[CQ-Contest] callsign advantages

[Jeff Maass]

I think there's much to be said for rhythm in callsign suffixes.
I know that it played a role in my evaluation of 'K8ND' back in
1976-77, when I sent and listened to several dozen callsigns
from the then-available 1x2  8-land  callsign list.

It violates the "dits at the end" in both characters, but essentially
the only broken calls I ever get are being mistaken for 'K8DD",
who is also an active call on the air (arguing for being active
on the air as a curative for "bad CW calls").

Back a generation ago, a multi-single group I was with set
the CW and SSB World Records in the ARRL DX Contests with
call 'VP2E'. Another "bad CW call"?

I think the solution for *all* calls is "BE LOUD!".

 Jeff Maass       jmaass at columbus.rr.com     Located near Columbus Ohio
         USPSA # L-1192       NROI/CRO    Amateur Radio K8ND
Maass' IPSC Resources:  http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/index.html
Circleville USPSA/IPSC: http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/pcsiipsc.htm

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of John Unger
> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 08:44
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] callsign advantages
>
>
> It has been mentioned in passing, but for CW I believe that the
> "rhythm" of
> a callsign, especially the suffix, has a lot to do with having it being
> easy to remember and therefore picked out and copied correctly under less
> than optimum conditions.
>
> When I was considering a new call after 40 years of W3GOI
> (starting out as
> WN3GOI, of course), I played the possible calls both with the
> keyer and in
> my head in CW over and over. W4AU sounded good to my ear and, I hoped to
> others'. Also, since W3AU was not on the air as much as in past years, I
> figured there wouldn't be too much confusion there!
>
> Of course, the "alpha uniform" phonetics are not all that hot,
> but I have a
> hard time finding my mike most of the time anyway...
>
> So far as matching your region and callsign number, it's not a
> big problem
> until you try something like a state QSO party...
>
> John, W4AU
>
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