ARRL November Sweepstakes CW

[Mark, KJ7BS]

I operate contests for fun, enjoyment, but mostly to improve my operating
skills.  This ARRL November Sweepstakes CW was anything but enjoyable.  The
poor operators were out in force this year.  Here is my top-10 list of poor
operating exhibited during the 2005 ARRL November Sweepstakes CW.

 

10.  Sending CQ without enough time between for a station to answer.

 9.  Station sending their exchange at 25+ WPM and asking you to QRS when
you are running <20 WPM.

 8.  Stations tuning up on your frequency for several minutes and then
starting to call CQ SS on the frequency you are working.

 7.  The station that answered your CQ SS starts calling CW SS after your
exchange with him.

 6.  Stations that move on after sending their exchange information when you
still need repeats on the exchange.

 5.  Stations calling CQ SS then moving up/down a few Hz and calling CQ SS
again (moving targets).

 4.  Receiving SRI DUPE when you have not worked the station.

 3.  Stations in a mini pile-up sending their calls 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 times and
covering the stations sending CQ SS.

 2.  Stations 'tail ending' your exchange with the station you just worked
before you can call CQ SS again.

 

 

AND THE #1 ITEM

 

 

 1.  Calling CQ SS and having a station respond with 'SEC?' to determine if
they want to work you.

 

 

Mark Saunders, KJ7BS

Glendale, AZ

 

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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Mark, KJ7BS wrote:

I operate contests for fun, enjoyment, but mostly to improve my operating
skills.  This ARRL November Sweepstakes CW was anything but enjoyable.  The
poor operators were out in force this year.  Here is my top-10 list of poor
operating exhibited during the 2005 ARRL November Sweepstakes CW... (list
truncated)

-----------------

Yep, you proved that Hams are people like the rest of humanity.

If you want to hone your operating skills, try running some nice 1-hour rag
chews, perhaps in a round table with several CW operators. If you want
experience with more complex operating procedures, join some traffic nets.

Contesting is contesting. It's a unique procedure that requires some
particular skills, but by and large they are only applicable to contesting
and little else. It's like kids who learn to spin donuts in their cars. They
might have fun. They could even elevate it to a "sport", but knowing how to
do that does not mean they know how to drive <G>.

Ron AC7AC

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[John Huffman-2]

I enjoyed SS this year.  Operated about 10 hours and didn't run into any of
those top ten items listed.  Did get a lot of "73"s and "GL"s.

The K2/100 and dipoles were a great combination.  I set the CW filter as narrow
as possible and did the same with the KDSP2 filter.  Also used the KDSP2 noise
reduction.  Turned off the preamp on 20 and put on the attenuator on 40 and 80.

Using hunt and pounce, it was almost single signal reception for every QSO with
little or no QRM.  Sure made for nice listening.

Last year at a club station I used one of the most popular transceivers sold.
It was awful for Sweepstakes.  The receiver desensed whenever there was a strong
signal within 5 kHz.  For Sweepstakes, that's all the time.  You'd get half way
through an exchange only to have the station drop out as nearby signals took
over the AGC.

There is nothing, that I can afford, that is close to the K2 when it comes to
enjoying contests.  It's not everybody's cup of tea, but it sure is more fun
when the receiver makes for easy listening.

73 de NA8M
John

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[Larry East]

At 10:25 PM 11/6/2005, KJ7BS wrote:
>This ARRL November Sweepstakes CW was anything but enjoyable.  The
>poor operators were out in force this year.

That's why I have pretty much given up on the "big" contests and just
operate QRP contests.

L.

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[Tom Hammond-3]

Hi Mark:

>This ARRL November Sweepstakes CW was anything but enjoyable.  The
>poor operators were out in force this year.  Here is my top-10 list of poor
>operating exhibited during the 2005 ARRL November Sweepstakes CW.
>
>10.  Sending CQ without enough time between for a station to answer.

How much time were they leaving?

Just curious as my allergies cranked up on Friday, and I was in NO SHAPE to
operate this year.

Usually, I'll allow 3 seconds (max. of 4) between calls. If a station can't
respond within that time, I'll catch him on the next call. Stations running
full QSK should be able to easily hit the key within 3 seconds of the
calling station's standing by.

>  9.  Station sending their exchange at 25+ WPM and asking you to QRS when
>you are running <20 WPM.

Agreed! Wholeheartedly! But, you'll run into this ANY TIME... ANYWHERE...
not limited to a contest...

>  8.  Stations tuning up on your frequency for several minutes and then
>starting to call CQ SS on the frequency you are working.

Unfortunately, a fact of contest life... and (again, unfortunately) not
limited to contest times.

>  7.  The station that answered your CQ SS starts calling CW SS after your
>exchange with him.

Pure disregard for operating (contest or otherwise) etiquette!!!  But,
again, it IS a 'CONTEST', and this implies COMPETITION... expect to have
'your frequency' taken from you at times... esp. if the other guy thinks
he's got a bigger signal than you. Don't fret about it... say a couple mean
words and MOVE ON!!!

>  6.  Stations that move on after sending their exchange information when you
>still need repeats on the exchange.

In many instances, the way to combat this is to NOT give them ANY of YOUR
info until you have all of their data in the log. They'll wait!

>  5.  Stations calling CQ SS then moving up/down a few Hz and calling CQ SS
>again (moving targets).

This usually occurs because they realize that they just called CQ on top of
an on-going QSO, which you may not be able to hear, but THEY can.

>  4.  Receiving SRI DUPE when you have not worked the station.

Agreed... I set my logger to work ALL CALLERS... mainly because, if I have
them in the log, and my logger thinks they're a dupe, it's obvious that
THEY don't think I'm a dupe, so I'll NOT be in their log when log checking
occurs... for (most) computer-checked logs, you are not penalized for dupes
unless you claim them, and if they can be verified as being dupes on BOTH ends.

>  3.  Stations in a mini pile-up sending their calls 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 times and
>covering the stations sending CQ SS.

Yup.

>  2.  Stations 'tail ending' your exchange with the station you just worked
>before you can call CQ SS again.

You gotta learn to be quick!

>  1.  Calling CQ SS and having a station respond with 'SEC?' to determine if
>they want to work you.

I'll send 'MO' and then call CQ again. If he wants me, he'll respond, if
not, I'll not have wasted time waiting for him to respond.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS
40+ Years of CW SSing and still LOVING IT!  

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[Stephen W. Kercel]

>
>
>>  8.  Stations tuning up on your frequency for several minutes and then
>>starting to call CQ SS on the frequency you are working.
>
>Unfortunately, a fact of contest life... and (again, unfortunately) not
>limited to contest times.

One notices this also in DX pileups. The DX is working split and a
procession of lids tune up precisely on his sending frequency.

In any case, minutes-long on-air tuneups are inexcusable (and perhaps
illegal, since they are avoidable).

In my station, I have the transceiver, a manually adjusted tuner, a MFJ-207
and a dummy load connected to a DPDT coax switch. In the "tune" position,
the 207 is connected to the tuner and I can take as long as I like to make
the tuner look like a 50 Ohm load.  (Yes, the 207 transmits a milliwatt or
so, but it usually does not cause interference.) Also, in that same
position the transceiver is connected to the dummy load, and I can get the
optimal setting to produce the desired power level into a 50 Ohm load
without putting a signal on the air.

Then I flip the switch to the "operate" position, and I'm good to go. In
this mode the transceiver is connected to the tuner and the DL and 207 are
left dangling.

Some purists will point out that because of limited accuracy of instrument
calibration, this does not usually create a perfect 50 Ohm to 50 Ohm match.
Nevertheless, the match is close enough that I seldom need to make any
on-air tweaks. In the rare case that I do need to make a final tweak on the
transceiver at full power on-air, I can do it in less than a second.

73,

Steve Kercel
AA4AK


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[Earl W Cunningham]

I didn't notice any occurences of the "top 10" that Mark mentioned, but
then I didn't put in that much time in the SS.

My forte is DX and 160-meter contesting, but I always try to put in a
little time in the CW SS each year to hone my CW skills (and that contest
does require more CW skill than most other contests).  I always admire
the other operators in the CW SS for their CW skills and it's always a
pleasure to make an exchange with them.

Wow!  The skip sure was short (as well as long) on 15m Sunday, wasn't it?

73, de Earl, K6SE
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[Vic K2VCO]

KJ7BS wrote:

> Here is my top-10 list of poor
> operating exhibited during the 2005 ARRL November Sweepstakes CW.

I have just two:

2. The guys who called me several hundred Hz. off my frequency and then
got clobbered by the superstation running 600 Hz. away.  Lots of QRP
stations are guilty of this -- they should get Elecraft rigs!

1. The digital operator who, apparently annoyed by my occupancy of
14.073 (in 'his' part of the band) who zero-beated me for a while, and
then *followed me* when I slid down to get away.

--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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[Vic K2VCO]

Larry East wrote:

> That's why I have pretty much given up on the "big" contests and just
> operate QRP contests.

Actually, the ARRL Sweepstakes can be a great deal of fun and practice
for the "little pistol" or QRP operator (at least for those in the US
and Canada!).

You must work a station only once, not once per band.  This means that
those of us without 40-meter beams and 80/160 meter arrays are not
automatically out of the running.  There is a QRP class.  This year I
worked many QRP stations, and judging by the QSO numbers, some of them
were doing quite well.

One way to greatly improve your CW sending is to make a serious contest
effort and send all of the exchanges with a paddle or bug, rather than
letting the computer do it.  You would be amazed at how much more
effective the real thing is than sending from the phone book.

I also think that operating behavior was quite good this year, for the
most part.  Contesters did NOT blow off weak or QRP stations (not the
same!) and really dug to get all of the details of the exchange.

I don't have a superstation.  I have a 2-element quad at 45 feet for
20/15/10, a simple vertical on 40, and a highly suboptimal inverted L
for 80.  I used my K2/100 by itself, and did not use packet or telnet
spots.  I ended up with more than 700 QSOs in 79 sections!  Last year
this kind of score was good enough to win my section.

I especially urge those of you located in the NNY (Northern New York)
section to give it a try next year.  You will be in GREAT demand!

--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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[Jason Artz]

--- Vic K2VCO <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Actually, the ARRL Sweepstakes can be a great deal
> of fun and practice
> for the "little pistol" or QRP operator (at least
> for those in the US
> and Canada!).

I agree!  This was my first quasi-serious (more than
10 contacts) contest attempt with my K1 and as a QRP
operator.  I snagged several new states/territories
and gained a lot of confidence in my station and
operating abilities.
 
> One way to greatly improve your CW sending is to
> make a serious contest
> effort and send all of the exchanges with a paddle
> or bug, rather than
> letting the computer do it.  You would be amazed at
> how much more
> effective the real thing is than sending from the
> phone book.

I agree with this, too.  My entire SS experience
(maybe 3 hours total) was done with a paper log and
paddles.  I needed fills on about 75% of my 30wpm+
contacts at first, but after the first 15 or so, I was
solid on nearly all.  I was amazed at how quickly my
speed increased.  My sending also improved quickly.

> I also think that operating behavior was quite good
> this year, for the
> most part.  Contesters did NOT blow off weak or QRP
> stations (not the
> same!) and really dug to get all of the details of
> the exchange.

Agreed again!  Pretty much all of my contacts were
with "big guns," and the operating was top notch.  I
noticed none of the things others have complained
about.  

The K1s receiver worked great and the 200Hz filter is
super.  Next year I'd like to operate outside and put
up a better antenna.  My ground-floor apartment QTH is
noisy and doesn't allow much of an antenna.  Despite
that, I still had fun.

73,
Jason
ak7v

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[Karl Anderson-2]

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of KJ7BS
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2005 9:26 PM
To: [hidden email]; [hidden email]; Elecraft Reflector;
[hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] ARRL November Sweepstakes CW

- This ARRL November Sweepstakes CW was anything but enjoyable. -


This was my 2nd SS contest. It is definitely becoming my favorite. Last year
I used my K2 QRP and had no problems working stations but had to stop after
100. This year I used my K2/100 and wanted to beat last years score.

250 contacts and 68 sections. Not great but I'm still happy with it. You can
imagine what it felt like to receive a 1200 serial number and give out a 100
:)

I sent by hand with a set of paddles and did all paper logging. Copied most
of the info from the high speed operators ahead of time so all I had to
worry about was getting their serial numbers.

I did find a lot of the stations were pretty good about slowing the info
down a bit when they heard my slow code.

Ok, need to get the copy speed up and maybe double my score for next year?
Yes, that's what I'm going to do.

Had a great time and someday I'll catch up with technology.

Karl, N7NLU







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[hank k8dd-2]

Tom Hammond wrote:
>
>>  2.  Stations 'tail ending' your exchange with the station you just
>> worked
>> before you can call CQ SS again.
>
> You gotta learn to be quick!
There is nothing like a good clean tail end.  I've worked a lot of
stations who
pause between the TU (to signify that they copied the exchange) and the
SS de <call> and I can dump my call in that space and work them.  Fast,
quick
and move on after the contact is in the log!

73    Hank    K8DD
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