[CQ-Contest] Last Night's Sprint

[Mike Smith VE9AA]

I am not an old pro at the Sprints but have played in them from time to time
over the years. The REAL pro’s will have sage advice I bet.

I really only experienced this (which I’ll describe) a couple of times last
night.  Once when I was getting (or I should say try TRYING to get ) a fill
on a weak western station on 80m
I gave up after sending “NR” then next a
“string of dits” both of which failed.  I put it down to the fact that last
night especially, stations west of the Great Mississippi were pretty weak
here on 80m.

The sprints are not for everyone.  They are adrenaline charged, high octane,
vy fast paced events.  Everyone is on edge and in a hurry (as they should be
I guess).  What is it they say “The fastest 4 hours in Radiosport?”

I always stuck around and gave a super fast “dit dit” (as a TU) on
completion of a QSO) and only had minor trouble on getting fills three
times
.2 of which succeeded and one which failed (as I listed above) but
overall, out of courtesy I myself waited until I heard a TU, R, T ,E or EE
before sending my call, as MOST did.  Not everyone, but most
as I saw it.
Everyone everyone  NEEDS to give that ACK at the end, because the more
stations that simply leave and do NOT give it, the more INSTANTANEOUS
callers will eventually start to happen, the more years pass.

I fat fingered 2 QSO’s by (I think) unlocking my “NUMLOCK” on my keyboard.
(numbskull move) and so I lost the SN# from 2 Q’s, so when I asked the same
stn later on for a QSO, was told QSO B4
.my own fat finger numbskull
move....doh

I did not notice like you did a preponderance of stations keeping on
calling, but in the Sprints once the inrush of stations call, as the runner,
you had better dang well respond to someone
..anyone within ~1 second or
yes, you’ll get a bunch of callers again.  It’s not CQWW or ARRL DX where
you have all weekend to ‘work them later”.  In this test you may only get
one chance to work a VE5, VE9, KP2 or NV,NE or who knows what rare mult.
The tensions will be high !

Overall I had a really great time.  I find that the more of these I do, the
ever so slightly better I hope I get at them. It's slightly tougher from
here, as I am sure it is from KP2, KL7 or KH6, but that's all part of it,
isn't it? ;-D

At least that’s been my experience.

A great time and thanks to y’all once again !

CU (all of a sudden!) in the next one.

Mike VE9AA “NB”
(wires in the woods)


Kind of a mixed experience.  My first Sprint in maybe 5 years, and I
had real trouble getting into the rhythm of the thing.  If it hadn't
been for an N1MM+ message file with some built-in helps, I would have
been really at sea. Finally packed it in at 90 minutes, without ever
getting to 80.

I was disappointed by the level of operating - particularly by those
who continued calling despite the called station having asked for
a particular station (with a partial call), as well as those failing to wait
until the previous QSO was really completed (with an "R" or other ack).  On
the other hand, I made a lot of mistakes too.

104 Q's in 90 minutes, 38 mults = 3,952 points.  K3/KPA-1500,
Carolina Windom at ~40 feet (my tribander is down in the back yard)

--
73, Pete N4ZR


Mike, Coreen & Corey
Keswick Ridge, NB