[PVRCNC] SS for everyone

[Jim Jordan K4QPL]

Ty, K3MM, put out a really great guide on SS strategies. These are really useful. However, as Ty said, his tips are mostly geared toward the most serious operators.

My comments are intended to supplement Ty's guide with tips particularly aimed at the "cross mode" operator and the less experienced. 

The one thing that has come out of the Great Debate of 2005 is the agreement by everyone that the competition is tough and restoring PVRC to its rightful place as the unlimited club winner for SS is not a quick fix or just using the rules to best advantage or increasing the points of the top operators. The most effective way to gather points is for regular ops to spend some time, make some Q's and get some mults.  Some operators have stuck to their favorite mode and while they may be great on cw, have a lot to learn on ssb. And vice versa, following a high speed exchange in morse code can be daunting. And what about the operator who decides to help the club and sends out a short CQ on Sunday morning, only to be inundated in a pile up looking for fresh meat?  Here are some ideas to  make people think you've been around forever, to thin out those pileups, and to get the multipliers you need. 

Most people can tell the pro's from the newcomers by their style and technique. Here are some ideas, not in any particular order, and not separated into phone and cw. Some apply to both, others obviously to one mode or the other.

With a couple of exceptions, FORGET ABOUT "Q" CODES.  Let's get the exception out of the way first. If looking for a run frequency, always send "QRL?" and then wait exactly 3 ms. before sending CQ! Seriously, a good operator doesn't intentionally poach another's run frequency. That apparently empty frequency may be someone trying to copy a QRP that you can't hear. In that case, all you may hear from the frequency owner is "C" (yes) or AS (wait). Move on.  Or wait. The other exception follows if you poach a run frequency. You will usually be told in no uncertain terms, "QRL  QSY" 

Don't sign /QRP (or / anything if you can help it). A total waste of time and messes up logging. If your signal is weak, we'll suspect you're QRP anyhow. And what do you expect to gain from getting in the middle of an Interstate with a tricycle? Tea and sympathy? If you MUST operate QRP, keep it to yourself and pretend to be a big guy. Besides, they'll get it from your precedent. Actually, I'm not really that hard on QRP stations. They are big supporters of SS and if you are running with a good signal into the midwest, and have good ears you'll add a lot to your total. The next week when the QSL's arrive with "2W" "250mw" etc. you'll realize how good you were to work them. But remember what Ty says, keep your rate up and don't spend time on them as long as you have rate. Sunday is when the QRP guys get some appreciation.

Never send  QRZ? This is a contest. That takes too long and doesn't convey any meaningful information. If you don't get the call, send whatever you did hear with a question mark. K4? K4Q? PL? Or just send ?   

Never send "QSL" In a major contest.. Send "R" or "TU" or maybe "GL" to a friend. But QSL, never.

Spend some time preparing your station. Install contest appropriate software if you possibly can. Interface your radio. If you don't use it for anything else, the interface will keep your radio and your log on the same band. Bandmapping is great for S&P and it really can't be done without interfacing. Taking it further to use your computer to send cw messages is really valuable as well, particularly with a contest like SS where the exchange is long and has numbers. But don't just start running that software right out of the box. Some guys who write up the template exchanges aren't very sharp operators. See previous paragraph. The software can also increase your headache in pileups. Use VOX and full break in if you can. You'll know if something is happening on the frequency much sooner.

Handling pileups. Nothing is more stressful than handling a pileup. The guys on DXpeditions who can handle a brazillion stations calling at once is worthy of awe and respect. I've heard casual contesters make one Sunday afternoon QSO in SS, listen to the pileup for a minute and then just quit. Some of it goes with the territory. Some can be managed. Some tips:

Don't use a long ending for your QSO acknowledgment. This is popular with software writers who suggest each qso end something like this; "K4QPL QSL TU 73 QRZ SS SS DE WB4XYZ WB4XYZ SS SS.  That's enough to attract every S&P station on the band. You should have two acknowledgments. The "long" one is "TU SS K4QPL" If you're under a big pile up, acknowledge with R or TU only. After all it is a pileup and you send your call as a part of the exchange. You'll have less QRM to copy the savvy contester who knows when to call you. If no one calls, then send a quick CQ.

CQ short and often. If you're fresh meat or have a very big signal, you want to keep the pileup thinned out enough to handle it. I don't even use "CQ" very often. A typical CQ is simply "SS SS  K4QPL  K4QPL" Later in the contest I might add a "CQ" at the beginning or send it twice. (If you have the software, program your F1, F2 and F3 keys as progressively longer CQ's

If you get 5 stations calling you at once, try to get even a small bit of a call if you can't get a complete one. Then, don't send QRZ but simply the part you got plus a question mark. Otherwise all 5, plus a few more who heard the commotion and dropped in, will call and you will repeat the cycle. After you work one, don't send your call. Use the short acknowledgment until no one is left. Another trick is after 5 stations call you and you didn't even get a part of a call is to just say nothing. The best operator will hear the silence and in 5 ms. drop his call again in the clear.

Don't be shy about calling CQ and creating a pileup. That can be a real rush. But control it. Remember you own the frequency and it's your pile up. See note above about QRZ. The other important thing is to maintain discipline. If you say "W4?" and some N9 comes back at 40 over IGNORE HIM. Repeat W4? until he shuts up and lets you run your pile up. You might save a minute or two the first time by working the pushy jerk and getting rid of him, but you will lose control and respect and no one else will pay attention to your instructions. After you work the W4, you might send "N9?" or on phone, "Did I hear an N9?"

Handling phone pileups are similar. Whatever you do, don't fall into the FD once a year operator trap. If your CQ causes a pileup, handle it like cw. Say "November 9?" with a questioning lilt in your voice. Whatever you do, don't sound like the FD crowd, "QRZ QRZ K4QPL, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE HEARD A NOVEMBER 9 IN THERE, OR MAYBE IT WAS A WHISKEY 7. ANYHOW, THE STATION CALLING K4QPL, PLEASE CALL AGAIN!" Your rate will suffer and you'll tell the world you don't know how to contest. If you miss something, a simple "Again" is just like sending the ? on cw.  Imitate an air traffic control operator. Use ICAO numbers as well, particularly in the exchange:  "Number WON TREE NINER ALPHA  k4qpl CHECK FYF SEVEN NOVEMBER CHARLIE. Do not use phonetics for your call in the exchange except to emphasize a correction. Talk like you're using cw. Don't repeat unless asked.

Back to cw, "DE" has a special meaning in contesting. You don't send CQ SS DE K4QPL. Just SS SS K4QPL. And when you are in S&P and drop your call, just send your call, not DE. However, if the station you work comes back to "K4PQL" and gives you the exchange, the first thing you do is send "DE K4QPL" The DE says, "Listen carefully, you busted my call the first time." Send it once and go on with the exchange. The other station will correct his log and either automatically or manually acknowledge with "QPL OK TU"

On phone you can do it in the exchange by saying after the precedence "Note my call, KILO 4 QUEBEC PAPA LIMA etc." 

Don't beat people over the head with corrections and fills. Don't assume they can't copy. Send it once. If they need another repeat they'll ask for it by saying "AGAIN" or on cw "?"

CQ format: Personally, I never use anything after my call. Definitely not "K" and not a cute "SS". Why not? Because in that fraction of a second of silence before everyone else realizes you have stopped, the good op will drop his call in the clear and you can have him logged before the pileup starts. It also gives your radio and your ears a chance to go from transmit to receive and you might not miss the prefix of a caller.

There are probably a lot more tips you can learn from others or just by operating. But if you will remember most of these, you will make people believe you have  been contesting in that mode for years. You'll also be surprised how much your rate goes up, your stress goes down, and your enjoyment is magnified when you follow the most basic of rules, "Less is more" and ask your self, "Is this word or character really necessary?"

Good luck and Good Hunting.

73,

Jim, K4QPL