[CQ-Contest] Operating Methods or Equipment?

Sat Jul 23 10:44:06 EDT 2005

Don´t try to be better than others,
just try to be better that yourself...
This is my way to stay working
contests always... And after
some time, you can try different
things, like single band, low power,
qrp, rtty, etc etc etc...
At my place now, it´s impossible
to improve station or antennas, then
all that I have is just the work capability
and radios. Anyway, was AMAZING to
watch OH2MM here operating my
"bad" station and doing 1900 QSOs
in 24 hours, while my, by mysel, would
not be capable to do same score in 48
hours !!!!!!!!!!!!! hi hi hi...
No problem, I am still waiting next one...
73 - vitor - py2ny
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Coleman" <aa4lr at arrl.net>
To: "KE5CTY Bob" <rtnmi at sbcglobal.net>
Cc: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 11:24 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Operating Methods or Equipment?


>
> On Jul 15, 2005, at 2:54 PM, KE5CTY Bob wrote:
>
>> This is really discouraging:
>
> Do not be discouraged. You've just be introduced to the cruel reality
> of contesting. It's really an opportunity to improve.
>
> A friend of mine once told me, the thing about playing a musical
> instrument is that there's always someone better than you -- someone
> who can play something you can't.
>
> The same factor is true in contesting. There's always some guy who
> can work stations you can't.
>
>> I thought I did pretty well for my second contest *ever* and then I
>> see
>> scores like the one below. As you can see, I was also SO(Single
>> Operator) but running LP(LowPower) and worked all bands CW(CW Only):
>> Operating Time (hrs): 15.95
>> Total:  189     0      43  Total Score = 24,897
>
> In 16 hours of operating, you worked 190 stations. That means you
> worked about 12 QSOs / hour. In the contest world, that's a pretty
> low contact rate.
>
>> How can *one* person amass over a million points. There *must* be more
>> to this contesting than meets the eye.
>
> Yes, there's TONS more. That is exactly what makes contesting FUN!
>
>> What operating methods are these
>> guys using? Are scores dependent more on operating methods or
>> equipment?
>
> Scores are MOSTLY dependent on SKILL. Just look at the WRTC scores
> from the last competition. Here you have over 100 of the best
> operators in the world, all using very similar equipment and
> antennas. Yet, N5TJ and K1TO produced a score about twice as large as
> the average of all the contestants. How can they do that? (W4AN, now
> SK, told me it is because they are mutants....)
>
> Scores are PARTLY dependent on EQUIPMENT. A good operator will make a
> higher score at a more capable station.
>
>> Call: UP4L
>> Total:  1614   7201   187  Total Score = 1,346,587
>
> UP4L has a few things going for him here. First, he operated the
> entire 24 hour period. Second, he operated mixed mode, which gives
> him the opportunity to work stations twice. He also operated more
> phone. Phone is faster than CW, so you can work much higher rates.
>
> UP4L is also DX, running high power and probably has some decent
> antennas. He worked nearly 9000 QSOs. That's how he managed to make
> over 1,000,000 points.
>
>> Granted I operated a *few* less hours, was Low Power and working on a
>> fan dipole 10-80 antenna up 25 feet at the apex, but even so, can
>> working just 10 or so more hours, going high power with beams and a
>> tower make *that* much difference in scoring??
>
> Absolutely.
>
> Bob, when I moved to my current QTH, I got an invitation from W4AN to
> operate from his superstation in Dalonegah, GA for SS Phone in 1995.
> I thought I'd be in the top ten with all those towers and monobanders.
>
> I made a pretty good score, but not as good as I had made from home
> with just a tribander and wires. That experience taught me that
> there's much more to contesting than just a bunch of equipment.
>
> I spent years contesting from home with nothing more than a vertical
> and some dipoles. It wasn't a matter of who I could beat in the
> contest, but how well could I beat last year's score, or make a
> personal best.
>
> I also worked on improving my station, within the limits of my QTH
> and budget. Now I have a small tower with a tribander, a better
> transceiver, and I'm still working on ways to improve my station.
>
>
> There's no shame in working low power or QRP. Those scores are in
> different categories than the guys running high power.
>
> To score better in contests, you need to work on your skills. Enter
> more contests, even if it just for a few hours. Listen to the big gun
> stations and see what they are doing. Learn about propagation. Work
> with MorseRunner or other programs to improve your reactions.
>
> Improve your station -- contesters figure station merit by their
> antennas. You need more than just a fan dipole. Can you get a small
> 2-3 element tribander up? Can you get that dipole up higher? Perhaps
> you can put up a monobander for 15 or 20m and just try to work that
> band. Can you hang an 80m vertical or four-square in the trees?
>
> Keep working at it. You'll find your scores will skyrocket. And so
> will your enjoyment of contesting.
>
>
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
> Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
>             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>
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