[WriteLog] Enter sends exch/QRZ?

[Gary AL9A]

Alan,

Tacking "TEST" to the end of a CQ does serve a purpose.  If you are tuning 
across the band in CW and hear just the "TEST" part of the message you know 
one thing right away.  Whoever the station is he is calling CQ to solicit a 
contact in a contest.  You now have several options other than wasting a few 
seconds for him to call CQ again.

1. Keep tuning.
2. If you are using a spotting cluster check the WL band map and see who, if 
anyone, is spotted there and hope that is the correct call.  Sometimes 
Skimmers get it wrong!
3. Call the station in the blind by sending only your call.  This is 
accepted practice anyway.  Even if you caught his call in the CQ, don't 
waste his time and yours by calling "W7XYZ de AD6E".  If the station 
responds with your call and his exchange, send your exchange absent his call 
sign.  This will usually result in a "TU W7XYZ" or whatever his call is. 
Now you have both his exchange and call without having to wait until his 
next CQ.
4. Wait for his next CQ message and call him then.

Finally, the other purpose served by "TEST" is it tells the casual 
non-contester op who just happened to tune onto the frequency that the 
station is calling in a contest.  This means he is NOT seeking a rag chew 
QSO and expects a short abbreviated report.  If the tuner listens a bit he 
can even discern what that exchange might be - RST plus serial number, zone, 
state, whatever.  With this info in hand he can now make a call and work the 
CQing station.

If a station doesn't add "TEST" to the end of a CQ you might have missed his 
call anyway.  Or perhaps the station should send his call multiple times? 
How many times would be enough?  Two, three four?  How is he supposed to 
know the exact moment you might tune by his frequency seeking to get his 
call?  Asking "Who are you?" serves no purpose.  It is not his fault if you 
caught just the "TEST".  You should have been there sooner!

73,
Gary AL9A

-----Original Message----- 
From: Alan Maenchen
Sent: August 25, 2014 9:09 AM
To: writelog at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [WriteLog] Enter sends exch/QRZ?

Reminds me of my pet peeve:  On CW tacking "TEST" to the end of a CQ after
your call.
As I tune the band I come across a signal but I only hear the "test" part.
Thanks Bud!  Who are you?  Now I have to waste a few more seconds waiting
for you to renew your CQ to find out. Not a big deal, but sort of rubs me
the wrong way .. like "please copy".

73, Alan  AD6E



>
> Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 06:19:08 -0700
> From: Jay WS7I <ws7ik7tj at gmail.com>
>
>
> Isn't it odd that only RTTY has the CQ tacked on the end.  And since
> RTTY is sending at nearly twice the average speed of CW one wonders
> why?  Guess our ears work far better than most RTTY decoding software.
>
> On 8/25/2014 12:30 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
> > On Sun,8/24/2014 5:38 AM, Jerry Pixton wrote:
> >> just the qrz message!
> >
> > Point of order -- what is a "qrz message," and why would we want to
> > automate it?
> >
> > "QRZ" at the end of a contest or pileup qso is a big time waster,
> > because it doesn't tell prospective callers WHO you are. The RIGHT way
> > to end a CW QSO is "TU W6IHG"  On SSB, "thanks W6IHG," and on RTTY, TU
> > W6IHG CQ. In all cases, S&P callers know who you are, and you're
> > advertising your presence rather than concealing it. When you use
> > "qrz," the good ops tune right past you.
> >
> > 73, Jim K9YC
>
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