[CQ-Contest] CW Speeds in a contest

[Frank R. Norton II]

Hi Tom,

I admire ur practices.  I agree with all except perhaps your run rate 
starting rate seems a bit fast, but as u say, u reduce it if the calls 
decrease and u do respond to a request to QRS.  I applaud ur contesting 
methods.

Further, I hope there are others who are not afraid to join u on the 
soapbox!  We really do need "fishing" methods for CW contesting newbies, 
and u had some very intriguing methods in ur post.

Happy New Year To All and Vy 73 de Frank W8HO
PS I agree completely, if someone is sending at 35-45 wpm, they better be 
able to receive at that speed.  Though I would advise slower sending would 
improve their final score dramatically!



At 10:30 AM 12/31/2001 -0600, you wrote:

>Frank, W8HO, wrote:
>>My questions are: What do u consider appropriate rates for CW sending?  Are
>>there different standards for rag chewing and contesting?  Are you sure
>>that ur contesting rate is appropriate to get the most bang for ur run-time
>>frequency?  Do u listen to those who ask for u to QRS, or simply ignore
>>them and continue at ur usual run rate if their request is not sent at very
>>close to ur usual send rate, waiting for the faster QSO?
>
>Since I'm just a Popgun when compared to the Big Guns, I'm sure I'm doing 
>it all wrong, but...
>
>I tend to adjust my sending speed to the size of the calling pileup, or to 
>the station I'm calling when in S&P.
>
>If I'm running, and it appears that I have a decent bunch of callers who 
>have no problem copying 30+ WPM, I'll run 32/35+ WPM until things start to 
>slow down. HOWEVER, REGARDLESS of what CW speed _I_ am running them at, if 
>a station calls me at a speed quite a bit less than my current speed, I 
>ALWAYS try to QRS down to his speed. If I fail to do that, it's MY FAULT, 
>not his for not being able to send at 'my' speed.
>
>When I'm doing S&P, I always try to match the speed of the station I'm 
>calling. My assumption is that, if he's calling at 40 WPM, then he can 
>COPY 40 WPM as well. If he can't copy 40 WPM, then he should NOT be 
>calling at that speed.
>
>When I'm CQing, and Q's are scarce, as they certainly can sometimes be 
>from the Midwest, I'll QRS to 26-29 WPM (or less), and I'll QRS even more 
>if I get responses at a slower speed.
>
>Yes, I know, it's not the most 'productive' way to operate, and I'll never 
>be one of the Big Boys, but that's OK with me... I still remember when I 
>was first learning to operate QRQ, especially in contests... there were 
>times where I'd have to sit on a guy's frequency, copying each tiny piece 
>of this exchange, one word at a transmission, until I got it all, before 
>I'd call him. But, it taught me to copy better/faster, and that we the 
>benefit of it all. Back then, I really DID appreciate those who were 
>courteous enough to QRS for me... it enhanced my enjoyment of the contest, 
>and I seriously doubt that the other op's rate suffered (significantly) 
>from his efforts on my behalf.
>
>I agree that there's a treasure trove of newbies out there, many of whom 
>WILL be ripe for the contest picking, and that we all SHOULD be more aware 
>of their presence when we are operating... these are going to be OUR 
>SUCCESSORS someday... we need to be cultivating them NOW.
>
>Stepping down from my soapbox now.
>
>Happy New Year folks!
>
>73 - Tom Hammond   N0SS
>
>


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