[CQ-Contest] Little Pistols running (was something else)

[Ed Sawyer]

I would like to offer some advice to the group of people struggling with
this issue.  I have contested using wires low power and am now up to the
stacked yagi high power class.  I wrote an article for contesting.com back
in 2002 when I had pretty simple antennas field day style and used low power
and simple radios.  I came in Top 5 USA Low Power, CQ WW SSB that year:

 

http://www.contesting.com/articles/365

 

One of the keys to a mix of CQing and S & P is to know what rate is a good
rate for your situation.  60 - 80 an hour is often a very good rate for a
situation.  If you can get it, stick with it.  And also knowing when its
very likely that S & Ping would do better than CQing at certain times and to
do it.  But not to lean on it all the time - as described below.

 

Another think that a lot of people realize is that you reach "the wall" S &
Ping.  You've worked everybody if you have 24 hours in and are solidly
working people, especially assisted.  So what rate you had to get to that
point doesn't matter because you won't duplicate it in the next 24 hours of
your operation.  So you either drop away for most of the balance, or you
starting running in places to pick up the other S & Pers. And you realize
after a while of doing contests this way, that its much better strategy to
take advantage of possible runs when you get the chance and not just S & P
looking at the rate meter in the first half of the contest, because what you
are doing is not sustainable for the contest.  I hear lots of people say - I
can S & P at over 100 an hour.  Great I can too.  But how about the next 5
hours on the same band.how's your rate now?

 

If the goal is to "knock a bunch down" over a 10 - 12 hour period, its hard
to beat S & Ping if you are not an experienced runner with good antennas and
location.  If it's a 20 hour session, you will start benefiting from a mix -
still favoring heavier S & Ping.  But if you are looking at 24 - 40 hours,
you have to find that 6 - 10 hours of run time to enjoy the whole thing and
be competitive with others in your region.

 

73

 

Ed  N1UR