[SCCC] High Speed CW Contesting Comments Solicited

[Bill Haddon]

>Bob NC6Q wrote to the SCCC reflector:

 >Can you  actually work a whole contest only working other high speed ops?
Are
 >there that  many CW operators out there?

Hi Bob,

I am the Contest Director and "inventor" of the NS Ladder competition, held
three times a year for 10 weeks each session on Thursday nights.  see
http://www.ncccsprint.com/

Each contest session is just 30 minutes . . the idea was to mimic a real
athletic sprint.. . we like to say that ops are out of mental breath by the
end, and this is in fact true.  Cw speeds have escalated.

Originally we allowed duplicate QSOs to keep the rate high, but we dropped
that with increased participation, now about 50-70 stations per week. [but
sometimes in the non-ladder weeks we have contests which do allow dupes for
very high rates --- N6RO manages these non-ladder sessions].

The speeds get high. . but we have, for the most part, an exceedingly
courteous bunch who slow down as necessary. . .quite a number of stations
run the contest at 25 wpm or less.

However, we area aware that not everyone is able or even wants to zoom along
at 30 wpm or more, so we sponsor a Slow NS or SNS 30 minutes earlier. .
that's run by Mike, W9RE, of the SMC.

The advantage of higher speeds? 1) First, it's very satisfying, at least
when ur done :-)   2) It improves proficiency, which is valuable in any
contest, as Doug noted in his reply.   3)  Participating stations and ops
are always in "top shape" for any upcoming weekend contest.

We'd be glad to have you, and any other SCCC folks join us!  Art, W6KY has
been a recent participant, and Randy, W6SJ a past one.

73 Bill n6zfo

PS I'm a bit of an imposter on the SCCC reflector.these . . I lived part
time in San Juan Capistrano for 3 years while working at the Nichols
Institute (Quest Diagnostics) in the Ortega Canyon, commuting home to SF
area every 10 days or so..  But then we bought the top of a mountain at
Clear Lake, and commute went from 4.5 hours to 12 hours, so I quit and now
put my time into running a small winery and doing some ham radio.




On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 9:14 PM, Doug Brandon N6RT <n6rt at dabware.com> wrote:

> Hi Bob,
>
> Sorry for the delay, but better late than never.  Contesters come in
> one of two categories, casual and competitive.  The bottom line is
> the faster you can make QSOs, the higher your score is likely to
> be.  Any good contester who is CQing at high speed and has a station
> call in at a much lower speed should slow down as a courtesy.  I know
> I do.  Most serious competitors will purposely slow down their CQs
> periodically to attract the more casual contester who may not be a speed
> demon.
>
> Keep up the good work, practice makes perfect!
>
>    73 de Doug, N6RT
>
>
> Bob NC6Q wrote:
>  >As a relatively new contester, I have posted to this group several times,
>  >thinking my "neophyte" comments would help other neophyte contesters not
>  >feel  alone with their frustrations. I guess it comes from the
> teacher in me.
>  >Specifically, I've commented on how difficult it's been for me to make CW
>  >Contest QSOs with those operators sending at speeds higher than I can
>  copy.
>  >
>  >I've been practicing diligently, almost daily, for several years now, and
>  >just this week I've started to "feel comfortable" copying at 25 wpm. Wow!
> A
>  >cool  feeling! A few letters are still problematic, but I feel I've hit
> some
>  >sort of  milestone this week. And, I plan to go as far as I can--30, 35,
>  >higher? I  want to be one of those QRQ guys too. I really like this
> stuff.
>  >
>  >I would like to hear from some of you who do operate CW contests at
>  >"higher" speeds, 30, 35 + wpm. You must do it because there's a
>  >pay-off. Besides
>  >it just "feeling good," there must be other rewards, that keep it going.
> Can
>  >you  actually work a whole contest only working other high speed ops? Are
>  >there that  many CW operators out there? I'd like to know. And I hope
> you'd
>  >say "yes,"  because that would perhaps bode well for the future of CW. Do
>  >many people ask  you to QRS? What percentage would you say? Any
> other thoughts
>  >on this  topic?
>  >
>  >I would sincerely like to hear comments on this from the perspective of
> ops
>  >who do operate CW contests at
>  >"high" speed. It seems we just don't hear or  read about things like
> that.
>  >Thanks very much.
>  >
>  >73,
>  >Bob  Grubic, NC6Q
>  >Signal Hill, CA
>
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