I concur with a lot of the comments so far. Having a good signal is
important but there are a few other things I have learned over the years.
Some
of them are:
1) "Sound Loud" when running. Sometimes the tone and confidence in your
voice can make a difference when running. Call CQ with confidence like you
expect to get a call. It can sometimes make a difference.
2) Minimize extra words in your exchange and really try to get the
information from the guy calling the first time if possible. If there are
guys
waiting, some will lose patience if your exchange sounds like a rag chew.
3) Realize that one or two minutes without an answer to your CQ can feel
like an eternity when running. But when you are S&Ping , the rate may be
the same but it may "feel" like you are making progress. Don't run forever
without getting a response but realize that there will be slow times and
fast times during your run.
4) If your radio had a panadpater (and waterfall), use it to find good
holes in the band.
5) If you feel your signal may not be that great, you may have better
success running higher in the band.
6) If you hear guys near your frequency calling someone you cannot hear
(perhaps due to skip), realize that you may be getting clobbered by a guy you
don't hear.
7) Always check a couple times to see if a frequency is in use before
starting to call CQ. It is surprising the number of guys who do not do this.
8) Finally, and this may not be for everyone, use SO2R. When runs slow
down, it helps my morale when I am able to look for and work stations on the
second radio while still running on the first. Realize that there is a
risk of losing your run frequency if you take to much time on the 2nd radio.
I guess that's it for now. See you in the pileups.
73,
AL, K0AD
In a message dated 8/21/2016 8:45:37 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
jamesdavidcain@gmail.com writes:
Call CQ.
Too many people just "search and pounce" in contests.
Kind of like on this reflector, where there are supposedly 1500
"subscribers" but only a couple dozen who post anything.
K1TN
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