[CQ-Contest] Here's an idea...

[Gerry Hull]

Guys,

In the end, it's about having fun, is it not?  This is a hobby.

What skills are we testing in a competition?

CW copying ability is simply one aspect.  In contests like CQWW CW, I would
argue that CW copying ability, among the serious competitors, is not one
of the major factors because all signals are 599 and the Zone is entered
automatically by the logging software.    If you are a serious competitor,
you've been copying
CW for a long time.   Call signs are not an issue.

In a contest like NAQP, or any contest where there is a "friend" file, you
are trying to get a best rate and multipliers.   Getting an odd name from
somebody surprises you,
and may mess up your fun.  So -- everyone tends to use their common name.
 Using an uncommon name may satisfy your need to "test" other operators,
but it won't help your score.  If you are having fun, so be it.   If you
have an uncommon name and are itching to win, you have to bear that
burden.  Be ACTIVE.    We often honor people when they become an SK by
sending their name.   This may or may not impact the score.  However, it is
a social part of our contesting community.   Sometimes the score is not the
most important factor.

If we had a contest (and I believe there are already some) where we
exchanged 5 letter groups of random characters, the CW copying ability
would REALLY be tested.
Would such a contest be popular?

I agree that the KCDX CW copying event is a rush!  Lots of fun, pure CW
copying ability.  Looking forward to it this year.

73,

Gerry W1VE, VE1RM, VY1AAA

On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 9:02 PM, Yuri VE3XB <ve3xb at rogers.com> wrote:

> Bob,
>
>
>
> Thanks for the response and sharing your opinion. Very interesting concept
> indeed.
>
> For the sake of argument I will agree that I was wrong and you, having so
> many QSOs during your contesting career, are entitled to start judging the
> skills and abilities of the other people. And this is not arrogance, not at
> all.
>
>
>
> Also, I'm on your side regarding actual copying of the exchange during a
> contest and not just hitting the "Enter" key.
>
>
>
> But let's go back to the original post where all that started. During NAQP
> in order to make a valid contact we need to copy call-sign, name and QTH,
> right? So let's assume that I copied from you: KQ2M, EEMIO and CT. Before
> logging this QSO, I check what is typed in and I can see your call, your
> state BUT, being CANADIAN who came from EASTERN EUROPE, I don't recognize
> any name. So what do I do - I ask for the repeat and therefore failing your
> "test". Failing not because I miscopied the information you've sent, but
> because I've never been to Haiti! Kool, isn't it?
>
>
>
> Due to aging HAM radio population we getting more and more experienced
> operators who tend to become "On The Air" policemen and judges checking on
> others. Some, for example, can put kilowatt carrier on DX frequency and
> they
> don't mean harm to us, just "testing" our ability to copy weak signals from
> under the jamming interference. The others crank output power down to
> milliwatts to check your receiving abilities. All of them don't care about
> scores - they just having good time.
>
>
>
> Back to the Subject.
>
>
>
> Bob, to test our and your own copying skills why don't you come to Crown
> Plaza on May 19th after the Contest Dinner for annual Kansas City DX Club
> Pile-Up competition? There is going to be crowd of great people who came
> from all over the world, many friends, lots of fun, camaraderie and booze.
> Everyone is equal - doesn't matter how much $$$ invested in aluminum,
> equipment and location, whether you are from right or wrong coast - 5
> minutes of adrenalin rush and your results are there. You used to attend
> this contest but for some reason stopped coming in 1999. After ten years it
> could be one of your greatest comebacks. Hope to see you there.
>
>
>
> Cheers and 73,
>
>
>
> Yuri VE3XB
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Bob Shohet, KQ2M [mailto:kq2m at kq2m.com]
>
>
>
>
>
> Yuri, it amazes me that some people make comments before thinking about
> what
> they actually write and those same people often make assumptions about what
> they are writing before having any information.
>
>
>
> By definition, contests are about testing your skills and the skills of
> others.  What makes a contest valid is the test of actually COPYING
> information correctly not just relying on the computer to fill it in for
> you
> when you press "enter".
>
>
>
> And because I send with my keyer and not my keyboard, whatever I send, I
> have to send myself correctly at whatever speed I am sending it.  You can
> be
> sure that tests my skill plenty - and after 900,000+ CONTEST qso's, about
> 600,000 of which were made on cw, the last time that I checked, I was still
> doing pretty well in the skill category.   So NO, it is not like "QRP
> ops..... "yada, yada, yada".  I am actually sending exchanges, NOT my
> computer and .
>
> you might do well to ask next time before you assume.  There are few people
> alive who have made as many CW qso's as I have and probably no one has ever
> made as many cw qso's as me by sending with their keyer rather than their
> keyboard/computer.
>
>
>
> I am sure that the Haitian man named Eemio that I knew would take issue
> with
> your characterization of "this kind of joke".  There are MANY names which
> are unfamiliar to most Americans/Canadians/Eastern Europeans, etc., I
> certainly don't think that choosing to use an actual name is a joke -
> either
> to send or receive.  Waste of "valuable" time?  Hardly!  If you know what
> the exchange is before it is even sent then what is actually being tested?
> Certainly not COPYING skill; the only thing being "tested" is having enough
> coordination to use the keyboard/computer to log for you.
>
>
>
> I would never begrudge anyone sending me an unusual name or a name that I
> didn't expect, any more than I would begrudge an operator from using qrp or
> qrpp.  Actually, many lower power guys call me because they know that I
> will
> listen for them and take the time and make the effort to dig them out -
> many
> stations won't do that.  I certainly don't complain about it or make the
> statement that you did:
>
>
>
> "if you weren't expecting this kind of joke during contest rush. It just
> waste of valuable time, nothing more".
>
>
>
> You might want to reconsider that  - it sounds pretty arrogant.
>
>
>
> I thinks it's nice that low power guys or people with unusual callsigns
> would call me even though the burden falls on me (and others) to get their
> callsign and information correctly through the contest levels of qrm, qrn,
> and qsb.  I appreciate that they are in the contest and raising the level
> of
> activity for all participants.  And copying 599TT1 or 59950MW is a lot more
> interesting than 599KW.  Same with working TG0FRACAP or any of hundreds of
> unusual and never before heard callsigns that we are not expecting.
>
>
>
> I get that some people don't like to be "challenged" by something unusual.
> Yeah, it isn't easy and slows down the rate.  And some people don't have a
> sense of humor about some things, and aren't very tolerant or forgiving.
> But really, this is only a contest.  It isn't about truly important stuff
> like a person's health or safety or family.   Life's too short to argue
> about contest exchanges.
>
>
>
> 73
>
>
>
> Bob KQ2M
>
>
>
>
>
> From:  <mailto:ve3xb at rogers.com> Yuri VE3XB
>
> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2018 11:07 PM
>
> To:  <mailto:cq-contest at contesting.com> cq-contest at contesting.com
>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Here's an idea...
>
>
>
> Always amazes me.
>
> Some smart guy comes up with "brilliant" idea and he starts testing
> everyone
> else skills but not his own... It's like QRP ops keep complaining about
> big
> gun stations that couldn't copy their tiny signals but never call weak
> stations themselves.
>
> As a member of QRQ club I can copy CW at 40 wpm and higher speeds but I
> would definitely make sure that I copied EEMIO right and will ask for the
> repeat. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you weren't expecting this
> kind of joke during contest rush. It just waste of valuable time, nothing
> more. On the other hand if I had nothing better to do I would come back
> with
> some fancy name (like Enine, my old friend's name, for example) and see how
> well the joker will copy it. Not sure he will.
>
> I guess that most people care about how to get contest exchange copying
> easier for their party, but looks like some think otherwise, having fun at
> someone else expense...
>
>
> 73 Yuri VE3XB
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CQ-Contest [ <mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com>
> mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bob Shohet, KQ2M
>
> A lot time ago in the CW Sprint, I used EEMIO (sent at 40+ wpm of course
> :-) and Scandalla amongst other names.  EEMIO was pretty funny - almost
> impossible to copy correctly at that speed - it was a true test of operator
> skill and honesty.  Skill to get it right the first time and honesty to ask
> again for it when they weren't sure that they got it right.  As you would
> expect, the best ops got it right on the first or second try, most of the
> rest either needing MANY repeats (clearly expecting Bob) or just faking it
> and sending "r'" or "tu".  I used other unusual names as well to "test" the
> ops.  I was more interested in having fun with that than achieving a good
> score.
>
> Once in the mid-80's, on the way back home after a YCCC meeting in Mass., I
> operated for an hour at Hal, W1NN's station in CT, and worked K8CC on two
> bands with two different names.  When I got back to eastern Long Island in
> NY (where I was living at the time), I then worked K8CC again on a 3rd band
> using a different name from another state.  So I worked Dave a total of
> three times - from two different states on three bands and with three
> different names (one name per band).
>
> Dave being the FB op that he is, correctly copied each name change and
> state
> change.  I'm pretty sure that Dave still remembers that contest.   :-)
>
> 73
>
> Bob KQ2M
>
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