[CQ-Contest] A Newcomers Question

[Dave Sloan]

Why is it during contests that I can hear a station at say 20db over S9 and
that they never hear me. I had thought that it was my poor antenna
installation. But, yesterday I was talking with a friend that has a tower
and beam and he says they same thing happens to him. If this were just a one
time occurrence I would chalk it up to the other station just not having any
ears. But this happens numerous times during every contest that I have
worked. I can hear the other station working all sorts of other stations. I
have tuned in of the frequency of the station they are working and then
called them on that frequency. I've called maybe 25 or 30 times over a 5 to
10 minute timeframe. I have heard the same station at different times during
the contest and on different bands and yet every time I try to work them
they don't hear me. Can someone please explain what I am doing wrong.

TNX & 73,
Dave N0EOP