[CQ-Contest] Techniques of Ye Olden Days

[WT2P]

Just to add my .02 on the subject, my first introduction to DX'ing 
(which led to contesting) was reading and attempting to emulate John 
Locher (W9KNI)'s methods in his book "The Complete DX'er". It's still 
very interesting reading today, and each time I read it, I learn 
something new which translates very well into contesting.

One big thing that has been heavily discussed on here is the topic of 
the cluster. As I seem to recall, Locher attempted to pick out DX 
*before* it was spotted on the cluster and the pileups grew. The same 
could be said for hunting that elusive mult in a contest: the art of 
picking out weak signals and understanding the DX station's "strategy".. 
getting in sync with his strategy of working stations, getting him in 
the log before the hordes of people find him.

When I first started out, this was the way I learned... The local 
cluster was not within range to hear my first 2M packet setup, so I had 
limited (if non-existent) access to the cluster for anything.

73,
wt2p