[CQ-Contest] Fwd: Re: Hints and tips for NAQP

Sun Aug 21 11:54:48 EDT 2016

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [CQ-Contest] Hints and tips for NAQP
Date: 	Sun, 21 Aug 2016 11:32:46 -0400
From: 	David Pruett <k8cc at comcast.net>
To: 	Timothy Holmes <taholmes160 at gmail.com>

All:

I apologize for my previous incomplete message on this subject.  I was
trying to send it from my hotel room in Rhodes, Greece and there was
some sort of error (dunno, it could have been iPhone software error or
cockpit error on my part - probably the latter, but I didn't think the
partial message had been sent).

So let me finish my thought.  IMHO, the second most important NAQP
strategy decision is off time selection.  NAQP requires that you take
two hours of off time during the contest, in intervals of at least 30
minutes at a time.  Bad off time strategy won't kill your contest, but
it WILL prevent you from making your best possible score.

The best strategy for NAQP off times is highly dependent on the area of
the country in which you're located.  I'll offer some generalities, but
I'm going to focus primarily on NAQP from the midwest, since that is
where I have the most experience and is where the question came from (de
Tim, W8TAH).

The main off time strategy for any contest requiring off time is to take
time off when rates are anticipated to be the worst, so you can be
operating when rates are better.  In NAQP from the midwest, this means
starting to take off time fairly early (like in the first third or half
of the contest)  A lot of people make this mistake, as it seems
non-intuitive.  But from the midwest in NAQP, 40/80/160 are the "money"
bands, while 20/15/10 are the "get what you can, but don't waste time"
bands.  So be sure to use up some of your off time during daylight (when
40/80/160 are likely to be poor).  Certainly you should spend time on
20/15/10 to get QSOs and especially multipliers, but don't get caught
"playing DXer" chasing high band mults at poor rates.

IMHO you should take at least 50% of your off time in NAQP (e.g., one
hour) in the first half of the contest, but even 1-1/2 hours is not too
much.

The other NAQP off time strategy is to take off times in the minimum
amount permitted by the contest rules, in the case of NAQP that would be
30 minutes.  So if the rate goes into the tank and you can't find any
band which will get you going again, take an off time, keeping in mind
how much off time you still have to take.

Lastly, keep accurate track of your off time while operating during the
contest so that you won't wind up taking too much (or too little) off
time by the end of the contest. Some logging programs will do this for
you but make sure the program is using the correct 30 minute minimum off
time interval, and not 15 minutes or an hour.

For a midwest station, I would start taking off time during the second
hour of the contest (again, not more than 30 minutes).  Come back on and
make QSOs, while watching your rate and when it tanks take another off
time.  The goal should be to have taken 60-90 minutes of off time by
00Z.  Keep watching your rate, and save your last off time(s) for when
things slow down. Good possibilities for your last off time is when 40
gets worked out, but 80 hasn't gotten rolling yet, or when 80 gets
worked out and 160 hasn't gotten rolling yet.

So as you can see, off time and band selection are somewhat related, and
might also be affected by your station effectiveness as well (perhaps a
poor antenna on 160, or lacking a beam on 20/15/10).  But the mistake I
see made most often is simply not taking enough off time early (when
midwestern stations are at a disadvantage due to skip zone) and having
to take more off time later (when midwestern stations are at an advantage).

73, Dave/K8CC

On 8/20/2016 4:58 AM, David Pruett wrote:
> Even with all the good suggestions thus far, nobody has mentioned what I think is the #2 most important NAQP strategy decision (right after band selection)
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Aug 19, 2016, at 6:09 PM, Timothy Holmes <taholmes160 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Wow. More really fantastic stuff.  Thanks guys
>>
>> TIM
>> W8TAH
>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 19, 2016, 7:16 AM Bruce Horn <bhorn at hornucopia.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> As a reminder, the NAQP exchange is Name and State/Province/NA Country.
>>> Some participants don't realize that North American countries outside of
>>> the US and Canada count as multipliers. As Jim said - familiarize yourself
>>> with the rules.
>>>
>>> 73 de Bruce, WA7BNM   (bhorn at hornucopia.com)
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Jim Brown K9YC" <k9yc at audiosystemsgroup.com>
>>> To: "cq-contest" <cq-contest at contesting.com>
>>> Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2016 9:55:06 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Hints and tips for NAQP
>>>
>>>> On Tue,8/16/2016 5:21 PM, Timothy Holmes wrote:
>>>> As we start to roll into contest season 2016, I am curious as to the
>>> hints
>>>> and tips you would be willing to share for the NAQP SSB.
>>> Hi Tim,
>>>
>>> Thanks for doing this. Some concepts.
>>>
>>> 1) Read the rules for each contest before you start. They're usually
>>> pretty short and pretty simple. They define the exchange, how the
>>> contest is is scored, the contest time, who can work who for credit,
>>> whether spotting clusters can be used, and things like operating power,
>>> and operating frequencies.
>>>
>>> NAQP, for example, has a 100W limit, does NOT permit the use of a
>>> spotting cluster. The exchange is NAME and STATE. It's a 12 hour
>>> contest, and a station must take two hours off in increments of at least
>>> 30 minutes.
>>>
>>> 2) On the air, keep everything short and sweet. Learn to avoid wasting
>>> time with extra words. Avoid "lidisms" like "please copy," don't repeat
>>> the exchange the other guy gave you, don't waste time with "thanks for
>>> the QSO, 73, good luck in the contest." Most good contesters use
>>> "thanks" or "thank you" to tell the other station the QSO is over, and
>>> they're ready for the next one.
>>>
>>> 3) When calling a station, send only your call, and only once on CW and
>>> SSB. Listen for a second or two, and if the other station doesn't come
>>> back, send your call once more. And listen. (Two or more stations may
>>> have called at the same time and the other station didn't copy either
>>> one.) On SSB, say your call with standard phonetics, with good
>>> articulation.
>>>
>>> 4) When answering a CQ, NEVER send your exchange until the other station
>>> has sent you his exchange and you have copied it. For example, if he
>>> says "Kilo 8?" only send your call again. If he sends his exchange and
>>> you don't copy it, ask for a repeat, and do it with as few words as
>>> possible. For example, "K9YC Name?"
>>>
>>> 5) NEVER repeat anything that the other station has copied correctly.
>>> This is particularly important when you're weak or there is QRM or
>>> noise. Sending your call again wastes time, AND, more important, it
>>> makes him think he has it wrong, so he may ask you to repeat it, wasting
>>> more time. :)
>>>
>>> 6) When you're the station calling CQ, make your CQs short. "CQ Contest,
>>> Whiskey 8 Tango Alpha Hotel, Whiskey 8 Tango Alpha Hotel" is the longest
>>> CQ to use.
>>>
>>> 7) NEVER use "QRZed" to finish a QSO -- the stations who want to work
>>> you are tuning the band looking for stations to work. They want to hear
>>> your call! When you're the CQing station, finish your QSO with "Thanks,
>>> Whiskey 8 Tango Alpha Hotel." When you only say "QRZed" that tuning
>>> station doesn't know your call, so it will waste time (yours and his)
>>> for him to find out. Or he may just keep on tuning for someone who DOES
>>> say his call. :)
>>>
>>> 8) When you're the CQing station, always give a station who may be
>>> waiting a chance to call you as soon as you've said "thanks." In other
>>> words, don't start another CQ after each QSO until you've listened a
>>> second or two for a station who has been waiting.
>>>
>>> 9) Have fun. Keep a smile in your voice.
>>>
>>> 10) Work on getting your station to SOUND good. This applications note
>>> tells how to adjust your radio so that the other station hears you better.
>>>
>>> http://k9yc.com/ContestAudio.pdf
>>>
>>> 73, Jim K9YC
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
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>> --
>>
>> Tim Holmes - W8TAH
>> Sent from my LG Stylo
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