[Elecraft] EQP: a CW-only contest?

[James C. Hall, MD]

Oh, Mark, Mark:

You're going to hit a nerve with this.  Already there are two responses 
(that I haven't read).  Let me just give you my 2 cents worth.  I LOVE 
CW contests - and I am still intimidated by it !  That's part of it.  
That's part of the fun and challenge.  I've been in ham radio for over 
30 years and, and in the days when Novices were the entry class, we had 
the Novice Roundup - a very nice contest for us 5- 10 WPM guys and 
gals.  Now a-days there is an abundance of 25-35 WPM contesters.  Now, 
here's what you need to do if you have a copy limitation of 12 WPM.  
First, S & P (search and pounce) will be your first instinct.  These 
Q's will come slow because you will let others make contacts while you 
copy all the info and make sure of the call, and then, with some 
trepidation, you will make the call - often faster than you can 
comfortably copy (and sometimes send).  What you then learn is to find 
a frequency where you can camp out and call CQ TEST.  Do NOT let 
anybody shove you off your spot if it's a legit frequency and send at 
YOUR speed.  If someone comes back to you at 40 WPM, you continue to 
call CQ.  This forces the calling station to turn his keyer speed down 
to your pace to get HIS Q in his log.  He has to play your game or move 
on.  Believe me, you will see your scores climb - as well as your own 
code speed !!  By the time you finish a CW contest, you will feel much 
more confident - and then dive into those higher speed DX chases !

As far as the particulars of repeats, this is easy - ASK FOR IT !  Send 
QRZ for a call repeat, or if you got a partial call in a mess of those 
folks calling, send what you have with a ? on the end ... say YDL ? If 
the morass is somewhat disciplined, this will thin out the calling 
stations significantly.  On the exchange, it may be RPT PSE ... or if 
it's the ARRL section, SEC ?  If a serial number, NR ? Many will use 
the 'break' prosign BK or just pause ... which is the calling station's 
cue to jump in to fill the void.  These are nuances that you will learn 
with experience.  The main thing is to GET IN THE GAME !  Have fun and 
do it at your speed until you feel confident enough to notch it up a 
bit - turning your CQ speed up just a bit.  Don't get over-generous 
here, and don't be afraid to turn it back down if it doesn't turn out 
right - just give it a few Q's before you make that decision.

We are seeing the same trepidation in our ham club - you are not alone. 
  Myself and one other ham may be the only ones that will venture into 
the CW tent during Field Day this year.  This is not good - and I'm 
going to preach at our next meeting the benefits of even casual 
straight key CW at 7 WPM during FD.  Learning the ropes has to start 
somewhere - and it starts with our own mistakes and a helpful Elmer's 
hand to guide us.

73 es GL,

Jamie
WB4YDL


On Mar 15, 2004, at 6:55 PM, Mark Volstad wrote:

> 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
>
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