to the DX reflector awhile back but, of course,
it didn't make it.  I thought I'd go ahead and post it here for those
interested.

I received many responses to my QSL question regarding the IOTA contest,
thanks.  In short, the majority of you thought I was on the right path.
Quite a few asked about my intent to send domestic cards without SASE
through the USA Bureau.  Here's the information on that service, if you're
unaware of it:

The USA QSL Bureau will send all your outgoing cards at $0.05 each,
regardless of quantity.  They like all cards presorted by district and
suffix (ie: W1A, W1B, W4F, W4G, W5A, etc.)  Please put the callsign of the
station you are sending to in the address section (back of card) in 3/4 inch
letters.  There is no charge for cards sent to you by the bureau; please
keep one sase on file.  THE BURO WILL NOTIFY STATIONS THAT HAVE CARDS
WAITING BUT DO NOT HAVE SASE'S ON FILE.  This provides a means of getting
the word out to those unaware of the buro's existence.

For those of you who like to "one stop shop" or are not members of the ARRL,
you may also send outgoing DX QSL cards via the US Buro.  Rates are also
$0.05 each regardless of quantity. All outgoing cards must be alphabetically
sorted by call-sign prefix (ie: AM, CE, CO, DL1, DL7, EA OA, 3A, 5A, etc.)
They handle cards going to all IARU Bureaus and countries with a manager or
other organization available for the callsigns sent.  A list of countries is
available by e-mail or sase.  If you'd like your DX QSL cards come to you
via the USA Buro also, you may use "QSL via AA1MF" when working stations.

Send up to 4 #6 3/4 (3 5/8 X 6 1/2) SASEs (one stamp each) with your
callsign in the upper lefthand corner, or you may send them $5.00, your
correct return address (I recommend labels), and they will supply 10 SASEs
for you.  Send your check and outgoing cards along with your SASEs to:

USA QSL Bureau
P.O. Box 814
Brewer, ME  04412-0814

For information direct from the source, e-mail to: usburo at aol.com  <or>
aa1mf at aol.com

Obviously, 5 cents a card presents a nice savings, even over the domestic
postcard rate.  This service also saves the effort of individually
addressing and stamping each card.  I thought it was a good idea.  Hope it
helps you, too.

73,  Steve  KR4DL