[CQ-Contest] [Skimmertalk] CW Open and the RBN

[Michael Adams]

[Distribution trimmed; groups I'm not subscribed to removed.]

I just grep'd through the logs from my cluster node.  You were mostly spotted correctly, with a few stray ON2IC's and a couple of N2TC's and N2ICE's in the mix, so I'd say that it's a demonstration of the challenges of automating copying code in an HF environment.

One thing I did pick up on was that the error rate increased as your speed increased.   The skimmer spots showed you mostly running around 34 wpm, but you did pick up the pace a couple of times to 36-38wpm, and when you did, you were more frequently mis-copied.

Perhaps an argument could be made that those who like to run faster than 30-34 wpm might be well-served to throw an extra half-space around their calls.  

Another argument could be made that folks who use skimmer spots need to tweak their filters to remove some of the busted spots. I'm a firm believer that optimizing one's spot filters is key to success (or at least maximizing fun) when operating assisted.  

I didn't notice too many busted spots yesterday (I wasn't very active in CWO, but I do keep SpotCollector running pretty much all the time) because of my filtering...but my filters do allow uncertain calls from uncommon entities through.  Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Denmark (ON, OK, OW) aren't uncommon, but I do frequently get alerts for Congo and Corsica (TN, TK) on Wednesdays during the CWTs. 

(I also have my node set to reject spots for about 25 busted calls ending in "CWT" generated by some CWT regulars whom the skimmers have trouble discerning the final space in "CQ call CWT" transmissions.  I don't think they're necessarily doing anything "wrong"; it's just a constraint on the technology involved; an annoyance that a tweak on my end avoids.)

-- 
Michael Adams | mda at n1en.org

-----Original Message-----
From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces+mda=n1en.org at contesting.com> On Behalf Of Steve London
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] [Skimmertalk] CW Open and the RBN

Please define "insufficient space".

Here was the only CQ message I used: cq cwo n2ic

Exactly one character space between each element. YCCC SO2R Box Winkey emulation used. Local, not remote operation.

I was repeatedly spotted as ON2IC.
Skimmer issue ?

73,
Steve, not ON2IC