[Fists] Contest tricks

[KØHB]

Dabbled around in the sprint today, and worked a lot of good operators.  Since
(besides Morse) one of my ham radio addictions is contesting, I thought I'd
offer some 'hints and kinks' to make you all more successful in the next FISTS
sprint.

1 -- Don't dilly-dally!  This is a "sprint" after all, not a "stroll".  Send
what the exchange calls for, no more -- no less.  We can chat after the contest,
and as N9AVG mentioned, exchange CC numbers, etc at another time.

2 -- Send the information once.  If I give you a 599 signal report, that means I
copy you really well, so repeats are not needed. This is especially true if
you're QRP.  If there's QSB like there was today, you may fade out of sight
during a longer transmission.

3 -- Zero beat the station you're calling.  During contests the bands are
generally crowded, and many operators will have their filters narrowed down to
avoid QRM.  If you don't call them exactly on their frequency, then you won't be
heard.

4 -- "/QRP" is not part of your call sign.  It's only 4 more characters that I
have to copy, slowing down our exchange.

5 --  If you're using a beam, turn your antenna away from the prevailing
propagation.  For example, if you're in Ohio and hear the W1/2/3/4 boys and
girls really strong, point your antenna west.  You'll still hear those strong
east-coasters, and now you'll also hear the weaker W6/7 folks too.

6 -- Make yourself visible.  When your running frequency starts to get slow,
move up/down the band, or to a different band.  Yes, I know your best antenna is
your dipole on 40 meters, but hey, if you've worked everyone on 40, that same
antenna will work on 15.

Above all, have fun and don't take it seriously when someone tries to steal your
QRG.

(©¿©)  73, de Hans, K0HB