[CQ-Contest] SS beefs

[Zack Widup]

On Mon, 3 Nov 2003, Mark Beckwith wrote:

> 
> 1.  Already mentioned in one of the 3830 posts - the practice of using
> leading zeros in SS #s should be discouraged.  In all the "how to operate
> this contest even though you think you can't" articles, the authors would
> serve the contest well to add a sentence saying "Using leading zeroes (i.e.
> 'NR 001') is not required by the rules, and most SS operators don't bother
> with them.  Just send '#1')"
> 

I also see no need for leading zero's.  I never sent them.  As far as
people using them, maybe it's a matter of experience.  If enough people
copy enough people not using them, it will catch on.

> 2.  While we're at that, what could be said to discourage those awful "short
> integers" - where when a guy's number is #190, he sends "NR ANT" to "save
> time."  Notice the "save time" is in quotes.  Again, the article-writers
> could take the lead effectively here.

Maybe OK for CQWW but this is REALLY bad form in SS  If the other guy's
signal is marginal, and I copy "98A", does that mean "98 A" or does it
mean "981" and I lost the precedence in the static?  In every QSO I made
in SS, I assumed there were no cut numbers and logged the letters I
copied.

> 
> 3.  What on earth can we do to make "PREC?" easier for more people to
> understand?  If I shot myself for every time somebody either sent the WRONG
> thing or his WHOLE exchange when I asked "PREC?" this weekend I'd be out of
> bullets by now.  Here's an idea: if we think of it as part of the number, we
> could model the desired behavior (psychology again) and just ALWAYS tack it
> onto the number when asked for a fill on the number, i.e. when asked "NR?"
> we would reply "859B" instead of "859".  If all respectable operators did
> this then everyone could get over the potential pitfall of "some do and some
> don't", and 10 years from now when you say "NR" to some ridiculously weak
> guy who thinks QRP is cool he'll say "45Q" so you don't have to ask him for
> his "PREC?" separately and risk his not understanding what you meant, even
> though you're S9+40 on his HW-7.  Other ideas welcome, but maybe we should
> pick one and stick with it and get it publicized and model it to the people
> who don't know better.
> 

A lot of people sent both NR/PR when I asked for NR repeats. I responded
to queries for precedence as "P?", "PR?", "PRE?" and "PREC?"  I heard them
all.  Interestingly, several people sent "P?" and I knew what they needed. 

> So, we have the power to fix all these things.  In the mean time, I have my
> own ways of sneaking the "PREC?" out of anybody who doesn't know what a PREC
> is, but that's a SS Secret.

One way I had was to repeat the number/precedence with a question mark.
If I copied "845 B" but wasn't sure about the "B", I'd send "845B?" and if
either part was wrong, he'd let me know. It's just as fast as sending
"PREC?".

> 
> Great to be back in SS.  Two radios has made it a completely different, and
> better, contest.
> 
> Mark, N5OT
> 

Welcome back, Mark!  It's one of my favorite contests.

73, Zack W9SZ

GO SMC !!!