[CQ-Contest] "LAST 2" - Personal Experiences

[Jon Ogden]

on 3/28/00 9:52 AM, Bill Coleman AA4LR at aa4lr at radio.org wrote:


> 
> As a little pistol, I disagree.
> 
> Ills of the last 2 aside, there's no way a CQing station is going to get
> a report from me until I'm reasonably sure he has my callsign right. Why?
> Well, it was hard enough to break the pileup the first time. All I need
> is for the station to say "KA4LU 59 1234 QRZ?" Then I have to break the
> pileup AGAIN to get my callsign corrected. Holding out on the report is
> the only way I can keep the other station's attention.

Well, I agree with you.  And if I don't hear the guy correctly, I will not
give my report until I DO get his full call.  If in heavy QRM conditions,
when I am running a frequency, I end up hearing just the last 2 or three
letters of a very weak station regardless of how many he gave.  I will never
repeat back to him, his last two and then my report.  I do indeed want to
make sure I have his call correct and that he knows it before I give my
report to him.  

Additionally, if he is a little pistol (generally you can tell) I prefer to
hold my report until I have confirmed his.  My assumption (possibly flawed)
is that he can hear me far better than I can hear him (after all if one DL
who tells you you are 20 over 9 and you hear him fine, then the next DL who
is barely in there probably hears you pretty well also).  Therefore, I don't
want him to get my report easily, give me his and then run away thinking I
said QSL.  Rarely will I move on to the next station until I know for sure
we have each "QSL'd."  Perhaps it slows down my rate, but I do prefer to be
accurate about it.

So in recap:

1.) I will ALWAYS get the call of a little guy before giving him his report.
2.) I prefer to get his report first since I know he hears me and the QSO
also can't be completed until I give him his report.

> 
>> I must say I have been more successful breaking pileups since being taught
>> to give full callsigns and I have begun teaching others as well.  Perhaps
>> someone can learn from my observations here.
> 
> I always give my full callsign, but the other station doesn't always
> receive it. 
> 
> Seems like the world would be a better place if
> a) calling stations always gave their full calls
> b) cqing stations always gave their calls after every Q

Always giving your call after every CQ isn't always necessary, IMHO.

The case that I was really complaining about is the big gun station who gave
his "last two" who was clearly NOT in a heavy QRM condition when he called
me.  From what I saw, those were the biggest offenders.  The majority of the
little guys all gave their full calls.

73,

Jon
KE9NA


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

Member:  ARRL, AMSAT, DXCC, NRA

http://www.qsl.net/ke9na

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


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