[SFDXA] Pileup Management

[Bill]

 From the RTTY list. How the DX works the pileup!
  It could apply to CW and SSB.


On 2/8/2012 9:39 AM, Ed Muns wrote:
> I am often asked how I handle the horrendous RTTY pileups that develop here
> in Aruba in and out of contests.  Here is my response:
>
>
>
> 1.  I use very narrow filtering in my receiver so that I only see the
> smallest part of the pileup.  I use 250 Hz and sometimes even 200 Hz.  I use
> dual-tone filtering although I can't prove that it helps a lot.
>
> 2.  I stay zero-beat with my TX frequency and only use the RIT to pick up
> off-frequency callers when no one is calling inside my narrow passband.
>
> 3.  I back off the RF gain so that I work the strongest stations first, then
> increase the RF Gain a bit as I work down into the weaker signals.
>
> 4.  I use two directional antennas, one on EU and one on NA and can
> instantly switch between either or phase both.  On the high bands, these are
> Yagis and on the low bands these are Beverages.  This way I can cut out part
> of the pile-up.
>
> 5.  I use multiple parallel decoders such as several MMTTY decoders, each
> with a different profile, as well as the Hal DXP38 hardware decoder.
>
> 6.  I exercise painful patience by waiting until I get a call sign.  That
> is, when the pileup finally stands by, if I don't yet have a call, I DO NOT
> send "AGN" or "QRZ".
>
> 7.  Even after I get a call sign, I wait a half second and try to get
> another one or two.  I stack the second, third, etc. calls in my call queue
> and work them all in succession without calling CQ.  Instead of TU CQ, I
> send CALL 1 TU, NOW C2 599 1234.
>
> 8.  I am prepared to grab a tail-ender who drops his call sign in at the end
> of the prior station's exchange to me.  Then I stack the tail-ender call
> sign and work it immediately without a CQ, like 3. above.
>
> 9.  I keep my messages as short as possible to maximize rate.  The faster
> you work stations, the smaller you make the pileup.
>
> 10.  I insist on completing a QSO once I get a call or partial call, so as
> not to reward rude callers that don't standby.
>
> 11.  If the pileup escalates faster than I can work it down for an extended
> period, I QSY and start a new run.  I've only done this once in 7 years when
> a EU pileup got excessively unruly.  I didn't announce anything or admonish
> the rude callers, but simply went to a new frequency.
>
> Ed - P49X
>