Topband: Contest dupes

[john at kk9a.com]

Good advice Jon.  I work dupes, it's frustrating when you call someone and
they won't work you, stating QSO B4. Then your choices are to either move on
and forget the QSO or have a long discussion and waste everyone's time.  If
you are SO2R you risk losing your run frequency by wasting too much time on
the second radio.  A long time ago I arrived in Aruba during the middle of a
CQ 160m contest.  After setting things up, the very first station that I
called (which would be my first QSO of the contest) said we worked before
and started CQing again.  

John KK9A



Jon Zaimes, AA1K wrote:

Sometime during the second night of this weekend's CQ 160 meter CW contest,
I answered a W station that was calling CQ. They came back with "dupe"
though they were not in my log. I said "no" and sent a report. 
They came back with "already worked" and didn't send me a report. 
I repeated "not in log" and sent a report. They came back with a time that I
was apparently in their log. But they were not in my log.
Since it was a slow period I persisted and they finally sent me a report. 
But this fellow wasted far more of both of our time than if he had just
worked me when I called. There is no penalty for working a dupe -- the log
checkers just ignore duplicates. 
Had I not persisted, however, this W station would have been penalized since
his alleged QSO was not in my log. 
So folks, if someone calls you and you think it is a dupe, just work 'em
again. They may have actually been working someone else, or flubbed entry on
the keyboard of your callsign. Just log it a second time if you think it is
a dupe.


73/Jon

Jon P. Zaimes, AA1K
Tower climber for hire
Felton, Delaware
http://www.aa1k.us/