[CQ-Contest] Enough of this Nonsense!

[Larry]

How would expect the logging program to distinguish your case from the case 
where the previous QSO asks for a repeat of the exchange after you thought 
it was a done QSO? I see the latter far more than your case.  It strikes me 
as a leap of faith to assume you are on a new QSO without a new callsign 
(hence the current logger design).  I am no speed demon on the keyboard but 
I try to not use the keyer. I understand that sometimes the keyer is the 
best choice and do use it on occasion. So it would seem that if the logger 
adopted you desire that you would have to revert to the keyer to the repeat 
the report to the previous QSO.

73, Larry  W6NWS

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jimk8mr at aol.com
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 5:06 PM
To: k4bai at att.net ; cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Enough of this Nonsense!

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.


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