[Elecraft] EQP: a CW-only contest?

Mon Mar 15 22:15:01 2004

Hey Mark and all,

I did listen and call CQ EQP a few times on 20 and 15 on SSB, but few
takers. Since I found more activity in the CW bands, I went there and
played. But, I did listen from time to time in the SSB portions of the band
to see if I could try out the Heil Mic ;-) I don't get on SSB too much, but
it's not because I hate Phone or anything silly like that, I just tend to
have better (they can hear me) QSO's on CW. On SSB I have a distinct
disadvantage running QRP, but I do pretty well on CW and FB on PSK31. BTW
speaking of activity, I only had 1 PSK31 QSO from a non Elecraft HAM whom I
think felt sorry for me ;-)

Now, as far as CW speeds go, If I'm looking for a CW rag chew, I generally
call CQ at about 18 WPM. I can read 18 WPM no problem, even get about 90%
with some serious "Lake Erie Swing" CW, so that is my comfort zone for a rag
chew. Most CW on the bands is not perfect (mine included) and since I'm not
a head copy guy yet this is a comfortable pace for me. Oh how I admire the
Head Copy guys. I'll get there one day, and I'm getting much better at it.
But, during a contest with a structured exchange, where you more or less
know what to expect, and generally really good CW is being sent because the
guys have every response programmed into a keyer, I can easily copy 25 WPM
and log at the same time. BTW most of my copy during EQP was head copy. I
decided that this would be a good way to practice. Also, and more
importantly, if an op came back to me at a slower speed, I reached over and
turned down my speed. After all, it's the descent thing to do, and I DO want
the guy to get my info. So, if you call me in a contest like EQP at 10 to 15
WPM I'll reciprocate, as I think that everyone on this list would. Getting
into your first CW contest can be a bit nerve racking, but keep it in the
back of your mind that this is all just for fun, and we're not passing
critical military traffic or anything of consequence ;-) Just have fun with
it and you'll get the hang of it before you know it. BTW If I'm at home I'm
always available for on-the-air CW practice, just e-mail me. Helps me work
on my CW too ;-)

Take care and sorry I missed the SSB contact!

73's Trev - KG6CYN
http://www.qsl.net/kg6cyn

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Volstad" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 4:55 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] EQP: a CW-only contest?

> 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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