[CQ-Contest] How frequent to ID? Every QSO? No way!

[Kenneth E. Harker]

On Mon, Jan 17, 2005 at 09:16:05PM -0800, George Fremin III K5TR wrote:
> 
> 
> The topic of how often to sign one's callsign 
> comes up on this list every so often.
> 
> IMHO this post:
> 
> http://lists.contesting.com/archives//html/CQ-Contest/1998-07/msg00386.html
> 
> is the defintive comment on this subject. 

I take exception to one comment in the post about the 'liability' of 
having people ask you for your callsign when you fail to give it frequently:

"Certain operators may feel that their superior stations and/or favorable 
locations entitle them to know your callsign where their identification
skills and experience are not advanced enough to determine it, or enough 
about you to know whether to call, without hearing you actually sign it."

This is completely condescending to stations that may, in fact, be pursuing
their own optimal QSO rate strategy.  If I tune across a pileup where the 
CQing station does not give a callsign, and I otherwise have no immediate
recognition of the station, if I feel I am loud enough to get through, it 
is to my advantage to call, work the station, and ask for a callsign.  There
may be no faster way FOR ME to determine the station's callsign.  If I call 
but someone beats me out, I'm no worse off than if I had were simply 
listening.  Just waiting around, I have no idea how long it will be before 
I hear a callsign.

A station pursuing a strategy of not signing between every QSO may be 
pursuing a strategy that optimizes their QSO rate, but they should not 
get all bent out of shape or talk down to those working them who are simply
pursuing their own optimal QSO rate strategy.

-- 
Kenneth E. Harker WM5R
kenharker at kenharker.com
http://www.kenharker.com/