[CVCC] Fw: [PVRC] SS for everyone

[rsmorris]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Jordan K4QPL" <k4qpl at nc.rr.com>
To: "pvrc reflector" <pvrc at mailman.qth.net>; "pvrcnc" 
<pvrcnc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 9:35 PM
Subject: [PVRC] SS for everyone


Ty, K3MM, put out a really great guide on SS strategies. These are really 
useful. However, as Ty said, his tips are mostly geared toward the most 
serious operators.

My comments are intended to supplement Ty's guide with tips particularly 
aimed at the "cross mode" operator and the less experienced.

The one thing that has come out of the Great Debate of 2005 is the agreement 
by everyone that the competition is tough and restoring PVRC to its rightful 
place as the unlimited club winner for SS is not a quick fix or just using 
the rules to best advantage or increasing the points of the top operators. 
The most effective way to gather points is for regular ops to spend some 
time, make some Q's and get some mults.  Some operators have stuck to their 
favorite mode and while they may be great on cw, have a lot to learn on ssb. 
And vice versa, following a high speed exchange in morse code can be 
daunting. And what about the operator who decides to help the club and sends 
out a short CQ on Sunday morning, only to be inundated in a pile up looking 
for fresh meat?  Here are some ideas to  make people think you've been 
around forever, to thin out those pileups, and to get the multipliers you 
need.

Most people can tell the pro's from the newcomers by their style and 
technique. Here are some ideas, not in any particular order, and not 
separated into phone and cw. Some apply to both, others obviously to one 
mode or the other.

With a couple of exceptions, FORGET ABOUT "Q" CODES.  Let's get the 
exception out of the way first. If looking for a run frequency, always send 
"QRL?" and then wait exactly 3 ms. before sending CQ! Seriously, a good 
operator doesn't intentionally poach another's run frequency. That 
apparently empty frequency may be someone trying to copy a QRP that you 
can't hear. In that case, all you may hear from the frequency owner is "C" 
(yes) or AS (wait). Move on.  Or wait. The other exception follows if you 
poach a run frequency. You will usually be told in no uncertain terms, "QRL 
QSY"

Don't sign /QRP (or / anything if you can help it). A total waste of time 
and messes up logging. If your signal is weak, we'll suspect you're QRP 
anyhow. And what do you expect to gain from getting in the middle of an 
Interstate with a tricycle? Tea and sympathy? If you MUST operate QRP, keep 
it to yourself and pretend to be a big guy. Besides, they'll get it from 
your precedent. Actually, I'm not really that hard on QRP stations. They are 
big supporters of SS and if you are running with a good signal into the 
midwest, and have good ears you'll add a lot to your total. The next week 
when the QSL's arrive with "2W" "250mw" etc. you'll realize how good you 
were to work them. But remember what Ty says, keep your rate up and don't 
spend time on them as long as you have rate. Sunday is when the QRP guys get 
some appreciation.

Never send  QRZ? This is a contest. That takes too long and doesn't convey 
any meaningful information. If you don't get the call, send whatever you did 
hear with a question mark. K4? K4Q? PL? Or just send ?

Never send "QSL" In a major contest.. Send "R" or "TU" or maybe "GL" to a 
friend. But QSL, never.

Spend some time preparing your station. Install contest appropriate software 
if you possibly can. Interface your radio. If you don't use it for anything 
else, the interface will keep your radio and your log on the same band. 
Bandmapping is great for S&P and it really can't be done without 
interfacing. Taking it further to use your computer to send cw messages is 
really valuable as well, particularly with a contest like SS where the 
exchange is long and has numbers. But don't just start running that software 
right out of the box. Some guys who write up the template exchanges aren't 
very sharp operators. See previous paragraph. The software can also increase 
your headache in pileups. Use VOX and full break in if you can. You'll know 
if something is happening on the frequency much sooner.

Handling pileups. Nothing is more stressful than handling a pileup. The guys 
on DXpeditions who can handle a brazillion stations calling at once is 
worthy of awe and respect. I've heard casual contesters make one Sunday 
afternoon QSO in SS, listen to the pileup for a minute and then just quit. 
Some of it goes with the territory. Some can be managed. Some tips:

Don't use a long ending for your QSO acknowledgment. This is popular with 
software writers who suggest each qso end something like this; "K4QPL QSL TU 
73 QRZ SS SS DE WB4XYZ WB4XYZ SS SS.  That's enough to attract every S&P 
station on the band. You should have two acknowledgments. The "long" one is 
"TU SS K4QPL" If you're under a big pile up, acknowledge with R or TU only. 
After all it is a pileup and you send your call as a part of the exchange. 
You'll have less QRM to copy the savvy contester who knows when to call you. 
If no one calls, then send a quick CQ.

CQ short and often. If you're fresh meat or have a very big signal, you want 
to keep the pileup thinned out enough to handle it. I don't even use "CQ" 
very often. A typical CQ is simply "SS SS  K4QPL  K4QPL" Later in the 
contest I might add a "CQ" at the beginning or send it twice. (If you have 
the software, program your F1, F2 and F3 keys as progressively longer CQ's

If you get 5 stations calling you at once, try to get even a small bit of a 
call if you can't get a complete one. Then, don't send QRZ but simply the 
part you got plus a question mark. Otherwise all 5, plus a few more who 
heard the commotion and dropped in, will call and you will repeat the cycle. 
After you work one, don't send your call. Use the short acknowledgment until 
no one is left. Another trick is after 5 stations call you and you didn't 
even get a part of a call is to just say nothing. The best operator will 
hear the silence and in 5 ms. drop his call again in the clear.

Don't be shy about calling CQ and creating a pileup. That can be a real 
rush. But control it. Remember you own the frequency and it's your pile up. 
See note above about QRZ. The other important thing is to maintain 
discipline. If you say "W4?" and some N9 comes back at 40 over IGNORE HIM. 
Repeat W4? until he shuts up and lets you run your pile up. You might save a 
minute or two the first time by working the pushy jerk and getting rid of 
him, but you will lose control and respect and no one else will pay 
attention to your instructions. After you work the W4, you might send "N9?" 
or on phone, "Did I hear an N9?"

Handling phone pileups are similar. Whatever you do, don't fall into the FD 
once a year operator trap. If your CQ causes a pileup, handle it like cw. 
Say "November 9?" with a questioning lilt in your voice. Whatever you do, 
don't sound like the FD crowd, "QRZ QRZ K4QPL, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE HEARD A 
NOVEMBER 9 IN THERE, OR MAYBE IT WAS A WHISKEY 7. ANYHOW, THE STATION 
CALLING K4QPL, PLEASE CALL AGAIN!" Your rate will suffer and you'll tell the 
world you don't know how to contest. If you miss something, a simple "Again" 
is just like sending the ? on cw.  Imitate an air traffic control operator. 
Use ICAO numbers as well, particularly in the exchange:  "Number WON TREE 
NINER ALPHA  k4qpl CHECK FYF SEVEN NOVEMBER CHARLIE. Do not use phonetics 
for your call in the exchange except to emphasize a correction. Talk like 
you're using cw. Don't repeat unless asked.

Back to cw, "DE" has a special meaning in contesting. You don't send CQ SS 
DE K4QPL. Just SS SS K4QPL. And when you are in S&P and drop your call, just 
send your call, not DE. However, if the station you work comes back to 
"K4PQL" and gives you the exchange, the first thing you do is send "DE 
K4QPL" The DE says, "Listen carefully, you busted my call the first time." 
Send it once and go on with the exchange. The other station will correct his 
log and either automatically or manually acknowledge with "QPL OK TU"

On phone you can do it in the exchange by saying after the precedence "Note 
my call, KILO 4 QUEBEC PAPA LIMA etc."

Don't beat people over the head with corrections and fills. Don't assume 
they can't copy. Send it once. If they need another repeat they'll ask for 
it by saying "AGAIN" or on cw "?"

CQ format: Personally, I never use anything after my call. Definitely not 
"K" and not a cute "SS". Why not? Because in that fraction of a second of 
silence before everyone else realizes you have stopped, the good op will 
drop his call in the clear and you can have him logged before the pileup 
starts. It also gives your radio and your ears a chance to go from transmit 
to receive and you might not miss the prefix of a caller.

There are probably a lot more tips you can learn from others or just by 
operating. But if you will remember most of these, you will make people 
believe you have  been contesting in that mode for years. You'll also be 
surprised how much your rate goes up, your stress goes down, and your 
enjoyment is magnified when you follow the most basic of rules, "Less is 
more" and ask your self, "Is this word or character really necessary?"

Good luck and Good Hunting.

73,

Jim, K4QPL
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