[UK-CONTEST] Contest QSO rates

[Clive Whelan]

G4FNl wrote

<When using contest logging software, one of the great facilities is the QSO
rate tracker. It does a great job of pushing you to improve your rate during
a contest. I don't believe that any contests reward or score based on the
rate (I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm mistaken). Has anyone any
thoughts about including the *best rate per hour award* for specific
contests?>

What I find very instructive is to watch the relativity of the 10 min and
hourly rates. Generally speaking if they are about equal then I feel I am
"steady as she goes", fairly obvious I suppose. If the 10 min rate is
seriously lagging the hourly rate, then it may be time to move to another
band. otoh if the 10 min. rate is ahead of the hourly rate, it's probably
best to stay put, even if it doesn't instinctively feel good. I guess we all
feel it's time to move on when we CQ 3 or 4 times with no reply, but this
may not be the right thing to do, and the 10/60 minute comparison is a much
more objective measure, especially at 0300 when the grey matter becomes more
viscous!


What is particularly interesting from my personal p.o.v. is the rate at
which SO2R is a viable strategy. Personally, at anything greater than 120
p.h. on the run radio, my S&P performance falls away significantly, and I
feel that SO2R then has a negative impact on my overall performance. Above
150 p.h. I just
h-a-v-e to devote 100% concentration to the run, if I am not to become error
prone, or have to ask for embarrassing repeats, which in any event slows
things down. Of course it does help i.m.o. if you are a big gun, and are
confident of raising a mult on the S&P radio, and/or sustaining a good arte
on the run radio.

 Since I have punk antennas and only run medium power ( viz 400 watts!), the
strategy is rarely in doubt. Of course it might well be that if I could more
often sustain higher rates on the run radio, then I might improve my
performance in SO2R, such that I can run 200+p.h. and still find good mults
on the S&P radio; this remains to be determined, probably not at this QTH,
maybe not at all! Another issue in this regard of course, is whether one
uses one radio in each ear, or so called latch mode ( e.g. in the W5XD
controller, perhaps others?) The physiology here is interesting. I always
thought that I was quite good at "the cocktail party syndrome", being the
analogue of "one radio per ear" in SO2R, but now I find that I prefer the
latch mode, and to switch 100% concentration from left to right in rapid
bursts. It may well be that this is an OF syndrome of course; what do the
young bucks think?


73


Clive
GW3NJW