[CQ-Contest] SS beefs WRAP-UP

[Mark Beckwith]

>>Still, if it was a part of the number (i.e. "45Q") I think
>>that would make it overall easier.

Warren the opera buff replied (Hey Warren, long time no see):

>And yet, I found that when I edited the exchange string to put a space
>between the number and the precedence, (such as "45 Q" rather than "45Q"),
I
>got a lot less requests for repeats and fills.

I am sure this is true.  I think there should always be a space between the
number and the precedence or you're asking for trouble.  I never meant to
say "take out the space between the number and the precedence."  All I am
suggesting is to send the precedence in addition to the number when asked
for the number.  I feel space between them is necessary as long as "B"
sounds a lot like "6" and people use short integers, two of which are "A"
and "U"  :)

Since all the SS CW operators on this reflector have had to think about
this, and all rarely agree to do the same thing voluntarily, and since so
many have offered so many excellent alternatives, I withdraw the proposal -
I have already decided on a solution which is not what I originally
proposed - still learning after all these years.  Does it ever end?

So, Kelly, Randy, Dan, all of you Big Cheeses who write about SS for QST and
the NCJ, and Tree, who posts helpful "SS Secrets", etc., any chance we can
take some kind of role in educating the masses?

Other helpful side-effects of the conversation are:

1. leading zeroes are bad (in SS)

2. short integers are bad (in SS)

Primarily, "PREC?" won't cut it until everyone knows what it means, a lot of
us think that will never happen, so good workarounds are required.  Here are
some:

1. send "CLASS?" instead of "PREC?"

2. ask the station "A?" or "B?" or whatever you think they sent, counting on
the fact they may just reply "R" and you can just log it.

3. (my favorite) send "Q?" or "A?" whether you think you copied anything or
not, because they will figure out you are asking them for that weird single
letter that comes between the number and the callsign.  I personally found
this worked ("Q?") every time I used it this past weekend.  If it starts NOT
working next year, I'll personally fall back to "CLASS?"

Thank you all for your comments.

Mark, N5OT