[CQ-Contest] Watch your dits this weekend

[Ken Alexander]

As the holder of VE3HLS (a.k.a. VE3HLH, VE3SLS, VE3HLI and so on) I'm sure my call is a black mark in more than a few contest logs, and will be this weekend!  Being QRP doesn't help either.

73 - Ken


--- On Tue, 11/24/09, Randy Thompson K5ZD <k5zd at charter.net> wrote:

> From: Randy Thompson K5ZD <k5zd at charter.net>
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Watch your dits this weekend
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 1:08 PM
> I am just finishing the log checking
> for the WPX CW contest and wanted to
> share some observations that may be helpful for WW CW this
> coming weekend.
> 
> Beware of calls with lots of dots!
> 
> Missing a single dit can really change the nature of a
> call.  H's become 5's
> or S's become H's.  Another problematic combination is
> V's and 4's or J's
> and 1's.
> 
> For example, here are all the ways people copied KH7XS in
> WPX CW (only one
> of these is correct).
> K57XS
> K5ZHS
> K5ZXI
> K5ZXS
> KH6XS
> KH7HS
> KH7X 
> KH7XB
> KH7XE
> KH7XH
> KH7XI
> KH7XS
> KH8XS
> KS6XS
> KS7XI
> KS7XS
> KS8XI
> KX7XS
> 
> (The most common bust was KH6XS followed by KS7XS.)
> 
> Another group of highly busted calls are from
> Slovenia.  S5 becomes SH.
> There is only one SH call I know of (SH3O), so if you see
> an SH appear in
> your log, ask for a confirmation!
> 
> Other examples include N4JN for NV1N.  Or N1VI for
> NJ4I. You don't even want
> to know how many variants there were of "special" calls
> like HF94KE and
> OL25LP!
> 
> N6AA coined a term "call sign vocabulary."  This is
> your knowledge of call
> signs and call sign structures.  The more you know,
> the more you are able to
> correctly detect calls AND to detect when calls may not be
> correct. 
> 
> Another hint -- actually listen to the zone number being
> sent.  This can
> offer a valuable bit of confirmation if the call you copied
> is matching
> where you expect it to be.
> 
> Remember, the CQ WW gives an extra penalty for busted
> calls, so it is worth
> the time to get the calls right.
> 
> Good luck to everyone this weekend and watch those dits and
> dots!
> 
> Randy, K5ZD
> 
> 
> 
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