[CQ-Contest] Marketing the CQ

[Martin Luther]

Comments on selling via the CQ reminded me of something from a few years
ago. In ARRL test I was still short of delaware. I made a CQ like....

"CQ CQ VK4VU especially looking for delaware which this weekend seems to
have been towed away to sea and dropped off in the bermuda triangle. CQ de
vk4vu"

A small voice on the frequency said "nope its still here"

It took a bit more joking and kidding before I extracted a call and report
and got my contact with Delaware!!!

On the subject of CW speed I am interested to see the comments that rate is
everything. People say they will just pass over those who are trying hard
but not up to the 35wpm big boys. Seems to me this indicates that the power
of multipliers to force more searching and "full, all round" operating is
now too weak!!

When we get full logs posted on the net for all to see I will be interested
to discover how many of those who I pass over when they are Cqing at 40wpm
with no answers miss out on VK or zone 30!!

If I am Cqing at 26 to 30wpm, which is my comfort zone, I still get called
by people at very high speeds. Now apart from my friends, who are just
trying to wind me up, that is rude and unnecessary. It does not help their
speed because I make sure it doesn't Hi Hi. I just don't pass their call
back to them correctly. It is amazing how many of these "experts" don't
correct my error???? The other interesting thing is that I get called at 40
so I go back at 40 and get asked for multiple repeats. They could argue they
were surprised by my speeding up. However, in calling me they expected that
I would be able to do it!

I have tried varying speeds to maintain a constant pile especially in
working into JA. I have slowed down and the pile has got bigger and I have
speeded up and the pile gets bigger! However, what does happen very often is
I get called by 1 station at say 20wpm I slow for him and then I get called
by two or three others at this slower speed.

Finally a few comments on phonetics. I am still trying to explain the
following that happens more than once in EVERY phone contest.

Cq ON0xxx
Victor kilo five golf november VK5GN
QRZ the 5
Victor kilo five golf november
The vk5 again
Vk5 golf november
Vk5 again
Vk5 germany norway
Roger victor kilo five golf november you are 59 14
Qsl ur 59 30
Qrz ON0xxx

Has he been getting the golf november in his ear but not the brain? He
needed the different phonetics to break the QRM/Signal ratio but is still
most comfortable with the standard phonetics?

I am currently reading up on hearing and speech to try and improve the
degree of articulation I can get with 400 watts of sideband signal. There is
clearly a mechanical bit of hearing that we understand quite well, that is
the way the ear works. However, once these mechanical vibrations are
converted to electrochemical energy and pass into the processing of the
brain there is a lot less understanding of what exactly happens. It is up
there somewhere that the great contesters have a skill that the rest of us
lack. It is up there that we fail to process golf november but do process
germany norway and immediately translate it into golf november.

I do learn a lot from being in contesting!

73

Martin VK5GN
  luther at mail.mdt.net.au


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