[UK-CONTEST] QRS Contest

[Ian White GM3SEK]

Clive GM3POI wrote:
>    Probably like handling pileups getting up to speed in cw contests 
>is probably best dealt with away from the contest environment. Whilst 
>on air contest experience is in valuable, I think it's better to have 
>Daily sections using software such as Morse runner.


Having got into this HF CW contesting lark rather late in life, I am 
much closer to the beginner stage than most of my contemporaries - but 
I'm determined to do it. For anyone with a G3 callsign, it's time to 
start doing new things to keep the brain agile :-)


MorseRunner is excellent! Free to download, at:
http://www.dxatlas.com/

It lets you choose your own operating conditions. Start by having it 
feed you single callsigns at your own chosen speed, and learn how to 
work them one by one. This is perfect for training the reflex to hear a 
callsign or serial number, and automatically type them straight in. (I 
can copy Morse by ear, and I can type, but the two separate reflexes 
didn't join up automatically for me. That knocked me back for a while, 
and it needed some practice to make the new connection.)

When you're ready for it, you can choose to make MorseRunner ramp up the 
speed, the pileups, the QRM, QRN, QSB and stations trying to steal your 
frequency, all the way up to absolute hell on earth... but it lets you 
progress into that at your own speed.

It's amazingly realistic, and like many computer games, you quickly get 
pulled into it. VE3NEA is a highly talented programmer (HamCAP, DXatlas, 
IonoProbe etc) and he obviously knows his CW contesting. Some things are 
not there, but if you can handle what MR is capable of throwing at you, 
you're well prepared for the rest of reality.

In order to raise your speed, you do need to stretch yourself beyond 
where you are now, and obviously that increases the risk that you might 
"crash and burn". Well do it anyway - that's what training is *for*. 
And if you do make a cock-up, nobody dies, the computer won't laugh at 
you, nobody need be embarrassed, nobody even knows. You can just pick up 
and carry on. For many nervous CW operators (myself very much included) 
that is the biggest benefit of all.

MorseRunner does train you to use one particular set of function keys to 
choose which messages to send next, and it also has the "Enter sends 
next message" facility. Lack of configurability in this area is one of 
the main criticisms. On the other hand, MR's message keys do use one of 
the standard layouts, very similar to CT, WL and MM.

MR will also let you use a paddle keyer, but it won't read your Morse. 
The keyer has to be something like Winkey which translates the paddles 
into an ASCII character stream. I haven't tried that feature.


>When that noticeable improvement is there then move to the easier 
>contests.

I found AFS *was* easier than MorseRunner :-)))

What no program can teach, of course, is operating tactics - when to 
run, when to S&P - or indeed how to S&P, as its simulation is restricted 
to running - and when to change bands. But MR does help get you ready 
for that next level.


-- 

73 from Ian GM3SEK