[CQ-Contest] Enough of this Nonsense!

[Jimk8mr at aol.com]

This is excellent advice.
 
Quite often I encounter something like:
 
CQ TEST K8MR TEST
 
W6#E!^*T#BAI
 
My brain responds much more quickly than my fingers that K4BAI is in that  
pileup, so I send K4BAI with the paddle and hit F2 to send the exchange.
 
Unfortunately many logging programs don't understand this concept. In  
contests that have serial numbers, they don't increment the number from the  
previous QSO until at least one letter is entered in the callsign field. This  
results in giving K4BAI the number for the previous QSO, unless I first mash 
 something into the computer before I hit F2, which I then have to wipe and 
 start over from the beginning.
 
As far as I know, only NA gets it right. Which is one reason I keep using  
NA in serial number contests such as SS and the Sprints. And for users of 
other  software, do listen to what QSO number you are sending.
 
 
73  -  Jim  K8MR
 
 
 
 
In a message dated 1/14/2013 4:46:28 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
k4bai at att.net writes:

I always  have a keyer and paddle in parallel with the computer keying so 
that I can  respond with the paddle if something happens like the 
computer locking  up.  I recommend that to everyone.  BTW, it should be 
used when  you are being called and don't have the call correctly into 
the logging  program. Rather than losing the rhythm and waiting to get 
the call correct  into the logging system, call the station with the 
paddle, let the  computer send the exchange, and you can have the call in 
correctly before  you need to copy the other station's exchange. 
Particularly, if you don't  use full QSK, you will loose a lot of time if 
you wait until everything is  perfect in the computer to send the call of 
the station you want to  answer.  You will probably finally start sending 
his call when he  starts to give his call again, you two will "double" 
and there will be  silence when you finish the exchange.

Bottom line: to be really  efficient in running, you need a paddle ready 
to go whenever the computer  isn't ready and you need to always use QSK 
(if your amplifier has  QSK).  If you don't have a QSK amplifier, you 
should get one or get a  QSK-5 or equivalent and use it with your  
amplifier.