[VHFcontesting] CW ops, pse qrs when contesting

[Paul Kiesel]

I'd like to add a comment, if I may, before this
thread goes away.

If you want to be in the mainstream of weak signal
operating, you have to be proficient in morse code.
This means you have to practice to get up to a
reasonable speed. If you don't practice, but rather
wait until you need to use CW, you will loose out on
some the the action. There's no doubt about this.

Force yourself to practice the code. Listen to code
practice transmissions or regular QSOs on the HF bands
and practice your sending. Get that rate up. 

The guys who are proficient in the code will gladly
slow down for folks in the contest. After all, we want
the QSO points and we're glad you're using CW, too.

73,
Paul, K7CW

--- Brent Casavant <b.j.casavant at ieee.org> wrote:
> On Thu, 31 Jul 2003, Ed Kucharski wrote:
> 
> > One more thing about cw in vhf contests...   I
> have had many situations
> > where I have moved stations from 6 or 2m to 222MHz
> and up and signals will
> > be marginal on phone and I have asked the station
> I'm attempting to work to
> > try cw only to find out that there is no key
> available, or the key is on
> > the other radio etc.  On microwaves especially, cw
> is a much more reliable
> > mode and many more qso' can be made by using cw
> when the path won't support
> > ssb.  My suggestion is to have a key or keyer
> ready to go on your microwave
> > gear and even if your cw skills are weak most of
> us will be patient and
> > slow down enough to make that 2, 3 or 4 point qso!
> 
> I have to thank whoever it was who took lots of time
> to try to work
> me on CW back in January when I sent PSE QRS 5WPM. 
> Unfortunately we
> never completed because of the tremendous amount of
> other CW signals
> near us such that I never was sure of the gentlemans
> call despite
> ten minutes of trying.  (In case the OM is on this
> list, it was on
> 2m just below the SSB calling frequency, and I was
> in the N0RPM
> limited multi station).
> 
> One thing that would help me, as a relatively poor
> CW operator (but
> trying to improve) is if I knew what the standard CW
> exchange was
> for a VHF contest.  I know all the same information
> as phone will be
> passed, but I'm not sure the order to expect the
> information in or
> how many times to expect each element to be
> repeated.
> 
> I find it strange that VHF contesting is my biggest
> motivation for
> improving my code.
> 
> Thanks,
> Brent Casavant
> 
> -- 
> Brent Casavant			http://www.angeltread.org/
> KD5EMB				-.- -.. ..... . -- -...
> 44 54'24"N 93 03'21"W 907FASL	EN34lv
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