[CQ-Contest] Your DX Spots during the ARRL SSB DX Contest

[Stephen Bloom]

Hi Scott:

I realize things are different in the Central and Eastern U.S. ..I of course
do most of my contesting from up here ..though I do sometimes guest at NX6T,
however I did do WW CW from EU last year and have some casual contest
experience from the Caribbean ..so I have been exposed to 24 hour open bands
..
I'd pretty much go the Pee Wee Keeler (baseball player in the late 19th
century) route .."hit em where they ain't"  ..

1)  Even though propagation may have a band be open all day ..all contests
have ebb and flow ...(for example ...ARRL SS is *dead* towards closing hours
...CQWW is never dead ...but things are slower in the middle ..etc. etc.)
during the slow times ..especially for Multi ops and SO2Rs ..even the big
boys are hunting.  There are times even they just run out of people to work.


2)  As long as it doesn't put you out of band ..go as high in the band as
you need ..to get out of the worst traffic.  As an example ..there is
nothing wrong with running in a CW contest on 14.140 ..if that is what it
takes.  Once you have the run established there ..you are less likely to get
stepped on by one of the big boys.  

3)  It's unethical to ask someone to spot you during a contest.  There is
nothing unethical about talking to some of your friends ahead of the contest
...asking them to spot you when they hear you ...and telling them what your
general strategy is.


I do know if it was just that easy, we wouldn't be having this discussion
...and I've been on the other sides of this opinion myself ..but ..cynical
as I was ..a couple of folks here use that strategy and it works.  I also
know that in just about every contest ...I work a few guys S&P who I figured
had to be big guns ..then I see on 3830 that they were QRP.  

73
Steve KL7SB



-----Original Message-----
From: K9MA [mailto:k9ma at sdellington.us] 
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2016 8:35 PM
To: Stephen Bloom <sbloom at acsalaska.net>
Cc: cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Your DX Spots during the ARRL SSB DX Contest

But how, exactly, is a little pistol to procure a run frequency when every
open band is packed wall to wall, and stacked three deep, with big guns
calling CQ?

73, 

Scott  K9MA

----------

Scott Ellington

 --- via iPad

> On Mar 7, 2016, at 10:42 PM, Stephen Bloom <sbloom at acsalaska.net> wrote:
> 
> but I do think the little pistols should try running ..more than they 
> do ..especially later in contests ..or slow times in general.