[CQ-Contest] Serial # contests, speed?

[Gerry Hull]

Hey Mike,

These are interesting questions.  I have the following opinions (which may
be fundamentals for most of you guys, but will share anyway)

- Never send faster than you can comfortably copy
- Always adjust your speed for conditions.
- Page Up/Down is your best friend  (or whatever the speed control is in
your logger).  Modulate speed to satisfy the mob in a big pile, or to
attract slower listeners.
- In RDX, speed and accuracy is king.   Lots of the ops in this contest
love speed.  However, logging is brutal.  Big penalties if you make
mistakes.
- In WPX, not as much.
- Always use Supercheck ("Check" window in N1MM+) to verify you got the
right call, or find the call if you got a partial.
- I tend to have a slightly higher run speed than Scott -- typically 37.
 However, if the pile is big, I will go as high as 41.   Making mistakes or
asking for fills is a killer -- so never do a speed where you will make
errors (sending or receiving).   CQing in contesting is pure marketing.  As
stations tune by you, or come to your spot, they will listen and quickly
determine if calling in is "worth it", or they want to move on to the next
station.  "In and out" is what they want.
- In all my years of contesting, I've never found that going consistently
fast has hurt scores.  If I hear a "real" QRS caller, I'll use PgUp/PgDn to
adjust.   Though I can't tell you how many "straight key" guys I've worked
going 35+ wpm.  They never ask for repeats.

Just food for thought...

73,

Gerry VE1RM

On Mon, Mar 11, 2019 at 8:42 PM Mike Smith VE9AA <ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:

> For contests like RDX and WPX where the exchange is a serial #, do you:
>
>
>
> ·       Go as fast as always. (34-36wpm) , risking your qso partner
> busting the #,but keeping rate high.
>
> ·       Go a bit slower (30-32wpm), hoping the QRS improves the copy &
> reduces busted exchanges.
>
> ·       Send everything just as fast as normal (whatever that speed is),
> but use brackets <<>> (a la N1MM) to slow down JUST the serial #
>
> ·       Slow down only for obviously slow callers
>
> ·       Something else?
>
>
>
> Inquiring minds.
>
>
>
> I don’t want to skew the results, so I won’t say (yet) what I do.
>
>
>
> MikeAA
>
>
>
> Mike, Coreen & Corey
>
> Keswick Ridge, NB
>
>
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