[CQ-Contest] SSB Vs. CW QSO's in a Contest

[George Fremin III - K5TR]

On Wed, Jul 17, 2002 at 08:31:51PM -0400, Sean D. Fleming wrote:

> I am not the greatest CW copier at all. I even have to use CWget to
> copy cy at speeds sent by contesting stations. But I look at like
> the subbmision of CW op K9LA with like 3,100 CW QSo's made in 24
> Hours. Then I wonder well can you make SSB contacts faster than CW
> contacts and what is it I am lacking to make more SSB contacts. Is
> it Filters? Is it Large Antennas? Is it just the lack of fastness of
> talking.  Put some input in.

All of those things help. 

Normally - all things being equal you can make more
contacts per hour on SSB than you can on CW.

I could go on and on about what things can make a 
diffrence but I think the thing you are asking is 
"How can I make larger contest scores?" 

It helps to have bigger antennas - moving from your 
wire to a tribander or quad at 40-60 feet high 
would make a big diffrence.  Going from 100 watts to 
500 or 1000 or 1500 will also help.  The antenna will
help more because you will hear more people.

Operating alot of contests also helps - just as in most 
things in life the more you practice them the better you get. 
Getting on and operating alot will do you more good
than anything else - esp when you are first starting out. 
Most of the contest greats did alot of contesting 
with poor antennas and equuipment for countless years
before they won their first contest. 

When I look at your contest scores here:

http://www.geocities.com/k8khz/contesting.html

I notice two things:

- You have not been doing this contesting thing too long.
- Your scores have improved alot from one year to the next.
  (This is really good and what we all strive to do.) 

Keep up the good work.

> Pro. Results are still somewhat not the best yet. Also Interested to
> know what do you use to send CW and copy it head or computer. Tnx.

As far as I know all the CW contest winners copy CW with their 
head - it just takes practice.  Some of us (me) have never really
worked on it hard enough and still can't do CW very well.


You email and my answer reminds me of one of my all time 
favorite posts ever made to the CQ-Contest mailing list. 
It was a post by N5KO.

In fact I liked it so much I have it saved in my /home directory.

Here it is - if you missed it the first time.

(KR0Y/5 is now N5TJ)


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> If I were in your class, what would I appreciate about your
> ability or technique?  Or in other words, what would another
> highly accomplished contester know about your skills that I
> miss because I'm just an awed "apprentice"?
>(If you're too modest to talk about yourself, apply the question 
> to the your personal contesting "hero", the guy you vow to beat 
> this year.)


In my view, this is one of the true dilemmas of radio contesting.
You, as the hypothetical "apprentice," do not have the knowledge or
experience to be able to appreciate the skills I have developed
that make me the hypothetical "major league contester."  
And similarly, I take for granted many of the fundamental skills
that are necessary for you to advance to the next level.

I like to offer up two quotations that sum up my general
beliefs on the topic.  The first is from someone in my peer
group, and second is from someone who I would categorize as
a personal contesting hero from my formative years in 
contesting, although I doubt he actually knows this :-) ).

"With experience comes knowledge and cunning.  I can't stand here 
and tell you the secrets, as many of them are second nature to me
now."-KR0Y/5 

"The best of the best gained their winning edge practicing the basics
over and over in numerous forgettable events, often using inadequte
radios and second-rate antennas.  Discovering how to overcome such
obstacles are lessons never forgotten."-NCJ Profile of N6RO

And now for a bit of a digression:
I have observed many "second tier" (and others down through the
neophyte ranks of) contesters think that there is some set of
winning "tricks" that the "first tier" contesters use to beat them,
and if only someone would let them in on these terrific secrets,
they would be first rate contesters themselves.  
These people are setting themselves up for disappointment, because
I'm going to let them in on the biggest secret of all:

		"There are no secrets!"

It turns out, as with most things is life, that skill and hard
work pay the most reliable dividends in the long run.
Now for some specific advice.  None of these things are mandatory to
win, but collectively they really add up:

o Know the code.  50 WPM conversational is a nice milestone
  note:  don't try this at home with pencil and   paper.

o Know the bands.  Nothing like knowing the right band 
  to be on to improve your score.

o Know your station.  Knowing whether or not your station 
  has the gusto to run people or crack pileups under   
  given conditions on a given band is a real time saver.

o Stay in the chair.  You can't be the loudest station on 
  the air if you are not on the air.
  
And now for some general advice:

o Operate a lot.  Experience is king.  
  I learn something every time I operate.

o Solicit advice from a variety of experienced people.  
  Some of the "experts" will be more compatible with you   
  on a personal level than others, so shop around and get 
  a variety of points of view. 
 
To wit, after I post this message, I will get a few notes from
various folks, about half of which will say "I really identified
with what you wrote.  You're a genius!"  and the other half of 
which will say "You're a moron.  Get stuffed!"
--Trey, N5KO, HC8N (QSL via AA5BT), WN4KKN/6


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-- 
George Fremin III - K5TR
geoiii at kkn.net
http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr