[CQ-Contest] Questions on Pile-up Management

[Barry]

VA3NR wrote:
> I have a couple questions for those experienced running CW pile-ups:
>
> 1) I know its best to pick out a full callsign after just one call.  My question is for those times when you can't pick out a full callsign, is it better to send a partial call (e.g. 1AW 5NN4) to keep the rhythm going or should you pause and allow the pile-up to call second a time?
>   
More often than not I will respond to a partial call.  However, I prefer 
to get the full call before sending an exchange, cuz in the heat of 
battle and QRM, sometimes the other guy doesn't realize you only got 
part of his call, and you wind up with a scenario like #2 below.  So, if 
all I get is 1AW, I'll send "1AW agn." 

> 2) Occasionally when I get the chance to run a CW pile-up I'll get callers who seem to mis-read my exhange to someone else as their own.  For example, I send  W1AW 5NN4  and besides the intended  W1AW  I also get some other station sending me a report.  If I just send  R TU  to continue the pileup then both  W1AW plus the mystery caller are logging me but I'm only logging W1AW.  The mystery caller isn't going to call me again in the test because he thinks we've worked and I've lost a potential QSO.  Is there a good way to recover these QSO's without breaking rhythm?
>
>   
If I'm lucky, I'll have copied both calls and log both QSOs.  Otherwise, 
after copying the exchange I will send W1AW TU, rather than just TU (I 
always confirm the call if I busted it the first time.)  That way a 
half-decent operator will realize you worked someone else.

Another suggestion - practice your pileup copying skills with Morse 
Runner.  It's an amazingly realistic program (to the point that the WRTC 
guys should consider it in competition, as it's really the only way to 
truly equalize all the "stations.")

73,
Barry
-- 

Barry Kutner, W2UP             
Newtown, PA