[CQ-Contest] Pileup Management

[Kelly Taylor]

Hmm,
I even have a name for post-mult SS. Ragchewing.

Is SS an SO2R contest? I don't think so. Sure, people do SO2R. It's a great
contest to practise SO2R, particularly on Sunday. But when you have a
relatively small, fixed number of multipliers, the benefits of SO2R are not
as great as in, say, WW or WPX, which for everybody have unattainable
maximum amounts of multipliers. You can, in contests like that, pick up
mults you wouldn't otherwise have with SO2R. It's hard to say the same for
SS.

In SS, any Q that you pick up on Saturday on the second radio is one more
non-Q adding to the Sunday doldrums. It is also a contest, as K0HB says,
where "mults happen." There's really only a handful you need to work for.

I think the fact that there are an attainable number of multipliers adds to
the charm of SS. That one station faces what some consider unmanageable
pileups does not, in my view, warrant a significant change in the fun factor
for the rest of us. I mean no disrespect to anyone when I say that, but
there is another station in a section almost as rare as YT who does seem to
manage huge pileups on both modes quite well.

The Sweep is also a goal that stations can set if they know they aren't
going to be Top 10.

SS is fine the way it is. I think our efforts would be better spent on
helping those with unruly pileups learn more effective techniques for pileup
control.

Pileups in DX contests can be as big or bigger than any faced by any one
station in SS. After all, in WW, everybody is working everybody. I wonder
what it's like to be a rare South Pacific station when paths are open to
Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas at once. Do we propose to eliminate
mults in those contests as well, so nobody has to face a big pileup?

I also think the concerns expressed about pileups were less about the size
of the pileup and more about the attitude displayed by some people in the
pileup.

73, kelly
ve4xt

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Clarke" <ku8e1 at yahoo.com>
To: "CQ-Contest Reflector" <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 12:56 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Pileup Management


> Maybe this has been brought up before ????
>
> Why not just get rid of multipliers for SS ???  CW SS is really an
> exercise of who is best at SO2R anyway. The number of multipliers that
> the top scores have is usually not a big factor. That way every contact
> is equal and no unrulely pileups on anyone....
>
> I know those who like to chase after the "clean sweep" mug might
> complain but why not modify it so you can get a mug for making
> something like 500 QSO's ??  This way everyone would benefit (more
> activity?) besides those stations that are in "rare" sections.
>
> Gee... I sure wouldn't complain about having a big pileup on me !!
> (even if it's unrulely HI !) Isn't that every contesters dream ???
>
>                     73's Jeff KU8E
>
>
>
> --- Ward Silver <hwardsil at centurytel.net> wrote:
> > >> Yes.  They should do whatever they feel they need to in order to
> > deal with
> > >> the pileup.
> > >
> > > My favorite being: QSY.
> > >
> > > 73, BW2/VR2BrettGraham
> >
> > After a good chuckle at the riposte, it remains good advice.  No one
> > is required to stay on a particular frequency.  If the mob gets too
> > unruly - MOVE!  The best I've ever heard this done was by W6NV at
> > SU2MT a few years ago.  When the rate dropped by about half, Oliver
> > just moved up 2 kHz.  The receiver-less idiots just stayed there
> > calling, while he called CQ once or twice and had a new pileup going
> > at the new spot.  By the time scenario A repeated, the original
> > frequency had cleared out, so back he went.  His overall rate
> > remained much higher than if he'd stayed put.
> >
> > Reinforcing a point made by others earlier - if there are specific
> > instructions that the pileup should follow, repeat them with every
> > QSO.  Whether it's "up", "EU", "QRP only", "zeros", whatever - it
> > needs to be said with each QRZ.  Remember that a fair number of the
> > callers may have just tuned into the action and it only takes two or
> > three to make mush out of things.  The small inefficiency incurred by
> > the extra characters or syllables is paid back handsomely in higher
> > rate, fewer repeats, and lower blood pressure.
> >
> > 73, Ward N0AX
> >
> >
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