[Elecraft] EQP - RST reports

Mon Mar 15 10:17:01 2004

Although I wanted to take part in EQP, a road trip prevented me from doing so.
As I was tuning around the band during the first hour (on the way to my friends
to ride with them) it didn't sound too hot on the bands - so the K2 stayed
behind for the day.

However - I think I side with Scott. The few QRP contests/sprints I've been
involved with in the last year have been most enjoyable to me when the ops
aren't sending CW at 30+ WPM and making 50+ contacts an hour. When I tried to
take part in events like the North American CW QSO Party - the pace was so
rushed by the higher power folks that it reminded me of the little gerbils I
once took care of for a friend - too busy running helter-skelter around their
little cages and not accomplishing much of anything.

The slower pace of the QRP contests/sprints makes it possible to log everything
by hand (if you need to out in the field) instead of having to drag a computer
around to keep track of everything (and I am very pro-computer). It also helps
new comers to ham radio get into the fun without becoming intimidated by the
high-octane CW ops.

Anyhow - I don't think sending an itty bitty RST is going to break the
proverbial back of our QRP contest. And - you don't have to be so accurate with
your RST to begin with. It is - after all - a 'relative' signal report. Some
folks don't have the luxury of signal strength meters - so if it is 'really
strong' they send a '9'. If it is weak - a '3'. If it is a good signal -
usually a '6' or '7'. It's pretty common sense - and it does the operator a
favor on the other end by letting him know how his 'peanut whistle' sounds on
your end.

Daniel/AA0NI
Oklahoma City

--- Scott Richardson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Fred wrote:
> 
> > * lose the RST...
> 
> No way! I highly value signal reports and am thrilled that in EQP (and QRP
> contests in general) operators seem to be interested in providing meaningful
> RSTs. I hate the default/automated 5NN reports of most contests,
> particularly when they are obvious lies generated for the convenience of
> computer logging. Imagine how major contest scores would fall if folks had
> to consider signal strength and quality before firing off an exchange.
> 
> Thank you to the few stations I worked in EQP for giving honest reports...
> not a single 599 in the bunch. And thank you for accepting my honest reports
> as part of a genuine exchange of useful information.
> 
> Scott W1QHG
> K1 139
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list: [email protected]
> You must be subscribed to post to the list.
> To subscribe or unsubscribe see:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Elecraft Web Page: http://www.elecraft.com
> Also see: http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm