[CQ-Contest] How did these guys get to be so good?

Sun Aug 12 00:29:27 EDT 2001

If contesting involved only competition among individuals, I also might
disagree with the notion that "those who know must teach those who don't"...
but when you have a group or club which, in order to win, must pool their
individual scores, then it obviously pays to get as many individuals as
possible contributing as much score as possible, and to do anything possible
to raise that group score as quickly as possible.

To that end, actively seeking potentially productive operators, recruiting
and training them, and assisting them to improve their stations and their
skills, and therefore their individual scores, can only serve to make the
club score more competitive.

This conclusion does not involve rocket science. Besides, if it were not for
the purpose of mutual assistance and benefit, what is the purpose of joining
a club?  Finally, learning and teaching are two sides of the same coin....
why quibble about who initiates this essential process?

Jerry K3MGT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Naumann - N5NJ" <n5nj at gte.net>
To: "Jerry Keller" <dxdog at rcn.com>; "Kelly Taylor" <ve4xt at mb.sympatico.ca>;
<CQ-Contest at contesting.com>; "Leigh S. Jones" <kr6x at kr6x.com>
Cc: <dann6mj at home.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2001 10:14 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] How did these guys get to be so good?

> I think that this "mentoring" thing places the burden in the wrong place.
> It's as though those who know, must teach those who don't.
>
> I disagree.
>
> I think those who desire to know something, need to do as much as they can
> to learn about the subject.  Find out who knows what they're doing,
observe
> them doing it.  Contrast what they do to what you think you should do and
> emulate what they do.
>
> If it doesn't work, ask a question.
>
> As anyone who has been on here more than a few days knows, if you ask a
> question, you'll get a ton of answers.
>
> The part about what we do in contesting, is that we can observe all of
these
> really great operators in action on the air.
>
> Listen to any of the cited "experts" in a contest for a while.  Not only
> will you be impressed, but you'll learn something.
>
> 73,
> Bob N5NJ
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jerry Keller" <dxdog at rcn.com>
> To: "Kelly Taylor" <ve4xt at mb.sympatico.ca>; <CQ-Contest at contesting.com>;
> "Leigh S. Jones" <kr6x at kr6x.com>
> Cc: <dann6mj at home.com>
> Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2001 6:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] How did these guys get to be so good?
>
>
> >
> > Not to criticize Kelly or anyone else, but just my 2 cents......
> >
> > Practice and hard work are certainly character-building and to be
> commended.
> > But in contesting the choices seem pretty much the same as in every
field
> of
> > expertise: either the current leaders teach, train and mentor their
> > replacements, or the new guys must re-invent the wheel.  The attitude
> "hey,
> > we had to learn the hard way, why shouldn't they?", while human nature
to
> > some extent, must be overcome if contesting.... or indeed any type of
> > endeavor... is to flourish and grow.
> >
> > How would it be if, for example, there were no medical schools and every
> > doctor had to start from scratch and "do it just like everybody
else.....
> > practice, practice, practice and hard work"?
> >
> > In particular, that attitude must adversely affects clubs where total
> group
> > score matters. The leading ops of the best clubs surely must recognize
the
> > need to attract, retain, and bring along as quickly as possible their
own
> > replacements.  Failure to do so may very well doom any group to a slow
> death
> > by attrition.
> >
> > Or at least it seems so to me.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Kelly Taylor" <ve4xt at mb.sympatico.ca>
> > To: <CQ-Contest at contesting.com>; "Leigh S. Jones" <kr6x at kr6x.com>
> > Cc: <dann6mj at home.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 11:09 PM
> > Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] How did these guys get to be so good?
> >
> >
> > >
> > > I guess a new operator joining the ranks these days will do it just
like
> > everybody who's been mentioned as the top ops: lots and lots of
practice,
> > practice and hard work.
> > >
> > > Just like anything in life: 'cept inheritance.
> > >
> > > 73, kelly
> > > ve4xt
> > >
> > > ----------
> > > From: Jim Reisert AD1C[SMTP:jjreisert at alum.mit.edu]
> > > Sent: 9-Aug-01 20:54
> > > To: CQ-Contest at contesting.com; Leigh S. Jones
> > > Cc: dann6mj at home.com
> > > Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] How did these guys get to be so good?
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, 8 Aug 2001 21:24:58 -0700, Leigh S. Jones wrote:
> > >
> > > >Truthfully, I think one of the more intriguing questions is how will
a
> > > >new operator joining the amateur ranks these days ever get as good as
> > > >these guys.
> > >
> > > Let's ask N6MJ.  He seems to be well on the way.
> > >
> > > 73 - Jim AD1C
> > >
> > > --
> > > Jim Reisert AD1C, 7 Charlemont Court, North Chelmsford, MA 01863
> > > USA +978-251-9933, <jjreisert at alum.mit.edu>, http://www.ad1c.com
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > CQ-Contest on WWW: http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
> > > Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST at contesting.com
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > CQ-Contest on WWW: http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
> > > Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST at contesting.com
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > CQ-Contest on WWW: http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
> > Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST at contesting.com
> >
>
>

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>From Jim Reisert AD1C" <jjreisert at alum.mit.edu  Sun Aug 12 04:29:08 2001
From: Jim Reisert AD1C" <jjreisert at alum.mit.edu (Jim Reisert AD1C)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 23:29:08 -0400
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Reporting Bogus Station Addresses To The FCC
In-Reply-To: <001401c122a5$68a6e1c0$f101dc0a at direcpc.com>
Message-ID: <200108120329.f7C3TAT07046 at chmls16.mediaone.net>

On Sat, 11 Aug 2001 16:24:03 -0400, Nat Heatwole wrote:

>I've noticed an interesting trend that has followed my upswing of sending
>more domestic QSL cards. More and more of them are being returned due to
>bogus station addresses.

I'll bet in the days of the paper callbooks (remember those?), people
may have taken the time to mail their change-of-address right to the
Flying Horses.  However, most of the web-based searches (QRZ,
Buckmaster etc.) get their data directly from the FCC database, and may
or may not have a process for address changes.  So I'll bet the
observed trend is real.

I recently tried to send a card to NP4AI and was informed by the local
P.O. that he hasn't lived at that address in 10 years.  They must have
been exaggerating (or rounding), because his license was renewed in
1992.

Based on the number of returned cards in the last 6 months (when I
started county hunting), I'd say the "bad" rate is closer to 1-2% than
10%.  In some cases, E-mail has resolved the problem, but in many
cases, the E-mail address found on QRZ/Buckmaster also goes to the dead
letter office.

If you live long enough, you'll get another chance to work a station in
the same country/state/county so it's not the end of the world, just
frustrating.

73 - Jim AD1C

--
Jim Reisert AD1C, 7 Charlemont Court, North Chelmsford, MA 01863
USA +978-251-9933, <jjreisert at alum.mit.edu>, http://www.ad1c.com

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