[Elecraft] EQP: a CW-only contest?

[Mark Volstad]

Having built my K2 (s/n 3862) last November, I was really looking forward to
participating in my first EQP. I even put the finishing touches on a KPA100
and KAT100 last week just to make sure that I would be heard! I was
therefore very disappointed to find that there seemed to be no SSB activity
whatsoever in the contest. I spent several hours monitoring the designated
phone sections on 15 and 20 meters, and heard nary an EQP QSO. I hung out my
own shingle for a while and had no takers, except for an older fellow who
told me that this was the first he'd heard of a Hallicrafters QSO party!  I
eventually gave up and worked the OK QSO party instead and made 14 contacts.

Don't get me wrong -- I love CW, but my current comfort zone of 12 wpm is
well below what seems to be needed for a CW contest. Add to this the fact
that I'm a new ham and don't yet understand the intricacies of CW
contesting -- I understand the basic exchange but am lost on how to request
a repeat, etc. Are there any good web sites that explain typical contesting
shorthand?

I was also looking forward to sharing building and operating experiences
with other Elecrafters, something that's rather difficult to do at 12 wpm.
Perhaps next year one or two hours of the contest could be designated as
SSB-only to encourage a bit of activity in this mode. In the meantime, I'll
keep practicing my CW.  :-)

73,
Mark, AI4BJ
Northern Ky