[CQ-Contest] Additional Penalty

[Kelly Taylor]

Regardless of the contest’s scoring, not giving an honest effort to copy someone who has called you is, at best, unsportsmanlike. It might not work out in the end, but not even trying?

I can think of worse words, but in the interests of civility, I’ll stick to unsportsmanlike.

That said, it has happened to me. Once, my payoff at the end was discovering the same station missed his sweep by, you guessed it, Manitoba! Karma!

73, kelly, ve4xt 


> On Apr 14, 2016, at 9:58 AM, Michael Clarson <wv2zow at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Ken: I've experienced this from the other end. Working a station on SSB, he
> repeats my call back incorrectly several times, then he gives me a QSL
> without repeating my call., and moves on. Sure enough -- I am not in his
> log at all, I got a penalty because I logged the  QSO based on what the
> other station sent. --Mike, WV2ZOW
> 
> On Wed, Apr 13, 2016 at 7:46 PM, Ken K6MR <k6mr at outlook.com> wrote:
> 
>> It would seem that the additional penalty rule hurts the LP/QRP folks the
>> most: they are more likely to have marginal signals. If I have trouble
>> copying I’m more likely to declare NIL (or worse, not respond in the first
>> place) if I know that busting the Q would result in additional penalties.
>> If I’m just going to lose the Q then it’s worth taking the chance.
>> 
>> Ken K6MR
>> 
>> From: Alan Dewey via CQ-Contest<mailto:cq-contest at contesting.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2016 14:36
>> To: CQ-Contest at contesting.com<mailto:CQ-Contest at contesting.com>
>> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Additional Penalty
>> 
>> I don't have a problem with penalty QSOs.  I just consider it part of  my
>> contest strategy.  How much time do I spend trying to get the call  right
>> before just leaving it in the log and going on.  If I knew I was  going to
>> get
>> a penalty, I would spend a lot more time trying to get the call  right.  If
>> there was no penalty, I would be more likely to just go on  (especially if
>> I
>> had a good run going)  knowing the worst that  could happen is that I would
>> lose the QSO.
>> 
>> I compete with a guy here in MN who has an extremely accurate log - often a
>> golden log.  I know that I have to either minimize my errors or find a way
>> to exceed his score by a comfortable "buffer".  This is a motivator for me
>> to do better.
>> 
>> As someone has stated, most penalties are imposed only when the CALL is
>> copied wrong.  If you miscopy, say, the check in SS, you are going to lose
>> the Q but no penalty.
>> 
>> There is only one thing that bothers me about the penalty QSOs.  If I
>> decided to delete the QSO (after several unsuccessful efforts to get it
>> right
>> due to QRM and QSB), it keeps me from being penalized but it ends up
>> penalizing  the guy who thought he had made the QSO with me.  I'm not sure
>> what can
>> be  done about that.
>> 
>> 73,
>> 
>> Al, K0AD
>> 
>> 
>> In a message dated 4/13/2016 8:04:37 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
>> kzerohb at gmail.com writes:
>> 
>> In a  contest you accumulate a score by contacting other stations,
>> correctly
>> copy  their callsign and generally some other bit(s) of information,  and
>> accurately transcribe that exchange to your log.
>> 
>> Having  correctly copied and logged the required elements, you are
>> credited
>> point(s) and perhaps a "mult".
>> 
>> If you incorrectly copy the  exchange, or finger-fault the log entry, then
>> you are not credited the  point(s) or mult.
>> 
>> Without overly belaboring the obvious, your success  as a contester is
>> directly proportional how fast and accurately you can  fill your log with
>> "good" exchanges. Lower accuracy = lower  score.
>> 
>> So what useful purpose is served by the retribution imposed in  the
>> practice
>> of reducing the score further with an "additional  penalty"?
>> 
>> Do basketball players suffer an additional score reduction if  they miss a
>> shot? Are points (already scored) deducted from a baseball team  if a
>> batter
>> fails to get on base? Does a bowler forfeit points earned in  the first
>> frame if they throw a gutter ball in the eighth  frame?
>> 
>> Just  wondering.
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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