[CQ-Contest] Re: Short contest calls.

[Ron Notarius WN3VAW]

Chris,

You think you had it bad?  At least most people figured a "KL" prefix
probably had SOMETHING to do with Alaska, even if they hadn't heard that the
FCC had finally allocated the entire A/K/N/WL# blocks, not just the "7"
calls.

Same thing with the A/K/N/WH7 calls... most people adjusted in a hurry.

Now me, I've had this call for 29 out of my 30 years licensed (including the
2 years at college between tickets), and of that, only a little more than a
year was as a Novice... yet to this day, I hear about it.  Of course,
nowadays, most assume it's a re-assigned vanity call, and I no longer have
drunk hams chase me off repeaters (true!) or try to jam me off the air (also
true!) as a bootlegger or intruder...

(But at least it helps in the CQ WPX contests a little!)

I guess I could find a nice vanity 1x2, but most of the obvious ones (N3VA,
N3AW, W3AW, W3VA, N3RJ) are taken (or were the last time I checked), and I
just never cottoned to the notion of being a 2x1 or 1x3 (nothing wrong with
it, just not for me), at least domestically.

But it's not my fault!  (Yes, like so many in today's litigious society, I
have someone to blame!)  It's Trey's fault!  And the ARRL's!  See, if I
hadn't read in QST about Trey getting WN4KKN back, way, WAY back when, I
would never have put that note on the bottom of my Form 610 and asked for it
back...

73, ron wn3vaw

"You used up all the glue ON PURPOSE!"
In Memory of Shep K2ORS (SK) and 10:15 PM on WOR 710 AM

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Hurlbut" <c_hurlbut at adelphia.net>
To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Re:  Short contest calls.
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2002 12:20:32 -0800

I think using a "different" or "special" call is beneficial to the score if
it's a little strange.

K2G was a bad choice for KH2.  But... most contesters I know will look up
announced contest operations (like at ng3k.com) and they would have seen
that K2G was KH2 and to look for it.  But K2G was still a bad choice... the
casual op will just tune by a K2.

When I first got KL9A, I had a HUGE pileup and every other person was asking
for my QTH.  Usually I'd just keep working the pileup and say my QTH every
several qso's.  In a contest, people would ask for my QTH after they got
zone 1... adding more qso's for me.  If the pileup was massive, it was worth
it to take the time to say "QTH AK" I would just invite more callers, and
the rate would go up.  I never had pileups like that as WL7KY from the same
station.

I remember when KH7R came on the first few times and everyone thought they
were Kure Island.  I imagine the ops loved it... they had more callers than
they could handle.  So what if the guys calling thought they were in KH7K
not KH6?  KH7 is a valid KH6 call. :)

It pays to keep up on your prefixes and strange calls people will use for
contest expeditions.  Using KL9A in say, ARRL DX CW would probably not be
wise.  I would rather use a KL7 call so the average Joe DXer hears a KL7 and
works me in the contest, not some average midwest station.

Keep the strange calls, but be smart about it... make them strange AND
short.

-Chris KL9A

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yuri Onipko" <va3uz at rac.ca>
To: "KØHB" <K0HB at ARRL.ORG>
Cc: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 10:06 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Re: Short contest calls.




> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Yuri Onipko" <va3uz at rac.ca>
>
> > But what I can't get, is it so difficult to send  /W4?
> > Or at least  /4?
>
> It isn't difficult.  It consumes time.
>
> (It's a contest, and time is of the essence.)
>
> ô¿ô  73, de Hans, K0HB
> Lord High Liberator of the Electric Smoke

How about somebody else's time, not only yours? Isn't it good to respect it
too?
And still - using K2G instead of lets say KH2G won't save you much time if
every second guy had to ask you for your country. :-))
Just MHO.
Yuri  VE3DZ

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