[Elecraft] CW Contest and Elecraft K3s decoder

[Jim Stahl]

A good CW contest op will adjust speed to the conditions. It’s a bit like tennis, with the point being to keep a rally going, not to demolish the other guy. The other guy hits me a hard one, it’s a lot more satisfying to hit a hard one back. A less skilled player hits me a soft one, I’m not going to try to prove to him how hard I can hit it back. Rather I’ll hit it back at a pace appropriate for his skill level.

If I’m tuning and hear a high speed guy (I’m one myself) I’ll make a point to work him. For if I don’t get through immediately, I won’t have to wait long for a second chance.

TI7W and ZF2MJ weren’t running those awesome rates just because they were sending faster than the others. They were using (effectively) two radios at a time, interleaving QSOs on two different bands. That’s a skill beyond my pay grade.


73  -  Jim   K8MR



> On Nov 28, 2017, at 2:38 AM, Jim Cassidy <jc_ki7y at q.com> wrote:
> 
> Absolutely correct.  Successful contest operators rely almost entirely on their CW ability other than the use of the programmed messages.
> 
> I just saw another post about not sending over 30 wpm to have better rate,  TI7W was sending much faster had a rate of about 210 per hour for the entire 48 hour contest.  I did hear him slower as well but mostly was a lot faster.  ZF2MJ was in the same mode as well.
> 73
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Brown" <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Sent: Monday, November 27, 2017 11:00:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] CW Contest and Elecraft K3s decoder
> 
> On 11/27/2017 4:52 PM, Jim Cassidy wrote:
>> Just when did the totally incorrect fact that the high speed contest operators are using CW decoders get started??  NO truth to that at all
> 
> You're absolutely right, Jim. It's those beginning CW ops who don't know 
> CW, or haven't developed their copying ability to contesting speeds, or 
> who don't feel confident about their copying ability, who are using code 
> readers.
> 
> Most serious contesters, including me, let their logging program SEND 
> repetitive things. Some great contest operators still send a lot with a 
> paddle, but let the computer call CQ. And some ops send a lot more with 
> the paddle than they should. :) I used to have a pretty good fist, but 
> it's declined with age. So when we let the computer send for us, we're 
> doing others a favor by producing cleaner, well-spaced, error-free CW 
> that makes easier copy for both their brains and their readers.
> 
> As a founding member of CWOPS, I'm proud of our members who have done 
> such a great job developing and executing a mentoring program for hams 
> who want to learn CW and build their skills.
> 
> 73,Jim K9YC
>