[CQ-Contest] CQ pattern in contest - what's your vote?

[Kelly Taylor]

Hi Tonno,

I think the answer is that old standby; it depends.

I think some casual ops aren't really clear on what TEST ES5TV really means,
but if you're at the start of the contest and things are rockin' you have
enough activity that even casual guys can figure it out. Often, that level
of activity itself is a turn-off for casuals, so you probably don't have to
worry about them too much.

When things slow down, the so-called Sunday doldrums, then you probably have
to be a bit more sensitive to the casual caller, with more casual-like CQs
and perhaps even knocking 10 wpm off your code speed. (Speed, I think, is
the scariest thing for a casual or a newbie.)

As for order, I prefer callsign last: TEST at the beginning sets things up
for someone tuning in at the beginning, call sign at the end leaves the
right info for someone tuning in mid-CQ.

Your mileage may vary.

73, kelly
ve4xt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tonno Vahk" <tonno.vahk at mail.ee>
To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 9:46 AM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] CQ pattern in contest - what's your vote?


> Which CQ pattern do you like to use in contest and which do you find most
> pleasant when working S&P?
>
> 1. TEST ES5TV ES5TV
>
> 2. ES5TV ES5TV TEST
>
> I have thought about it and tried both. We always have argument about it
in
> our contest team;))
> I prefer to have TEST at the end - it seems useless in the beginning but
in
> the end it tells the station who stumbles on you that you are calling CQ.
If
> he just hears your callsign he does not know if you're CQing or just
calling
> someone. So seems logical to have it in the end.
>
> I would appreciate your votes to settle this question for good.
>
> Another question is that maybe it would be good to use longer more
"CQ-like"
> CQ to attract casual DXers in those long contest hours. They might be
scared
> and not answer so short and prompt calling...
>
> 73
> tonno
> es5tv
>
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