[UK-CONTEST] WAECW - QTCs

[Nigel Cawthorne]

Copying those WAE QTCs:

For what it's worth G3TXF uses a 'hybrid' method in logging
incoming QTCs. The QTCs are first written down on paper
as they come in, and then immediately transcribed into
the logging program (using Alt-L in CT). Yes, this means there's
a bit of down-time while typing in the QTCs, but, in my case
at least, there's less chance of a major foul-up. Also there's
no merit in waiting to the end of the contest to transcribe them,
because (a) it's easier to remember any corrections immediately
after taking down the QTCs and (b) you'd have no record of how
many QTCs you were 'owed' by different stations during the
remainder of the contest.

Computer sending has improved the quality of transmitted
QTCs beyond all recognition, and hence makes them 
much easier to copy at higher speeds. I can remember
WAE-CW contests in earlier days where many participants
struggled to send QTCs in a half-way tidy/consistent fashion.

The only odd-ball QTC format that I remember from this past 
weekend (apart from abbreviating the time to the 'minutes')
was one station who appeared to send TIME, CALL, SERIAL
and then for good measure sent the same TIME again at the 
end of the QTC. Another station, who was hand keying, sent
a "/" between each element of the QTC. 

"Callsign familiarity" also plays a significant role. Familiarity
with callsigns in general (which is a major key to good DX
pile-up operating) as well as short-term familiarity with the
calls that are active in the contest. By the end of WAE-CW
the incoming QTCs consisted almost entirely of calls which
had been copied time and time again in the same contest.

Before doing WAE-CW this year I had in mind a 'bench-mark' 
of "two QTCs per QSO", which was achieved.

73 - Nigel G3TXF