[CQ-Contest] Running ID

[w2lc at twcny.rr.com]

When S&P I use the old adage of work-em first and worry about it later.  However not IDing complicates that strategy.  When S&P I try to keep the rate up, so I often call a station before I know who it is.  If they do not ID very soon afterwards, I give them a NIL.  Can’t log a QSO with the call sign field blank.  Yes I sometimes put them into memory and listen later. Or use the second radio. But I am not going to wait 10 Q’s for an ID, 2 or 3 maybe but not much more.  

I look at it this way, it is the responsibility of every station to ID, and if they don’t ID they risk getting a NIL.  You can't log what you don't receive. I don’t like losing the Q but no ID, no call, no Q, pretty simple.  The other station only loses a W2, so no big deal.

Rick K6VVA said:  “Failing to ID on a reasonable basis is arrogant selfishness at the expense of other people's valuable time.  …..   The worst example of arrogant, selfish, irresponsible foolishness is the expedition operator I clocked several years ago making QSOs for 30 minutes straight without sending his callsign even once”.

Well Rick, I agree, a few years ago (maybe the same DXpedition) I worked one of those DXpeditions and listened about 2-1/2 hours for an ID while I worked on something else in the shack.  I never did hear the station ID.  So I went on the internet and looked it up.  Is that really a QSO? I'll call it assisted!

Since the DXpedition accreditation people approved the operation for award credit, that implies that IDing is optional. No ID for several hours should mean no credit for the operation what so ever. But the approval says otherwise, IDing is indeed optional. At least for now. And I always thought you had to operate within the rules of the country you are in, but I guess not.

73 Scott W2LC