[CQ-Contest] My head hurts

Ward Silver hwardsil at WOLFENET.com
Thu Aug 26 08:35:59 EDT 1999


> 1. The CW Sprint was on the 5th, then the 12th and now the 5th?  When
> is the phone sprint?

This is a ploy to make everyone so confused that the phone contest is
distributed over three weekends, thus diluting the QRM on 75-meters.

> 2. Is it okay to send my grid of EN99 in the ARRL DX contest as ENNN?

Yes, but if you're a four, you send "RC" and your name is "Moon Pie".

> 3. How many penalty points is it if someone logs my grid as ENNN but
> busts my call at the same time.

Five, but assigned randomly to a different station.  This is a "hyperbust"
- a new kind of error.

> 4. If my cousin gets on and works me during a contest and nobody else,
> is that QSO removed from my log?  Are there any penalty points?

Only if you're related by marriage.

> 5. What if I am operating the SS and decide to turn on my amplifier
> after operating Q power for 10 hours.  Should I change my precedence?
> What if I was B power and my amplifier dies.

In the first case, you claim enhanced propagation and place in the top
ten.  In the second, you get an automatic coupon good for getting your
soapbox comment in the magazine.

> 6. If I live on the boundary line of two grids - which should I send?
> The one where my transmitter is located or the one where my antennas 
> are?

Sounds like a grid leak.  Better get a drip pan under it right away.

> 7. If I start a 30 minute break in the SS at 0100Z, but have 45 minutes
> of break time to use up - can I get back on at 0130 and operate for 15
> minutes - or do I have to wait until 0145?  

You can operate the last fifteen minutes, but you have to turn and face
the wall while doing it.

> 8. If I show a break as 0100 to 0129 in my log - is that a 30 minute
> break?  Can I have QSOs that start with either 0100 or 0129 in the log?

Only in hexadecimal.

> 9. If I start a QSO at 0259 - but need a fill - is it okay to ask
> for the fill after the clock has clicked over to 0300?  If not, should
> I remove the QSO or just leave it with the blank information?

Always keep an extra glass nearby, you'll never need a fill.  Trust me!

> 10. If I work a guy in the NAQP and notice that I had his name wrong
> the first time I worked him - is it okay to go back into the log and
> fix it during the contest?  After the contest?

Both are OK, but you must append "Bo-banna" to the corrected name.

> 11. If a station across town puts packet spots on the cluster that say
> things like "GET ON AND GIVE HIM A CALL" - does this put me in the 
> assisted category?  What if he did it 3000 times during the weekend?

It puts YOU in the distracted category and HE needs a hobby.

> 12. Are duplicate QSOs eligible to be sent as QTCs in the WAE?

Yes, this is called a QTC-pie and is frequently associated with YL
operators.

> 13. Is it okay to ask someone to QSY to another band in the Sprint if
> I called CQ but the station who answered me was a dupe.

Yes, but only to a WARC band.

> 14. In the sprint, if I answer a CQ and then take over the frequency, 
> but then some other station starts CQing on the frequency - can I answer
> him?

You may, but are required to give your name as "Rumplestiltskin".

> 15. Why isn't there an assisted category in the sprints?

There is - it's called Alpha class.

Glad to be of assistance in these weighty matters...

Dr. Beldar


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