[CQ-Contest] "QTC?"

[Pete Smith]

John, I agree that QTCs are an inherent part of this contest.  They 
were, as someone said, more fun when we did it all by hand, but it's a 
lot less tiring for us non-Europeans to let the machine do it.

What I was trying to question is the practice of jumping on any pileup 
you hear and shouting "QTC?", or interrupting a run by a non-Eu station, 
after a QSO, with a QTC request.  To the extent that I and others won't 
respond, or respond with "no" or "nil", it is hard to see that it 
confers any advantage.

Yes, indeed, this is a European, or really a German-run contest, and we 
either play by their rules or don't play.  That's fine - reminds me of 
the ARRL DX Contest with lots of extra bells and whistles.  I was just 
suggesting one respect in which a little thought about operating 
practices would result in a lot less aggravation for the people the 
Europeans need to work, without materially affecting their results (IMO, 
of course).

73, Pete N4ZR

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On 8/16/2010 9:08 AM, K1AR at aol.com wrote:
> Pete,
>
> Over the years, no one has hated QTCs more than me. That being said, I now
> realize it's part of fabric of this particular contest. WAE is not simply
> about  rate. My new enlightened view is that QTCs will be solicited at all
> times during the contest and that's just fine with me (yes, I was asked at
> 0005Z  on Friday night). If I were a European competitor, I'd do the same
> thing.
>
> Like the NA Sprint and other contests, if we don't like the rules/style of
> the contest, we don't operate. Asking others to lower their competitive
> edge to  enhance our North American fun is not reasonable. This is a
> European-run  contest. For once, it's time for North America to let our  European
> colleagues run the show the way they want to do it. I applaud  their efforts.
> Given the activity levels this weekend, I'd say the WAE contest  is alive and
> well.
>
> 73 John, K1AR
>
>
> In a message dated 8/15/2010 7:14:30 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> n4zr at contesting.com writes:
>
> So, let  me suggest a simple guideline - be extremely selective in asking
> a  *running* non-European if he wants to do a QTC.  Unless he's really
> struggling (pretty unlikely on Saturday anyway), it will not be welcome,
> and almost certainly with get a grumpy "NO." Wait till Sunday, or wait
> for him to call you when you're running.
>
>