[UK-CONTEST] ARRL DX SSB interesting exchange

[Kerr, Prof. K.M.]

Dear Andrew (and Dennis et al),
I do not think this was me you we trying to work but......

In most circumstances I observe the usual rule of just working all dupes and be done with it. However, there are times when it is very clear that you have been wrongly spotted when a whole series of dupes, from well know stations whom you would have hoped might have known better, start to call in. Then I believe, a judgement has to be made. If you have a series of half a dozen plus very loud stations suddenly adding to an already 'interesting' pile-up it slows everything down for the guys in the second or third layer you actually want to work, they get fed up and go away. If you are on limited time, limited opening etc etc, it may not be in your interests to just work 'em all again. This is a very different situation from the 'sporadic' dupe which is probably a function of bad logging at one end or the other.

Just such a thing happened to me on Sunday evening. I was not making a serious entry. I did about 45 mins on Saturday night and 3 hours on Sunday - 20m only. On Sunday evening and 600-odd QSOs to the good, I suddenly started to get called (again) from all the 'usual suspects' and smelt a rat. Despite repeated, very deliberate and slow call repetitions, these guys kept on calling. I even asked a few guys whom they thought they were working and confirmed my suspicions. It turned out I had been spotted by K1TTT as G5MX - thank you to whoever did that! K1TTT was in the group of new arrivals and was quite persistent in re-calling, despite my attempts at explanation.

Despite the fact that this slows me down and costs me points, it is quite depressing to see so many of those well-respected stations demonstrating such shabby operating.

Keith GM4YXI (GM5X)

-----Original Message-----
From: uk-contest-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:uk-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Andrews, F5VHY
Sent: 08 March 2011 06:49
To: UK-Contest
Subject: [UK-CONTEST] ARRL DX SSB interesting exchange

For most contests these days, there is no penalty for dupes and most people just work them again and let Cabrillo sort it out afterwards. Apart from anything else, it's quicker than the inevitable arguement over whether or not you have actually worked.

However, have you considered that the fault MIGHT have been at the LPL end? There is an increasing tendancy for people to just jump on packet or RBN spots and make a QSO without ever actually checking the on-air call. It's frequently the case that the spotted call is wrong. So a big pile-up suddenly appears from stations that have, in fact, already worked the guy.

This effect was quite noticeable in ARRL CW whe I was using TM6X. On a number of occasions, a pile of potential dupes suddenly appeared due solely to someone spotting me with an error in the call. The only remedy is to slow right down and send your call many times until they get the message!

73 de Dennis - F5VHY.
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