[CQ-Contest] Acking Sprint QSO's

[marko.n5zo at gmail.com]

What am I missing...?  Written rule says already this: "You may send this
information in any order."

Personally I always try to send information in preferred order, but it
happens to me sometimes that program (N1MM+) is in wrong mode ie in CQ mode
and I answered someone pressing F4 and then my message goes out in
non-preferred order.  Hmmm, maybe I need to include macro to put program in
S&P mode into my F4 button...  But anyway, written rules specifically state
that order is not important.  

Actually I think in my operating this situation of non-preferred message
order happens mostly because I operate SO2R with 2 networked computers and
N1MM+ on other radio 2 may have been left on CQ mode while I was doing QSOs
on radio 1 and then when I'm done with those I answer someone on radio 2 by
pressing F4.  I will be thinking improvements to remedy this and will try
those in NCCC Sprints.
73 de Marko N5ZO

Message: 7
Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2024 21:31:46 -0600
From: Jack Brindle <jackbrindle at me.com>
To: CQ-Contest <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Acking Sprint QSO's
Message-ID: <0F833221-A839-472E-88FB-F22337F8CF04 at me.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=utf-8

Nice troll, Steve, but I?ll bite.

There actually is a problem in NA Sprint. It involves the exchange order. It
seems the Sprint format has evolved over the years, and that has been
brought into NA Sprint in the form of ?unwritten rules?.

The NA Sprint rules, for the exchange, state:
"7. Exchange: To have a valid exchange, you must send all of the following
information: 
The other station?s call sign, your call sign, a sequential serial number,
your name, and your location (state, province or country). You may send this
information in any order.
For example:
 N6TR K7GM 154 RICK NC
 K7GM 122 TREE OR N6TR

Note that it fully states that either format (or any other) is perfectly OK.
But, in practice, this is not the case. The unwritten rule states that when
you send CQ, you must send the exchange as follows:
N6TR K7GM 154 RICK NC
and when doing the S&P role, your exchange must take the form:
K7GM 122 TREE OR N6TR

I used the second form for my exchange. Eight very experienced Sprinters
responded over the end of my call, so that I did not hear the beginning of
their transmission, including the serial number. I managed to get a fill
from a few, but the rest will look forward to a NIL.

One of the rules we push to new contesters is to read the rules before a
contest. In this case the rules lead you astray. 

The SSB Sprint has the same rule, but they also have a tips section that
explains the format you should use for the exchange whether you are running
or S&P. That tips section is referred to in the exchange rule.

My suggestion is that it is time to take a good look at the NA Sprint rules
and bring them up to date with these new unwritten rules which have evolved
over time. If the order matters (and it is clear that it does), then the
rules should say so!

Otherwise we have a contest that is very unfriendly to new contestants who
don?t know the unwritten rules. This type of contest will eventually die?

73,
Jack, W6FB