[RTTY] 5NN

[john at kk9a.com]

Often I am leery of asking for repeats, since the station is likely to
send the whole exchange again and I still may not get what I am looking
for.  I really like Ed's idea of hitting the F-key multiple times
depending on circumstances. I assume that it prints on a new line each
time, but I see nothing wrong with that.

John KK9A


To:	"'RTTY Reflector'" <rtty at contesting.com>
Subject:	Re: [RTTY] 5NN
From:	"Ed Muns" <ed at w0yk.com>
Reply-to:	ed at w0yk.com
Date:	Thu, 18 Feb 2016 09:50:09 -0800

Six repeats of a serial number may be appropriate in some instances but
certainly not all, and I would argue not even the majority of instances.
Based on conditions and the specific moment the repeat is needed, you can
guess pretty close how many repeats are a good balance between communicating
accurately and being excessive.

Tap your [My Call] key the number of times you deem necessary for the repeat
situation.  Sometimes that may be only 1 or 2, if you know that your first
transmission was covered by QRM but is plenty strong at the other end and
now the frequency is clear.  OTOH, if you gave the serial number twice in
your original exchange, then again 3 times in the first repeat, perhaps a
second repeat of 6 times your serial number is appropriate.

But, I'd argue that sending it 6 times, every repeat, is unnecessarily
excessive.  The appropriate number of repeats is subjective and varies
widely by the specific situation, so it is difficult to agree on precisely
what the right number is.

However, as you pointed out in another post, sending only the serial number
when asked for a repeat is so much better than hitting your standard
exchange key.  In the time it takes to send all the unneeded (and,
unrequested) information in the standard exchange message, you might as well
send the serial number 6+ times!   ;>)

Ed W0YK