[CQ-Contest] New tactic for finding a run frequency?

[Rick Tavan]

I thought ARRL CW 2003 was remarkably well behaved in this respect. I 
recall only two blatant attempts to steal my frequency, one succesful, 
one defeated, in about 21 hours of operation, mainly on the high bands.

I don't approve of frequency stealing. My approach to acquiring a 
frequency is like successful driving in New York City - "Assertive, Not 
Aggressive."

1. Find a spot clear enough that I wouldn't think any of the nearby 
stations are trying to steal my frequency.
2. Send "?" and wait a second or two. The short wait is intentional. 
Sometimes I repeat this if I'm particularly unsure of frequency occupancy.
3. Send my call only and wait a second or two. This elicits as many S&P 
QSOs as it does assertions that the frequency is occupied.
4. Send a short CQ and start running (hopefully).
5. If anyone sends QRL, QSY, AS, CQ, etc. or otherwise appears to own 
the frequency during this process OR the first few CQs and QSOs, I leave 
(unless I have reason to believe it is someone who read this email and 
is trying to take advantage of me!)

/Rick N6XI

Mike Gilmer, N2MG wrote:

>I don't recall hearing about this in the past, but it happened to me 
>several times during ARRL DX CW.  I would be running on a frequency for 
>several minutes/an hour/whatever and along would come a station 
>(usually quite loud) that plops down really close and starts 
>pressing the CQ button...over and over and over for more than a minute 
>without a pause - no attempt to see if the frequency was busy, or if 
>there was even an answer to the CQ.
>
>I guess this is some brute-force attempt to "clear" the frequency.  
>Perhaps when it's time to change bands, they swish the dial, then hit 
>F1 ten times, loading the buffer and out goes 10 CQs, non-stop.
>
>After working some stations through the din (periodically sending a 
>short QRL/QSY on their frequency) I eventually had to do the same to 
>them - sending QRL QSY N2MG over and over on top of them - and they 
>would leave.  At the risk of being accused of generalizations, I'll 
>state a simple fact: They were all eastern EU DX or same operating 
>portable in the US.
>
>Perhaps it's nothing new to some of you guys, and perhaps I've 
>experienced this before (I don't recall) but it could not have been 
>in the volume of the past weekend.
>
>73 Mike N2MG
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-- 

Richard M. Tavan

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