[UK-CONTEST] ARRL CW

[Gerry Lynch]

Colin Wilson wrote:
> For me I think a good  CQ rate is 
> between 26-28wpm, most can read this with ease and its fast enough to keep 
> your rates up 
It depends what you mean by a "good CQ rate".  One could argue that a 
good CQ speed is one at which both you and the people calling you are 
comfortable.  And if 26-28 wpm is the speed you're happy operating at, 
good for you.  Ultimately contesting is a hobby and the way that 
maximises your enjoyment of it is the right way to do it.

However, if you're talking about winning contests, your hypothesis is 
arguable from G.  Arguable, although not an argument I would agree with 
in any big rate contest on 80 and up.  (160 and BERU are different!)  
However, from the Caribbean in WW or ARRL CW, it isn't even close to 
being fast enough to either maximise the score or maximise the number of 
people who get to work your multiplier.  Hell, from a decent station in 
GI it isn't even close to being fast enough in peak propagation periods.

You cannot work four people a minute on CW if you're sending at 28 wpm.  
Simple as.

If the band is wide open and you've just been spotted, one can run quite 
successfully from the Caribbean at 42 wpm.  At G6PZ I had the keyer up 
to about 36 wpm after a few early cluster spots in last year's WW CW and 
it was the right thing to do.  Yes, it scares some people off, but if 
the pileup is getting too big to manage that's exactly what you want to 
do.  Joe Slow with his hand cranked 16 wpm will not slow down the rate 
in the middle of a big pileup (chaos *WILL* result, and screw things up 
for everyone), and if things thin out you can and should always back off 
the speed a little and he can get you then.

A contest is (and the name should be a giveaway here) a competitive 
activity.  Not a QSO party, a DX propagation challenge or a means of 
introducing newcomers to CW.  I remember starting in contesting and not 
being able to copy the guys blurring away at what was probably only 
around 30 wpm.  But there were, and still are, plenty of slower ops to 
pick off up the band for beginners, and like in any other competitive 
activity, one achieves more as one's skill level improves.  The way to 
get more people active in contesting is to have enough challenges for 
them to do once they get through the beginners phase - *not* to limit 
everyone to a mediocre level of skill.

Have a listen to where the really chaotic pileups occur in the next big 
contest - is it on the guys sending at 40 wpm (and contrary to the 
nonsense I hear on this reflector after every major contest, the only 
operator I've ever heard send much faster than that was 4L5A at D4B) or 
is it on the guys sending at 18 wpm?

As far as speeded up reports go, I'm with EI5DI.  I cannot understand 
the weird obsession G3SJJ has with attacking this.  I've done it, I 
don't do it any more, but I can't see what the big issue is.  Are you 
really worried that RU1A is going to give you a 589 report or something?

Oh, and yes, there were some disgustingly broad signals on 15 last 
weekend.  I'd add RL3A to the list of offenders.  But kudos to the E7 
station (can't remember the callsign, sorry) who I called to tell had 5 
kHz clicks who immediately adjusted something and returned to normality.

73

Gerry GI0RTN