[CQ-Contest] Cut Numbers in Log Checking

[Jon Ogden]

Robert Naumann wrote:

>When someone sends "cut numbers" the intention is to abbreviate a particular
>message and therefore accelerate completion of the qso.  I think that
>"standard" use of cut numbers is OK, i.e.; 5NN, 5NN T5, 5NN 1TT1, etc.  Even
>an occasional ENN for 5NN is OK, but the receiver(operator) should be
>capable of translating this to the actual exchange information.  I don't
>think anyone thinks that 5NN is intended report, and we all should recognize
>that 599 is, in fact, the actual report.

With the exception of 5NN, I seriously doubt that most hams out there 
don't even know what those letters mean.  This is particularly true of 
those guys (like me) who enter a CW contest with the intent to better our 
CW and not to be competitive.  Guys like myself fumble badly when we get 
letters where we expect numbers.  Not everyone is a super-op.  So if I 
get ENN from you, I will likely send ???????? several times.  So I end up 
slowing down the QSO by sending dididahdahdidit three or four times.  If 
you'd have just sent dididididit instead of dit, the QSO would be over.  
But now you have to resend again.  And if I ask ???? again, the QSO just 
drags.  If you insisted on sending me an RST that I cannot recognize, 
I'll just not log the QSO.  Then if I send in my logs, you loose points 
because your QSO with me (if you logged it) will be NIL.

I have no idea what 1TT1 means and until this discussion on this 
reflector, I had no idea that such a thing as cut numbers even existed.  
So most people likely don't know it either.  So if you are KH0W or 
whatever the call is and you send me 5NN NE, I will log you as Nebraska 
and scratch my head!  I still to this day have no idea of what NE means.  
Given that N is typicall 9 as in 5NN, and from this post I see that E 
must be 5, then the QSO number is obviously 95.  But don't expect me or 
most of the stations you work to know that.

Cut numbers don't improve things and will likely slow things down.  The 
big guns wouldn't like it if I just sent "November Alpha" in the pileup.  
Some consider such practices "liddish."  In the same way, the non "super" 
CW ops, don't like cut numbers.  We could say the same that cut numbers 
are "liddish" as well.

I am not trying to flame or insult anyone, but just let it be known that 
something that is supposed to save time, may not save time and may 
actually cost QSO points.

73,

Jon
KE9NA


-------------------------------------
Jon Ogden
KE9NA

http://www.qsl.net/ke9na    <--- CHECK IT OUT!  It's been updated!!!!!


"A life lived in fear is a life half lived."


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