[UK-CONTEST] 59 reports on VHF

[David G3YYD]

Let us face it if there is a way to simplify the message exchange and be 
within the rules then it would be foolish of a contester not to do so.

It is very easy to simplify RS(T) and thus it is done. I always send 
59(9) and will do so as long as the rules allow it.

The serial number cannot be simplified as it changes all the time.

The locator code cannot be simplified, but you can use previous contests 
and rag chew QSOs to pre-fill the locator code. It is a lot easier to 
check the entry rather than get the entry.

I find that most guys I worked on Tuesday evening I had worked before so 
the only real variable after the callsign was the serial number. A few 
station were foolish enough to give me other than 59. If I can hear them 
Q5 then I know from experience they will copy me Q5 especially as I use 
a K3 with its wonderful speech compression so real RS reports add no value.

If the contest committee want to make the message exchange more complex 
to further test contesters communication skills then forget about RST 
and think of something else that varies and is unable to be pre-filled. 
ROPOCO is wonderful for that. Or how about QSO serial number plus last 
QSO received serial number?

However the most foolish thing that many stations did was waffle on with 
words that just wasted air time and did not contribute the contest 
exchange. And the worst of the lot was those who had several station 
call them and then waffled with the first station - I quickly QSY down 
the band to work some one else when I realised they were one of those. 
They probably lost that QSO not to regain it later on.

David G3YYD