[CQ-Contest] When is speed not speedy?

[Bob, W3IDT]

John,

I think you missed one of my comments (below) in this thread (and 
reminded me that there was on other item I could have added):

a. You said, "If you call someone, they assume that you were already 
able to copy their callsign ..."
I had clearly stated that, "I do S&P at 19wpm. I can, of course, 
*verify* a spotted call at a much higher speed." (emphasis added).
That is, I pick a spot (RBN or manual), and listen to verify the call. 
That I can do at reasonable contest speeds.

b. You said, "... and that you would be able to copy the report and 
recognize your callsign at their speed."
Recognize my callsign at reasonable speed: Yes.
Copy the report: NO, otherwise why would I be calling at 19wpm if I 
could copy at 30wpm (to a station operating at 30wpm)?

c. You said, "You probably already heard the report that they
gave to the station before you so you should already have some idea what
to expect."
Wish that was true. I do try to listen to a round or two. But you (well 
not YOU @P40A - with 3000+ Qs) might be surprised at how often stations 
will cq for minutes on end without a reply! So I call them at 19wpm, 
expecting to have to ask "nr?"  Surely that should be a clue that I 
can't copy much faster. A second request of "nr? qrs" is like a sledge 
hammer!

d. I worked you three times in wpx cw. It's guys like me that drive your 
totals. You probably made some attempt to slow down.


Bob, w3idt
-- 

.............................
. Robert F. Teitel, W3IDT   .
.                           .
. W3IDT at arrl.net            .
. W3IDT at comcast.net         .
.............................


Charlie, hs0zcw, is right: Slowing down to the caller's speed used to be 
standard; but now, *very* few ops will do so (maybe we should keep a 
list to make public). I even have a function key programmed with 
"qrs"... My second repeat request becomes "nr? qrs".  That seems to have 
helped a little: almost everyone dropped the cut numbers, even if they 
didn't slow down much.

For 50+ years I have struggle with cw. Do S&P at 19 wpm. (I can, of 
course, verify a spotted call at a much higher speed.)

One hot shot (RBN said 41wpm) with multiple cut numbers in the 4 digit 
serial is getting a NIL: After my third (or fourth?) repeat request 
without proper  response (slower / no cut numbers) I sent "tu and our 
serial"; after his "tu", I promptly hit DELETE.

A couple of stations simply ignored me. Fine with me. If you don't want 
to work me at 19wpm, ignore me. I'll call you twice, then move on.

Bob, w3idt
-- 

.............................
. Robert F. Teitel, W3IDT   .
.                           .
. W3IDT at arrl.net            .
. W3IDT at comcast.net         .
.............................

On 5/30/2013 12:59 PM, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> I think if you are calling CQ at 20 wpm people should answer you at that
> speed. If they call you at a much higher speed it is just rude. If you
> call someone, they assume that you were already able to copy their
> callsign and that you would be able to copy the report and recognize your
> callsign at their speed. You probably already heard the report that they
> gave to the station before you so you should already have some idea what
> to expect. I think it is unrealistic to expect a running station to match
> the speed of every caller.
>
> I also do not like cut numbers when I am expecting a serial number,
> especially when it is sent as a mixture of real numbers and cut ones. Many
> logging programs will make the conversion if you type the appropriate
> letter.
>
> John, P40A last weekend
>
>
>
> To:	 CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Subject:[CQ-Contest] When is speed not speedy?
> From:	 Charles Harpole <hs0zcw at gmail.com>
> Date:	 Mon, 27 May 2013 19:35:27 +0700
>
> When is high speed CW not speedy?
> Answer, when sending to me well beyond my SENDING SPEED of 20 WPM.  I
> worked the whole contest at 20wpm sending and rcving (I can do that speed
> well and remember when it was considered fast?), lots as H&P so the other
> station already knew my speed because I called him at 20.
>
> He sends four numeral S.N. at 40wpm, so I have to ask for THREE repeats,
> one for each of the last three numerals.  If, like good ops of old, he just
> came down to 20, no repeats and no delays and no cursing me under his
> breath.
>
> I guess some programs are difficult to adjust speed or maybe "real"
> contesters are just arrogant???   My radios have a speed knob right on
> front.
>
> I bet that without RBN and code readers, the speed demons would not be able
> to run like that.   BTW, by sending 5NN at 70wpm followed by the SN at 40
> keeps even the smartest code readers missing the first few numbers as it
> re-times from 70 down to 40.
>
> I copied the "cut numbers" as letters and plan to send in a log that way.
> When will ops begin to use cut numbers inside their call signs too?... I
> used E2E, and guess I could have signed EAE.
> Also, when my friend can win his category for Asia and not know code,
> really, something is wrong with contesting and respect for and satisfaction
> with human achievement.
>
> Oh, have my smart phone tell me when the next contest is over and how my
> new, 80wpm, fully automated station did in scores.   73,
>


-- 

.............................
. Robert F. Teitel, W3IDT   .
.                           .
. W3IDT at arrl.net            .
. W3IDT at comcast.net         .
.............................