I sent this this morning, but "Spamcop" bounced it! ??
> > It seems apparent that many, especially newer ops, don't
> > subscribe to this reflector so consequently don't get the benefit of the
> > expertise and wisdom often seen here.. Perhaps this might be a good
subject
> > for inclusion in the rtty forum at Dayton with the opportunity to hand
out a
> > few flyers. Of course, it'd really be great if it could be published in
all
> > the various amateur publications around the world.
>
> I hope to fill part of this void. I am presently working on a tutorial
called
> "WriteLog RTTY Starter" on my WriteLog website. I will have a separate
> page for newcomers to RTTY contesting where they can read up on the do's
> and don'ts of RTTY contesting.
I could see this coming, and it's a good idea. However, think about this -
How do most of us know about Don's pages? We know through reading this
reflector! How do we know about this reflector? - I can't even remember!
Of course we can't add "tag lines" to our contesting exchange with a
reference to this reflector, but we need some way to head the new RTTY
contesters to this and other good sources of RTTY contesting information.
One little idea would be to make sure that authors of the major RTTY
contesting software had links to several good sources of information in
their documentation. Other ideas?
We also need to write about it every chance we get, and this is how Don's
going to approach it. Those of you who've followed the thread about the
"best exchange" might enjoy Jon Harder's, K1US, somewhat tongue and cheek
look at RTTY contest exchanges in the current issue of the National Contest
Journal. Interesting that despite the purpose of the article, I blew it and
listed an incorrect exchange for a given contest at the very end! But, the
point was still made. Don's pages will be great; I plan to write some more
about getting on frequency; I'd like to see a link to this reflector, Don's
pages, and a couple of other good sources of info in the contesting and
other RTTY software documentation. Other ideas?
Actually, I think maybe the "bad exchanges" will be corrected as the ops
gain more experience. We just really notice it right now as we have a good
influx of new ops, and we should be happy about that. I find some of the
questions on the MMTTY reflector particularly naive - We definitely should
invite many of those guys over here to discuss RTTY contesting style. Many
of them seem to be struggling with trying to contest using MMTTY - a great
program, but not really a contesting program itself.
Now that we only have 1 dinner night at Dayton, I think the idea of a Friday
night discussion is a great one. I also agree that the RTTY forum this year
should focus on newcomers to RTTY contesting. I think we often scare off
newcomers by jumping right into something they don't completely understand,
and we should take it a little slower, helping them get their feet wet - ie,
get a good program, get on frequency, learn the rhythm of the contest and
how the exchanges flow etc. Trying to encourage a newcomer about building
interfaces, SO2R, using Cabrillo Tools, using networked computers,yelling at
him about his style, etc etc seems counterproductive. Don's idea of a
"primer" is great. The idea of a "WriteLog Newbie reflector wasn't a bad
idea either, but probably not necessary.
73 - John, WA9ALS
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