[CQ-Contest] SS exchange & lazy folks

[John Laney]

N7mal wrote:
> Here is exactly what I said: ""callsign from the exchange"".......
> The very first thing you enter, in any logging program, is the callsign. 
> That is how you determine who are you about to work and not a dupe. With 
> N1MM & CT  you need not type in the callsign a second time, during the 
> exchange.
> 73
> 
> 
> MAL
> N7MAL
> BULLHEAD CITY, AZ
> http://www.n7mal.com
> Everyone in the world is
> entitled to be burdened
> by my opinion
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: K0HB
> To: CQ-Contest
> Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 5:10
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] SS exchange & lazy folks
> 
> 
> If you don't enter the fellows call sign, how does it get into your log?
> 
> 
>   From: N7mal
>   Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 4:39 AM
>   To: K0HB ; CQ-Contest
>   Cc: Tom Osborne
>   Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] SS exchange & lazy folks
> 
> 
>   Hans I only have experience with 2 different contest logging programs. 
> N1MM & CT.
>   In neither of those programs do you have to enter the callsign from the 
> exchange.
>   There is a philosophy regarding not entering the callsign in the exchange 
> field while requiring it to be sent..... ( I won't go into it here).......
>   I never typed in a callsign, yesterday, from the exchange and it still, as 
> if by magic, appears in the Cabrillo file.
>   73
> 
> 
>   p.s. for K7WHY: I worked the same guy you referred to....
> 
> 
>   MAL
>   N7MAL
>   BULLHEAD CITY, AZ
>   http://www.n7mal.com
>   Everyone in the world is
>   entitled to be burdened
>   by my opinion
> 
> 
> 
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: K0HB
>   To: CQ-Contest
>   Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 2:42
>   Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] SS exchange & lazy folks
> 
> 
>   Had a very small number like that.  I knew what their call was, so I just
>   filled in the blank.  Didn't hurt a bit.
> 
>   73, de Hans, K0HB
> 
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
> 
Mal:  What they are talking about is that they had relied on the logging 
program to pick up their call and put it in the CW message to be sent by 
the computer for the exchange.  They didn't listen to what was being 
sent.  They thought the logging program would send the exchange:  # B 
N7MAL 60 AZ or whatever from what they entered into their N1MM logging 
program for precedence, call sign, check, and section during the set up 
for the contest.  Apparently the other logging programs do so. 
Certainly, NA and CT do so.  Since many SO2R operators do not listen to 
what is being sent (they are instead listening to another band on the 
second radio), they didn't realize or didn't realize right away that the 
computer wasn't sending their call at the proper place.

I had two similar experiences lately.  I was listening to famous DX 
stations at CU and I forget the other place but both were places where a 
number of different people operate with varying call signs.  When the 
contest started, the station sent something like TEST DE CU2A.  I worked 
him for the first contact.  Then, he sent "TU CU2CE."  I listened to 
three QSOs when he did that.  I have no idea which call the other two 
guys logged.  I then called back the famous OH operator on the rig and 
told him what was happening and he changed the messages so that the call 
signs were the same.  The one on the CQ was the correct call sign.  The 
one on the TNX message was left over from the last contest operation at 
that station.  Then, the same thing happened in another DX contest with 
an entirely different operator.  (Those calls were made up because I 
don't remember the actual calls.)

The lesson here for us all is that it is a very good idea, particularly 
if you are not going to monitor what your computer sends during the 
contest, to look at the computer messages on the screen and to listen to 
the computer messages before the contest starts.

When I do SO2R from my station and when I did it from W4AN, I monitor my 
own sending.  But, when I did SO2R from K1TO in IARU HF this year, he 
had his set up so that I couldn't hear what the computer was sending. 
The late W4AN never listened to the computer sending either.  So, if the 
message is wrong (or if you hit the wrong key and therefore send the 
wrong message), you have no way of catching the error and correcting it 
on your own.  You have to depend on the other guy(s) to bring it to your 
attention.  That is the reason for some really stupid sounding exchanges 
in contests these days.  It may be unlikely that someone will press the 
same wrong key twice in a row, so I guess most SO2R ops get that part 
right on the second try provided the other guy lets them know or 
displays such confusion that the SO2R guy starts over again.

73, John, K4BAI.