CQ Contest...CQ Contest...CQ Contest...
To some these words are music to the ears...the thrill of competetion, the thrill of working DXCC or WAS in one weekend. To others these words have little or no effect. So whats all the excitement about? What could cause grown men to behave with this much enthusiasm? Tonight, some friends and I will try to unravel this mystery of contesting. We'll do it through presentation, demonstration, and even hands-on training.
For a lot of hams, participation in a contest is a casual thing. They turn on the radio and hear a flurry of activity thats not normally there. Being the curious folks that hams are, they listen for a minute and notice that many contacts are being made, but no one is ragchewing. All the contacts are lasting only a few seconds.
SLIDE: CONTEST QSOs ARE SHORT
Some guys say "but I like to ragchew, ya know, talk to the guy"... well so do I, we ALL do. But sometimes, once or twice a year, it's fun to get on and really cut loose...see how many you can work.
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Warren: Alpha delta four zulu echo
Dick: AD4ZE you're 59 North Carolina...go!
Warren: Thank you, you're 59 West Virginia, good luck
Dick: Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Doug: Kilowatt delta four uniform charlie xray
Dick: KD4UCX you're 59 North Carolina...over
Doug: Thank you, you're 59 Florida...(pause)
Dick: OK, Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Bill: Kilo echo four charlie tango whiskey
Dick: KE4CTW you're 59 North Carolina... thank you
Bill: Thank you, you're 59 Kentucky...73
Dick: Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
SLIDE: OFF (next slide: QRM: commonplace in contests)
Now what we have here is one guy on a frequency soliciting contacts, and other people are tuning around. When they find him, they work him, and move on. In this example, Dick is said to be working rate, or RUNNING and all the others are working SEARCH AND POUNCE. Generally the more serious contester will spend most of his time RUNNING stations, and the smaller stations, or newer guys do mostly SEARCH AND POUNCE. One reason is that when you are S&Ping, you can listen to the RUN station work several QSOs and get all his information BEFORE you call him. Then, call him and listen for your own call sign. This is done more in a CW contest than on sideband.
Before we move on, I want to mention the logging computer. This is the device that converted Bob Keys to Bob Keyboard at Field Day last year. Without getting too deep into it, I just want you to see that Dick is using a computer to do his logging. The nice thing about using the computer is that it does instant DUPE checking. In most contests, the administrator, or judges, will deduct points from your score if your log contains DUPES, so we use the computer and it tells us if we get a DUPE.
In the example we just saw, everything was going fine, but it doesn't always go that way. There are a lot of things that can go wrong and throw a monkey wrench into the works. Lets look at a few of these things and see how Dick handles them.
The first problem is QRM. On VHF and UHF repeaters, QRM is pretty much non-existant. If someone does come on and interfere with an ongoing QSO, its out of the ordinary, and forces are immediately set in motion to identify the "offending station" and "straighten him out." Well on HF, QRM is a way of life.
SLIDE: QRM: commonplace in contests
When several people want to talk to the same guy, you have QRM, but as long as there is no intentional interference, everybody gets along in the QRM ok. This is never more evident than in a contest.
QRM ON DURING S&P CALLS (Warren, Doug, and Bill all call at once each time Dick calls CQ, QRZ, etc.)
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Warren: Alpha delta four zulu echo
Dick: Again
Warren: Alpha delta four zulu echo
Dick: AD4ZE you're 59 North Carolina...go!
Warren: Thank you, you're 59 West Virginia, good luck
Dick: Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Doug: Kilowatt delta four uniforn charlie xray
Warren: QRM using ad-lib call sign
Dick: Ending in xray
Doug: Kilowatt delta four uniforn charlie xray
Dick: KD4UCX you're 59 North Carolina...over
Doug: Thank you, you're 59 Florida...(pause)
Dick: OK, Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Bill: Kilo echo four charlie tango whiskey
Doug and Warren: QRM using ad-lib call sign
Dick: Kile echo four, again please
Bill: Kilo echo four charlie tango whiskey
Dick: KE4CTW you're 59 North Carolina... thank you
Bill: Thank you, you're 59 Kentucky...73
Dick: Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
This is a little more what it sounds like on the air. Nobody is mad. Nobody is trying to interfere with anybody else, they all just want to get a contact in the log.
SLIDE: OFF (next slide: use your full call sign)
(5 minutes)
Even with heavy QRM, Dick is maintaining a good rate. (He has a good run going). This is still pretty normal. Lets look at some of the other things that can happen in a contest.
SLIDE: USE YOUR FULL CALL SIGN
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Warren: Zulu echo...zulu echo...zulu echo Doug: Uniform charlie xray Bill: Charlie tango whiskey
Dick: Full calls only please...again
Warren: Alpha delta four zulu echo Doug: Kilowatt delta four uniforn charlie xray Bill: Kilo echo four charlie tango whiskey
Dick: AD4ZE you're 59 North Carolina...over
SLIDE: OFF (next slide: use your phonetics)
Warren: Thank you, you're 59 West Virginia, good luck
Dick: Thank you... whiskey four delta whiskey, QRZ?
Partial calls are a minor problem but they do slow things down. Sometimes partial calls can be combined with other poor operating practices, and cause more serious trouble...
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Warren: D B T...D B T...D B T Doug: Uniform charlie xray Bill: Charlie tango whiskey
SLIDE: USE YOUR PHONETICS
Dick: Full calls only please...again
Warren: K E 4 D B T...K E 4 D B T Doug: Kilowatt delta four uniforn charlie xray Bill: Kilo echo four charlie tango whiskey
Dick: OK Kile Echo 4, phonetics please
Warren: (pause...say nothing)
Dick: K E 4 station...are you there?
Warren: Oh...uh...KE4DBT
Dick: OK, K E 4 G C D you're 59 North Carolina...go!
Warren: No its KE4DBT...DBT...DBT...OK?
SLIDE: BUT NOT CUTE ONES
Dick: Uh, Phonetics please, your call in phonetics...go!
Warren: Its K E 4 D B T...Dango! Bango! Tango! OK?
Dick: Tango tango tango?
Warren: NO! Dango! Bango! Tango! ... Delta Bravo Tango!
Dick: Delta Bravo please stand by for a second. KE4 station, I'm sorry but no copy...no copy at all...OK now delta bravo?
Warren: Kilo Echo 4 Delta Bravo Tango
Dick: KE4DBT you're 59 North Carolina, over
SLIDE: OFF (next slide: everybody on the air is not a contester)
Warren: Thank you...you're 59 Georgia...73
Dick: Thank you... whiskey four delta whiskey, QRZ?
Fortunately, this doesn't happen too often. In the contest we have been demonstrating, the exchange, as its called, is signal report and State. Different contests have different exchanges. That's one of the things that make some contests more fun than others. Some of the things that an exchange might include would be serial number, zone, country, things like that. In one contest, the outside temperature is part of the exchange. In another, you exchange your first name or nickname, and the year you were first licensed using the last two digits. Lets see what this would sound like, and also, we want to show you another situation that can come up
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Warren: Alpha delta four zulu echo
Dick: AD4ZE its Dick, 89...OK?
Warren: Thank you, Warren, ninety, nine zero, good luck
Dick: Thank you ... whiskey four delta whiskey, QRZ...
Doug: (slowly) Uh, Whiskey four delta whiskey, whiskey four delta whiskey, here is November eight bravo fox, november eight bravo fox, over
Dick: November eight B F, Dick, eight nine...over
SLIDE: EVERYBODY ON THE AIR IS NOT A CONTESTER
Doug: OK, Whiskey four delta whiskey, this is November eight bravo fox returning... Fine business Dick. Thanks for the five and nine. You're...Oh...lets call it four by five. Name here is Al, thats Al...alfuh leema... I was just tuning around and heard you calling. The band sounds like its in better shape than it's been in a while. Uh...QTH here is Menominee Michigan, that's Menominee, Mike echo november oscar mike india november double echo, I'll spell it again if you want...OK, back to you...I don't believe I caught your name... Name here is Al...so Whiskey four delta whiskey, this is november eight bravo fox...over
At this point, Dick has to make a decision. His scruples are about to show. What are some of the things he could do?
(TAKE IDEAS FROM AUDIENCE) (COMMENT ON THEM)
(10 minutes)
Dick: OK Al, thanks for the report from Menominee, you got a nice signal here. So Al, how long you been a ham? Over.
SLIDE: BUT MAYBE YOU CAN WORK THEM ANYWAY
Doug: Whiskey four delta whiskey, this is November eight bravo fox...Fine business Dick. Well lets see...yep...I been a ham since I was a lad. Not as long as some of em though. The rig here is an old national...its about half as old as I am... HI...I'm retired now, been retired for 5 years. I was 55 and took early retirment from the railroad. OK, I've held it long enough, back to you Dick. Whiskey four delta whiskey, this is november eight bravo fox...over
Dick: OK Al. The old National sounds fit as a fiddle. I was just wondering Al...you ever do any paper chasing? Got much wall paper up in the shack besides your original license? Or do you still have your original ticket? I'd be interested to hear what the date on it is. My age is 35, and I've been a ham for six years. Back to you, Al...N8BF from W4DW, over
Doug: Whiskey four delta whiskey, this is November eight bravo fox...Fine business Dick. Well lets see...I got ya by a few. Age here is sixty, and I've been a ham for a long
SLIDE: AND MAYBE NOT
time. I don't pay much attention to wallpaper. Never got into it I guess. I get a QSL card every now and then but thats about it. I remember once....(FADE OUT)
Sometimes, you gotta realize you're beaten, and give it up. Dick has done a noble job of staying with this guy, and not being rude, but he's just not going to get him in the log.
Doug: So back to you Dick. Whiskey four delta whiskey, this is november eight bravo fox...over
SLIDE: OFF
Dick: N8BF from W4DW, OK Al...Well, I sure have enjoyed talking to you but I better let you go. Thanks for the chat, and I hope to catch you again real soon. 73 Al. N8BF This is whiskey four delta whiskey clear.
Now at this point, any pileup that he has is gone, and since it sounds like he is clearing out, he will be lucky to hang on to the frequency without a fight.
Speaking of frequency fights, this is the not-so-glamerous aspect of contesting. While QRM is common-place, occasionally, an actual conflict will arise. There are two ways these conflicts seem to get started. Lets have a look.
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
(pause)
DICK AND WARREN AT SAME TIME: Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest... Warren: CQ contest, Alpha delta four zulu echo, contest...
Warren: Whiskey four delta whiskey, the frequency is in use, We'ed appreciate a clear channel, thank you, Alpha delta four zulu echo, contest...
Dick: Alpha delta four zulu echo from W4DW, I've been here running stations for 20 minutes, please QSY, whiskey four delta whiskey, QRZ contest...
Both stations claim to have been on the frequency first. Does anybody know how this might have happened?
(TAKE IDEAS FROM AUDIENCE)
(COMMENT ON THEM)
(A path has formed between the 2 operators, both of whom were on the frequency but could not hear each other till now.)
The bottom line here is that somebody has to move. If you can convince the other guy to do it...great, but if he's determined to keep the frequency, its best to let him have it and just move. While the conflict is going on, neither of you are making contacts, so just find a new frequency and get back to making calls. Chances are that the other guy, if he's that determined, is going to spend much of his contest time fighting for the frequency instead of making contacts. These guys are easy to find in the results...they are usually near the bottom.
Here's another thing that can happen that tells you it's time to QSY
Dick: CQ contest, whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Warren: Alpha delta four zulu echo
Dick: AD4ZE you're 59 North Carolina...go!
Warren: Thank you, you're 59 West Virginia, good luck
Dick: Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Doug: Kilowatt delta four uniform charlie xray
Dick: KD4UCX you're 59 North Carolina...over
Doug: Thank you, you're 59 Florida...(pause)
Dick: OK, Thank you QRZ whiskey four delta whiskey, contest...
Bill: Whiskey four delta whiskey, Whiiiiiskey four delta whiiiiiskey, This is N 4 good ole boy... The frequency's in use...we alls got a Cue So goin on here. (pause)
Dick: Right, N4GOB I been working this frequency for 15 minutes, why didn't you say something when I first came on and asked if the frequency was in use?
Bill: HEY! Jist cause we don't answer Y'all don't mean we ain't usin the FREEEKENCY... now yer gonna have to take your contest and QSY
The guy is right. If you want to work any more of the contest, you're going to have to QSY. He will make sure you get no more contacts here.
(15 minutes)
These are some of the more common things that happen, but no matter how many contests you work, I think you're always going to have something new happen.
THANKS TO THE PARTICIPANTS