[SECC] Who's problem is it?

[W5JR - Mike]

Scott, I do exactly what Hal suggests below. Crank the speed back if the station on the other end is missing the last dit and calling me W5JA. Some also call me M5JR and W5OR. One station insisted I was WH1R. Get your call straight first then send the prize. On several stations, I knew they were good enough to complete my call correctly when they would send W5J? or JR and their report. In those cases, I send my call, then the report. They always fill in the missing piece and send TU. I have a Function key set up to send just JR at one or two reduced speed clicks to facilitate sending W5JR JR JR without reaching for the key. But in tough band conditions, the key allows you to space out the characters if needed. You may have heard many other stations that end in "H" slow down the H in their CQ. Same for those that contain an EE either on the front or back. From my personal experience, I had to add space between a pair of "I's" to keep ops from making them into an H. 

And the worst year ever was back in the day before memory keyers of hand keyering W5SH/5. That was brutal. We spent as much time correcting calls as making calls. 

tnx
Mike

On Nov 29, 2011, at 8:18 AM, "Hal Kennedy" <halken at comcast.net> wrote:

> Thought I would jump in.  First Scott, as you know, KB4KBS is a handicap in itself.  Do whatever it takes to earn and get a 1X2, 2X2 or 2X1.  While getting vanity calls in the 4th district is hard – if you can, try for one that does not end in a dit.  My latest problem is the dit on the end of my last “G” is getting missed by some skimmers and reporting me as N4GM.  I am starting to dislike skimmers a lot…..
>  
> I’m with Lee.  In your situation, never send an exchange until the guy comes back with your correct call.  Keep at it as long as it takes.  The fact that you come back with only your call and no exchange tells the other guy he has it wrong.
>  
> I’m also with Lee on speed.  I can copy calls and exchanges at 50 WPM, but I don’t.  I have my speed settings in 2 WPM increments, some of the best contesters set up in thee WPM increments.  I spent 30% of my time at 31 WPM, probably 60% of my time at 29 WPM, and the last 10% hand keying with a keyer I have in parallel with the computer at speeds down to 15 WPM.  Under really tough conditions I was at 15 WPM on 160 at times.  Also, there was tremendous backscatter and multipath on 10 and 15 at times (sounds like echos).  There you may need to slow down a lot to get your call through.
>  
> When I can tell the other guy is really struggling with the front or back of my call, I will send that part alone several times:  N4GG, GG, GG, GG.  That usually does the trick and I will probably cut the speed down when I have to do that.
>  
> If you were logged wrong on the other end, you get the Q and the other guy gets a busted call which includes loss of the Q for him plus a penalty for him.  You are fine.
>  
> Lee has had the problem most of us have with domestic Qs.  The other guy may not log you.  This is poor sportsmanship and a long story unto itself.
>  
> My best advice – slow down.
>  
> 73,
> Hal N4GG
>   
>  
> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 7:24 AM, Scott Straw <scottstraw at mindspring.com> wrote:
>  
> One thing that I noticed during CQWW this past weekend is a worrisome number of times that my call was repeated back to be as KB4KBH, not the correct KB4KBS.  At 30-35WPM-plus, that fourth dit somehow mysteriously seemed to appear in my transmission.
> 
>  
>  I know it wasn't op error at my end; N1MM did ALL of my sending at that speed (a transmission rate dictated by the CQ-ing station, not by me).
> 
> Why send so fast if your experience shows folks have a problem with the S?  I spent most of the weekend varying between 29 and 31 wpm according to N1MM.  The other alternative is to slightly slow down the sending of the last letter, say by 2 or 3 wpm if it proves to be a problem for some.
> 
> My SOP was to send my call until recognized, then to send a signal report, my CQ zone, and then my call once again (599 {EXCH} * for those who understand N1MM macros).
> 
> That's a problem.  If the station thinks he's got your call right, once he's heard the exchange, he's on to the next QSO.  If you must send your call to let him know that there's a problem, do it before the exchange - no, not procedurally correct historically, but a necessary modification for the contest.
>  
> If I heard them recognize me wrong, I would patiently send my complete call again until they sent it correctly.  Alas, I fear I may have missed one or two.
> 
> Just make sure your callsign is sent back to you correctly before you send the exchange.  Once you send the exchange, the Q is done.
> 
> So, for the small fraction of stations that heard the phantom extra pip and logged my call wrong, I suppose I'll get a NIL, right?
> 
> I reckon.  If they have a U+1, the CQWW software may let you slide.  I don't know what their policy is these days.  I do know that I've been penalized by the CQWW committee for a QSO with a US MM station that the US MM didn't log.  I lost a double mult and they got no penalty for being lids.  
> 
> 73 de Lee
> --
> Lee Hiers, AA4GA
> www.aa4ga.com
> 
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