[CQ-Contest] A call to action

Tue Mar 27 07:58:13 EST 2007

Quack Note
I just for kicks did some Google and found a  Russian CW decod program 
called CW Get and it really didn't do too bad of a job copying , however 
with QRM/QRN it did miss quiet a bit  and the code must be almost perfect in 
order to get copy that is readable.

Not a bad program for what little I did playing around with it but never 
replace the Ear for tough copy situations.

Rex

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan Zack" <k7acz at cox.net>
To: "Trent and Lorraine Sampson" <vk4ti at sampson.net.au>; "CQ Contest" 
<CQ-Contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 3:08 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] A call to action

>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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