[Elecraft] QRP and Contesting

[john at kk9a.com]

Al, if you called CQ at 30WPM and they answered at 45WPM and you had to ask
for repeats, you are not the lid! If they were running at a higher  speed
that you're comfortable with, you probably could figure out their info from
QSOs before and after you. If it is not copyable you just have to move on. I
personally did not see that many super speed ops but I did not S&P until
late in the contest when most ops were begging.  There were definitely some
very good ops last weekend and I enjoyed all of my QSOs.

73,
John KK9A  (W4AAA in 2022 SS CW)



Al Lorona W6LX wrote:

I noticed this opposite phenomenon as soon as CW SS got started. It seemed
that the average CW speed was way up this year. (I hadn't operated the SS in
a couple of years, so this trend may have started a couple of years ago and
I just now have experienced it.) 

My CW skill is decent, but even I got into hot water when copying some
exchanges: Was that 378A? Or 377U? Asking for a repeat didn't always help,
because at 45 WPM slight multipath distortions in the ionosphere start to
mess with high-speed CW. Not a single op slowed down for me, even if I had
to ask for multiple repeats.

Then there's this: When you think about it, there's no incentive to help
someone like me copy correctly. After all, if I copy incorrectly, I'm the
one who gets penalized, not him. By asking for a repeat, all I'm doing (in
his mind) is slowing him down on his run frequency. And probably ticking him
off?

I mean, 30 WPM with no repeats is actually faster than 40 WPM with some
repeats.

You may say, "Well, Al, you're a lid for entering a contest if you're unable
to copy quickly enough to participate." Maybe so, but the obstinacy of
operating at 40+ WPM no matter what shows a colossal disdain for the Little
Pistols who are the bread and butter of the elite. 

R,

Al  W6LX/4