[Elecraft] QSP?

[Fred Jensen]

Albers wrote:
> I'm wondering whether some experienced net ops could chime in with
> suggestions for getting more QSP going on the weekly Elecraft CW Net?
> 
I was unable to get into the 20m net yesterday, couldn't hear Kevin at 
all, and most everyone was weak.  I second your request.

> Anyway, on last night's 40m net (was busy with family at 20m net
> time) I could barely hear Kevin but there were a couple of stations
> that were very loud to me, and I suspect might have been able to hear
> me. I tried sending "pse QSP" once or twice (is that the right way to
> ask for help??) but didn't want to do that too much for fear of
> stepping on someone.

Commercial practice would have been something like:

KMJB KMJB KMJB DE KULI KULI KULI INT QSP KOK K

probably on 500 Kc.  KULI asks KMJB [who he apparently hears well 
enough] if he will relay free of charge to coastal station KOK.  The 
prosign INT [di di dah dit dah] was an interrogatory meaning what 
follows is a question.  INT disappeared somewhere along the line, 
replaced by "?" at the end, although we still heard INT when I worked at 
KOK as a HS senior.  Ships then had 4-letter calls, coastal stations had 
3, and the CG stations' 3-letter calls all started with "N".

> 
> I wonder, would it work for NCS to ask "any QSP?" or some such, just
> before "last call?"

When Tom can make the net, it works very well.  When Kevin turns it to 
him, he usually calls by direction since he is using a beam.  Of course, 
Tom can't always make it so having a couple of alternates on-deck would 
help.

Before closing the net, both Kevin and the relay[s] could send something 
like "ECN DE KD5ONS QSP?" as a signal for anyone who has heard someone 
trying to QNI to jump in.  One way to reply might be "ECN DE <urcall> 
QNI <hiscall> [<hiscall2> etc] K"  Kevin might reply "<urcall> QSP K" 
and you would then call the guy[s], get the QNI, and then pass it all to 
Kevin.

ECN is a little different than traffic nets.  In classic traffic nets, 
each station checks in and lists his traffic, and the NCS begins pairing 
them up off frequency with the stations who are going to take it.  In 
NTS, a section net NCS parks the station[s] who will QNI to the region 
net off frequency and stacks those with traffic out of the section onto 
those frequencies.

For ECN, Kevin takes each QNI as a separate short QSO.  After checking 
in, some QRT and some stick around.  Those would be the people to QSP.

This will all get better as the sun starts getting more active again, 
but right now, it's hard on 20, and noisy on 40.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2007 CQP Oct 6-7
- www.cqp.org