[CQ-Contest] Phonetics for long call signs

[Dave Edmonds]

Great comments Charles and Jim....

Thanks

from
Washington November Four Atlantic Frederick Portugal



On Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 3:52 AM, Jim Smith <jimsmith at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Once in the Florida QSO Party I used Volusia Escambia 7 Flagler Osceola.
>
> Surely they would recognize their own County names!  Got a lot of puzzled
> silences followed by laughter.
>
> 73, Jim VE7FO
>
> On 2014-02-04 04:10, Charles Harpole wrote:
>
>> Ideas
>> 1.  for quick break in, I send Hotel Sugar Zero.  This alerts the op
>> unaccustomed to hearing from Zone 26 where I am and that maybe I am a
>> needed multiplier.  This is only useful for a prefix like mine.
>> 2.  "Hotel Sugar" is the phonetic often associated with HS, Thailand, by
>> common use like "Sugar Poppa" for Poland and so on.  It is irritating not
>> to receive the FULL CALL, but often ops do not leave enough time to give a
>> six unit call sign.
>> 3.  I have been testing effective phonetics for intelligibility for
>> several
>> years and my results are not fast but are very effective and reduce
>> requests for repeats;  better for pile ups than contests, maybe.  The
>> results are based on (a) having two equal and stressed syllables, (b)
>> using
>> widely known place names in use around the world, especially in English
>> language TV broadcasts, and (c) avoids using equivocal names like
>> Greece/Hellas or Spain/Espana.  It also avoids the problem exemplified in
>> French where the "H" is aspirated, with "Hotel" coming out " 'otel."   I
>> always smile at French speakers using 'otel for an H phonetic.
>>
>> America (likely the most well known place name in the world)
>> Boston (two hard syllables, a well known place name with this spelling
>> standard).
>> Canada (same as Boston).
>> Denmark (same as Boston).
>> England (SAB... same as Boston).
>> Florida (SAB)
>> Germany (mostly ok, but not Deutschland, a factor, but at least not Golf
>> or
>> Gulf and
>>         Guatemala is a nice alternative).
>> Honolulu (really difficult to mistake this one).
>> Italy (pronounced with hard "it" at the start; "IT TA LEE."  not "itly").
>> Japan (SAB).
>> Kentucky (SAB and remember the fried chicken now everywhere).
>> London (SAB).
>> Mexico (SAB, but said like English, not Mexican speaker).
>> Norway (SAB, but November is good).
>> Ontario (SAB, amazing works every time even if you do not know Canada
>> towns).
>> Pacific (the name of the largest ocean, for gosh sakes, but gives some ops
>> trouble).
>> Queen or Quebec (a difficult one made worse because Quebec is pronounced
>> Keybeck in French).
>> Radio (if a ham does not know "radio" what can I say?).
>> Santiago (a killer ap;  just cuts through great).
>> Tokyo (SAB).
>> United (as in United States;  please not "uniform").
>> Victoria (extends the word Victor, but it still has weaker second
>> syllable).
>> Washington (use it if you want to be heard;  I know it is long).
>> X-Ray (desperation choice).
>> Yokohama (like Santiago and Washington;  it just works).
>> Zanzibar (please, not "Zulu" which dies in the QRM).
>>
>> Also, purse your lips to say TWO, put lots of tongue on your upper front
>> teeth for Three, upper teeth on lower lip for Four, wide smile for Five,
>> try Niner for the old ops.  Count out your number in real trouble and do a
>> count-backwards to get to ZERO.
>>
>> Now, I can hear you guys.......  73, Honolulu Santiago ZERO Zanzibar
>> Canada
>> Washington.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 6:06 PM, <jpescatore at aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Dave - as someone who operated with a looong callsign for many years
>>> (WB2EKK), just use phonetics for your suffix and not your prefix.
>>>
>>> That won't change anything when someone has an SO2R auto CQ going on a
>>> frequency they are not actively listening to, but it will reduce the time
>>> it takes to get your call through and leave it to the receiving op to ask
>>> "Was that Whiskey *Nancy* 4?"
>>>
>>>  What phonetics would be the most effective and efficient for my
>>>>
>>> unusualcall sign?Dave, WN4AFP
>>>
>>> 73 John K3TN
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> CQ-Contest mailing list
>>> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>  _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>



-- 
Dave Edmonds
PK Ministry Webs
864.288.6678
dave at pkministrywebs.com
www.pkministrywebs.com
"Webs from the Heart"