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

[W0MU Mike Fatchett]

and how many would actually find it it fun and do it.  The sending of 
the random code is simple.

This idea would be sure to scare people away off.  I agree that it would 
separate the players from the pretenders and kill the rate.

W0MU


On 3/21/2018 9:59 AM, Gerry Hull wrote:
> It certainly would, Mats...  It would be interesting to see how far rates
> would fall.
>
> 73,
>
> Gerry W1VE
>
> On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 10:57 AM, Mats Strandberg <sm6lrr at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> The real thrill (or challenge), would be If a contest consisted of a
>> combination of five randomly created letters and numbers, and if those
>> numbers were changed in every QSO. The various Contest softwares should be
>> equipped with that random generator. That would be truly a differentiator!
>>
>> 73 de RM2D Mats
>>
>> On Wed, 21 Mar 2018 at 16:32, Gerry Hull <gerry at yccc.org> wrote:
>>
>>> 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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