Talking about QRS and long CQs:
I remember back in the day at Roger Mace’s, W6RW, multi- multi station during
the early sixties when 10 meters didn’t have enough flux to be open, Roger’s
“indefatigable operator” was employed. It was a mechanical device whose drive
motors would drone on for fifteen or twenty minutes calling CQ and then one of
the ops would go harvest a couple trans-equatorial callers. In those days a 15
wpm CQ on ten did the job.
Sent from my iPhone
> On Feb 13, 2026, at 10:11 AM, cq-contest-request@contesting.com wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: My email to my close CAC representatives
> (Richard F DiDonna NN3W)
> 2. Re: My email to my close CAC representatives (Art Boyars)
> 3. Re: W4BVV's long CQ (Dan K2YWE)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:28:28 -0500
> From: Richard F DiDonna NN3W <richnn3w@gmail.com>
> To: Steve London <n2icarrl@gmail.com>
> Cc: K9MA <k9ma@sdellington.us>, cq-contest@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] My email to my close CAC representatives
> Message-ID:
> <CACeNTbKf2ywv11+rW3USF86wkCMaU4Kf2tsyLAKuK_jg1e+zZQ@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> One other reason: many hams ran separate transmitters and receivers and
> possibly it would have taken some time to dial up both the receiver and the
> transmitter to the right frequency? Slower/longer CQ - more time for
> people to tune you in, zero beat the transmitter and be prepared to respond?
>
> 73 Rich NN3W
>
>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 3:56?PM Steve London <n2icarrl@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> A big difference back in the 60's and 70's was that there was always a
>> large pool of newly-hatched General's who could only copy 13-18 WPM. That
>> caused all of us to QRS, lowering the rate.
>>
>> 73,
>> Steve, N2IC
>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 5:46?AM K9MA <k9ma@sdellington.us> wrote:
>>>
>>> On 2/10/2026 6:23 PM, Art Boyars wrote:
>>>> in a way, we've worked ourselves out of a job.
>>> Anyone have recordings of contests before computer logging? I know that
>>> in 1967 the winner of CW SS averaged about 30/hr, maybe less.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Scott K9MA
>>>
>>> --
>>> Scott K9MA
>>>
>>> k9ma@sdellington.us
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> CQ-Contest mailing list
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:30:07 -0500
> From: Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com>
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] My email to my close CAC representatives
> Message-ID:
> <CAJFNq0FyvWd=6-vUqNwYjBHWA=cR=2T1xF5tpVbOd5bZX=13Kg@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> For a good example of the changes in operating practices (QSO speed), see
> if you can find the old FRC film "To Win the World". Notice the op's
> giving their report (ARRL DX SSB): "5 9 Papa Alpha Papa Alpha" (and maybe
> even a third "Papa Alpha").
>
> Notice also somebody's small tower that is up against the house, but
> appears to be set on a city sidewalk. :>)
>
> Maybe somebody from FRC can post a link, if such exists.
>
> 73, Art K3KU
>
> On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 3:35?PM Richard F DiDonna NN3W <richnn3w@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> One other reason: many hams ran separate transmitters and receivers and
>> possibly it would have taken some time to dial up both the receiver and the
>> transmitter to the right frequency? Slower/longer CQ - more time for
>> people to tune you in, zero beat the transmitter and be prepared to
>> respond?
>>
>> 73 Rich NN3W
>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 3:56?PM Steve London <n2icarrl@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> A big difference back in the 60's and 70's was that there was always a
>>> large pool of newly-hatched General's who could only copy 13-18 WPM. That
>>> caused all of us to QRS, lowering the rate.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Steve, N2IC
>>>
>>>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 5:46?AM K9MA <k9ma@sdellington.us> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2/10/2026 6:23 PM, Art Boyars wrote:
>>>>> in a way, we've worked ourselves out of a job.
>>>> Anyone have recordings of contests before computer logging? I know that
>>>> in 1967 the winner of CW SS averaged about 30/hr, maybe less.
>>>>
>>>> 73,
>>>> Scott K9MA
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Scott K9MA
>>>>
>>>> k9ma@sdellington.us
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> CQ-Contest mailing list
>>>> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
>>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:25:46 -0500
> From: Dan K2YWE <dan.k2ywe@gmail.com>
> To: Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com>
> Cc: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest@contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W4BVV's long CQ
> Message-ID:
> <CADS1cDQc-n9auEj69oFYe25Zq7Ys-Ev9HsqOERHo3jr6LsZKhQ@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> I used a tape loop unit from Burstein-Applebee and did the same rectified
> audio thing to my 'TO keyer's driver for it's mercury-wetted relay. I may
> sstill have that loop thingy somewhere here :)
>
> 73, Dan
>
>
>> On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 10:21?AM Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> VE3DZ posted a link to a 1971 recording:
>> https://hamgallery.com/dx1970/w4bvv.mp3
>>
>> I was one of the operators at the W4BVV(SK) Multi-Multi back then. (W3ZZ
>> (then W3BQV, formerly K1ANV) (SK) said of me "He didn't know a G from a
>> DL!").
>>
>> At some point during my years at 'BVV I built the boxes that were used for
>> those CQ machines. Tom had little stereo cassette tape recorders, one for
>> each band/station. They had cassettes that were short continuous loops of
>> tape. We would record the CQ message CW audio on one track, and a
>> continuous tone on the other track. My boxes had simple rectifiers for the
>> audio tones -- the CW track to drive the key line, the continuous tone to
>> drive the PTT; some kind of push button start. I don't remember what I
>> used for drivers -- transistor switches?? relays?? For 'phone, the CQ
>> message was recorded on the one track, and the second track was still used
>> for PTT. Everybody called CQ with Tom's voice.
>>
>> Now, to the case in point. I think that the long and slow CQ in the linked
>> audio file was K4YF (then K3NPV, formerly W8ZBX?) (SK) on 80M. You didn't
>> get a lot of rate or volume on 80M back then. Tom's 80M antenna was four
>> sloping dipoles off one of the towers -- a pretty good antenna in those
>> days.
>>
>> Of course, "in those days" we were logging on paper, with paper dupe
>> sheets. Except K4YF, a blind op, used a portable typewriter.
>>
>> Dupe sheets... W4BVV himself had access to a computer (later, we would
>> have called it a "main frame"). Between the TWO WEEKENDS of each mode of
>> the ARRL DX Contest he would enter the entire log for each band into a
>> sorting program, and output a printed alphabetical list of stations worked
>> for us to use, going into the second weekend. We would read the 80M list
>> to K4YF just before the contest re-started.
>>
>> For 160M Tom had an old DX-100 in the corner (I think we still had power
>> limits on 160M) and another set of four-sloper dipoles on a different
>> tower. I think that now and then in the night somebody would fire up on
>> 160M, work the few QSOs and multipliers you knew would be on, and maybe a
>> sked or two.
>>
>> More on dupe sheets... One time, W3ZZ wondered, "If you had a computer that
>> would give you a red light or green light to tell you if a call was a dupe,
>> would it give you an unbeatable advantage?" Well, Gene did tend to
>> overstate things, as those who knew him would attest. And he is still
>> missed, as are W4BVV, K4YF, W1ARR (SK) and many of the other op's from the
>> old W4BVV team.
>>
>> To tie this to another thread running here, remember that back in the day
>> SS was TWO WEEKENDS for each mode. That's a change that even I appreciate.
>>
>> 73, Art K3KU (K3OAE back in the day)
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> End of CQ-Contest Digest, Vol 278, Issue 13
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