[CQ-Contest] A call to action

Mon Mar 26 22:08:21 EST 2007

I don't know.  CW decoders just don't work well as a set of ears.  From my 
understanding you must be right on freq and have a very good s/n ratio.  If 
you are calling on the DX's freq and someone sends UP UP slightly off his 
freq you won't decode it.  And if the DX is working simplex the decoder 
won't decode because of all the different signals coming thru but your ears 
can easily distinguish the DX's signal from all the rest.  If you are right 
on the DX's freq the decoder may decode his call and who he is coming back 
to but if he is sending 9M6SDX EU it may not decode the did/dit dit dah to 
let you know he wants Europe only, etc.  I believe you still need to learn 
CW.  What if the DX asks your name or QTH?  Will you know what he is asking? 
Will you be able to send the info back to him?

I think it is just having the incentive to learn.  For me, I had to learn CW 
at 10 WPM to complete my AT (Aviation Electronics Tech) school and then 
later I had to pass 18 WPM before a RMC (Chief Radio Operator) at the USCG 
Radio Station NMC to be able to be promoted.  As a young AT3 (Aviation Tech 
3rd Class) just out of tech school I didn't enjoy washing C-130's with a big 
long brush and flying in the old noisy HU16E amphips.  I wanted to get 2nd 
Class as soon as I could and get out of washing planes and into flying in 
the C-130's all over the world, including all the rare LORAN stations on 
rare islands out in the Pacific.  Now that was incentive!  It helped that I 
learned CW and got my ham license while in High School.

Having the newbies watch a CW operation at work may give them the incentive 
to learn so they can join the fun.
______________________________________
Alan Zack
Amateur Radio Station K7ACZ
Official USCG Auxiliary Comm Station
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Delta Rocket Quality Engineer, The Boeing Company, Retired
Aviation Chief Warrant Officer,  U.S. Coast Guard, Retired
U.S. Coast Guard, Always Ready, Always There
Every hour, Every day, Around the Clock and Around the World
SEMPER PARATUS
http://gocoastguard.com
http://www.uscgradio.net
http://www.comm-one.org
http://patriotfiles.org/CoastiesRule.htm
http://images.military.com/Video/050617_CGClip.wmv
http://images.military.com/Video/051007_CoastGuard.wmv
http://www.quarters-one.com/lipsBill.html
http://www.quarters-one.com/lipsOldSchoolRecruiting.html

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Trent and Lorraine Sampson" <vk4ti at sampson.net.au>
To: "Jim George" <n3bb at mindspring.com>; "Ethan Miller K8GU" 
<ethan at k8gu.com>; <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 1:58 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] A call to action

> With the great numbers of newbie's who are non Morse /CW operators is
> the need out there for very advanced CW decoder programmes "to keep the
> dream alive" . I know Writelog has a pretty good decoder but are there
> better ones (freebies) I could direct local new licensees to try out ??
> At least this way they are on air using CW..
>
> Our intra VK field day was on two weeks ago and I operated portable
> using a Fire tower as the antenna mast,
> http://ljcap.blogspot.com/search/label/vk4ti  we setup multi multi used
> dipoles and logbooks and ended up with three very enthusiastic newcomers
> to contesting who now want to build filters amp auto changeover systems
> etc to get really serious before these sunspots start.
>
> Yes Contesting can be contagious. but the chance of these guys learning
> CW I am afraid is not very high.
>
> Thanks to those who heard our 20M long path 100w to the delta loop.NQ4I
> et al..
>
> Regards
>
> Trent
>
> Trent and Lorraine Sampson
> | PO Box 1647 | Toowoomba QLD  | 4350| Mobile 0408 497550
> Ham Radio Call Sign : VK4TI
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim George
> Sent: Tuesday, 27 March 2007 2:58 AM
> To: Ethan Miller K8GU; cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] A call to action
>
> This is a really great analogy by K8GU. The hypothesis in The Tipping
> Point is a terrific way to think logically about getting the magic of
> radio contesting out to more people.
>
> Jim N3BB
>
> At 10:46 AM 3/26/2007 -0400, Ethan Miller K8GU wrote:
>>There's a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell that was
>>very popular a couple of years ago, especially in business/marketing
>>circles.  The basic premise of the book is that epidemics (whether they
>
>>be viral, consumer, or otherwise) occur due to:  1. a relatively small
>>number of influential people, 2. something called "stickiness", and 3.
>>the context (environment).  I'm not doing the book justice...so, you
>>really should read it...
>>
>>Who started you in contesting?  Chances are it's someone that Gladwell
>>would call a "salesman", someone who is undeniably passionate about
>>contesting and conveys it well to others.
>>
>>Think about how many of today's contesters "grew up" in contesting:
>>they were a part of vibrant multi-op efforts at stations belonging to
>>individuals (eg K2GL, K4VX(/0), ...) and at club stations at large
>>universities (eg W9YT, W1MX, W6YX, ...).  These hosts are what Gladwell
>
>>calls "connectors"...they (want to) know everybody.  The environment
>>has changed over the years...the contest club now supplants this
>>system.  Does your club have connectors?
>>
>>Many of us are what Gladwell refers to as "mavens."  Mavens strive to
>>be experts and amass knowledge and skills regarding contesting.  The
>>trick, of course, is selling someone on contesting and connecting them
>>with the knowledge.
>>
>>Contesting is "sticky" by nature.  I believe it was N9RV who answered
>>the question "When is a new contester hooked?" saying, "When he first
>>tastes a run."  It's interactive...you call, they respond.  And, long
>>time-constant stickiness comes in the form of reported results.  (This
>>is why, although I suppose a business necessity, the death of QST line
>>scores was/is such a big deal.)  But, we must connect new contesters
>>with the kind of contesting that is sticky.
>>
>>Finally, the context is important.  This is what the thread has mostly
>>been about:  are we accessible?  We have to realize that sometime in
>>the past decade, the Internet replaced print as the predominant medium
>>from which people got their information about ham radio.  I think that
>>the "New to contesting?" button would make a great addition to our
>>individual web sites, especially if we can agree on a format (our
>>"brand") and the tutorial to be hosted (preferably on contesting.com).
>>
>>The point of what I've written is to encourage each of us to recognize
>>and exploit our own strengths as salesmen, mavens, and connectors.  We
>>can't make people who aren't interested in contesting become magically
>>interested.  But, in spite of the (now silent) whining about the code,
>>I think it's safe to say most new hams are still getting into the hobby
>
>>to learn about something new...
>>
>>Contesting is all about selling your product (QSOs)...we should be good
>
>>at this!
>>
>>73,
>>
>>--Ethan, K8GU/9.
>>
>>-- K8GU - Urbana, IL - www.k8gu.com --
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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