OK, folks, what works for John?
> >1) Your phonetics - choose short ones that have a minimum of syllables and
> >flow naturally from letter to letter.
>
> Which phonetics flow naturally for my call - N2HNT ?
See below.
> >There are other letters that don't always need phonetics - W, for example,
> >it's a phonetic all by itself.
>
> Does this work with N?
No way. (that's not a suggested phonetic) Any closed-mouth letter sound
like nnn or mmm causes real trouble over a 300-3000Hz comm channel. The
sound these make is primarily emitted from your nose and through your
head/throat, so the mike doesn't pick it up very well. There's not a lot
of acoustic n-rgy there. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)
> >4) Make sure you have phonetics with punch.
>
> OK, which phonetics pack a punch for N, H and T ?
Since all the n-words start with the same nnn sound, the punch has to come
from the remaining letter sounds and from easily-recognized patterns. Of
the most common phonetics for N (Norway, November, Nancy), November is
probably the most easily recognized, but at the penalty of an extra
syllable.
Same for H and a soft letter sound at the beginning of the words. Hotel
is the shortest punchy phonetic with the energy-packed O followed by the
powerful T sound. For sheer pattern recognition, though, Honolulu can't
be beat. I'd use Hotel for calling in pileups, then when the DX is having
trouble getting your full call correct, switch to or alternate with
Honolulu. Having a unique pattern in the word is called "processing gain"
by the DSP gang...it works!
For T, Tango, without question. Almost knocks the mike away from my face
when I say it. Of course, it might be that I just have bad breath and the
poor thing is trying to get away. Tokyo is a close second but is a busier
word to pronounce. In a typical contest, you'll make each sound somewhere
in the neighborhood of five thousand times, so it should be an easy sound
to say.
To answer your earlier question about flow, I'd have a pair of phonetic
sets memorized.
For getting through a pileup, "November 2 Hotel November Tango"
(NovemberTango feels easiest to me, but your speaking mannerisms should
dictate the choice.) The tradeoff on the extra syllables is more than
paid back by the double November, reinforcing the recipient's pattern
recognition "software".
For trying to get your call corrected after you've already been picked out
of the pile, "November 2 Honolulu November Tango". You could alternate
Hotel with Honolulu. I'm sure some of the Big Guns here will have an
opinion on alternating phonetics and I will defer to their judgement. The
bottom line is whether you, personally, detect improved performance by
alternating.
> >5) What kind of microphone and speech processing are you using?
>
> Which mikes do the experienced contesters and DXers recommend?
Boom mikes with responses tailored to contesting and DX-ing. I use a Heil
Pro-Set with the element they sell for contesting. I can't remember right
off the top of my head whether it's the HC4 or HC5. There are a few
others that are popular. Guys and gals?
> >We all started the same way and then somebody started telling
> >us what to do and it got better.
>
> OK, tell us more.
> Thanks, John - N2HNT <caylor@concentric.net>
This group definitely won't let you down on the "tell us more" part :-)
Of course, you could use K7SS' favorite set: Kay Seven Slant Six...
73, Ward N0AX
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