One thing to avoid is the use of "cute" phonetics. Perhaps they are cute and
clever on 2M FM, but a contest is an exercise in operating efficiency, so
stick with phonetics that are punchy and understandable.
However, every rule needs an exception.
In the ARRL SSB, I was operating in England using the callsign M8M. After a
while, I got pretty tired of saying "Mexico" over and over and over again.
So when I was searching-and-pouncing, I tailored the phonetics to the guys I
was calling (I only did this to loud guys).
Dentist K3WW was called by Mandible 8 Mandible
VE3s were called by Mississauga 8 Mississauga
W4AN, one of the few CW ops with perfect sending, as demonstrated by his
ability to send the word "Mississippi" at 50+ WPM, was called by...you get
the idea (I found out later that is wasn't Bill operating, but the other guy
copied the call OK anyhow)
A whole lot of guys who sounded like they needed a reason to grin in the
wee hours were called by Macaroni 8 Macaroni
A bunch of 3s were called by Maryland 8 Maryland, which confused the heck
out of them. Except K3ZO, who chuckled. I knew he would.
I called N2NT as mmmmmmmmm 8 mmmmmmmmm. He copied it OK.
I called K1AR as just "M", since he seemed to be in some kind of hurry. He
filled in the rest (correctly).
I tried to find someone that I knew was a doctor so I could call him as
Mononucleosis 8 Mononucleosis. Fortunately, I didn't find one.
And a very small number of guys who would understand were called by Mosquito
8 Mosquito
I tried not to use "Mike 8 Mike" much. After a few times, it sounded like an
report of cannibalism.
73,
Doug K1DG
k1dg@contesting.com
"See you in the NOTA Contest April 1"
--
CQ-Contest on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST@contesting.com
|