----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM
by Trey Garlough, N5KO & Jim Reisert, AD1C
March 31, 1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contained in this FAQ:
1. General Information about the FAQ and CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM
o About this FAQ
o About CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM
o Editorial Guidelines
o Appropriate Topics for Discussion
o Inappropriate Topics for Discussion
2. Subscribing and Unsubscribing
o General Information about Subscribing and Unsubscribing
o Subscribing to the list
o Unsubscribing from the list
o Getting the list in Digest form
o Temporarily stopping and restarting mail
3. Operating Practices
4. Mailing List Archives
5. E-mail addresses of Contesters
o General Information about E-mail Addresses
o W4AN Contesters Email Database
o CQ-Contest REVIEW
o QRZ! Ham Radio CDROM
o World Wide Web Directory Services
o The old-fashioned way!
6. Related Mailing Lists
o Contest Results Group -- 3830@contesting.com
o Kids contest group -- kids@contesting.com
o CT users group -- ct-user@ve7tcp.ampr.org
o NA users group -- na-user@ve7tcp.ampr.org
o SuperDuper users group -- sd-user@blacksheep.org
o TRLOG users group -- trlog@contesting.com
o Internet DX Reflector - dx@ve7tcp.ampr.org
7. Internet Resources for Contesters
o Contest Log Submissions
o World Wide Web
8. Finding out more about the Internet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) General Information about the FAQ, CQ-Contest
1.01) About this FAQ
This FAQ will be posted every so often to the CQ-Contest mailing list.
If there's something you'd like added to this FAQ, please send mail to N5KO
(trey@kkn.net), and he will update it.
1.02) About CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM
CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM is an electronic mail reflector dedicated to hams
interested in all types of amateur radio contesting. This is a good place
for contest-related announcements, discussions and rumors. This forum is
more like the NCJ than QST; INFO-HAMS@UCSD.EDU and rec.radio.amateur.misc
are good places to look for a more rounded discussion of the hobby.
Although there is overlap between contesters and DXers, CQ-Contest is not a
DX-oriented group. DX@ve7tcp.ampr.org is an electronic mailing list
(reflector) dedicated to the discussion of DXing. For details on how to
subscribe to this and other mailing lists, consult the section entitled
Related Mailing Lists.
CQ-Contest is NOT the place to announce your score after a contest.
3830@contesting.com is an electronic mailing list (reflector) for reporting
scores. See the Related Mailing Lists section below for details on how to
subscribe. Jimmy Floyd, WA4ZXA also collects scores and will occasionally
post a summary to CQ-Contest.
Each message you send to CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM will be sent out to all
the other subscribers, kind of like a 2-meter repeater that has a coverage
radius of 12,000 miles or so. Think of sending mail to the list as the
equivalent of an ANNOUNCE/FULL message on PacketCluster. Use regular E-mail
to send a message to a specific individual.
1.03) Editorial Guidelines
The rules are very simple. Postings to CQ-CONTEST@CONTESTING.COM should be
non-commerical and related to radio contesting. Anything outside of those
boundries should not be seen here unless specifically approved by N5KO
(trey@kkn.net). If Trey thinks the update has merit, he will likely approve
it.
1.04) Appropriate topics for discussion
* Contest Announcements: Must be true contests, not "operating events" or
"special events".
* Contester's shack (inside) hardware/software: Must be relevant to
CONTESTING, not just a discussion of bells and whistles that have
little or no application to contesting.
* Contester's outside shack (antennas/towers/coax/relays): Again, must be
RELEVANT to contesting.
* Contester's strategy: Before, during, after. How you planned/executed
your activities.
* Contester's skill: What you do that makes you good (or bad).
* Contester's stories: Must be directly about contesting.
* Contest ethics
* Contest rules
* Contest operators: who was where, who is good, who is an SK, etc.
1.05) Inappropriate topics for discussion
CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM is mailing list dedidcated to contesters talking
about contesting. Termendous lattitude is given to INTERESTING topics
ranging far afield, but there are some types of messages that are strictly
inappropriate. For instance:
* Meta-discussion about the CQ-Contest mailing list. These should be
conducted in private with N5KO (trey@kkn.net)
* The summary sheet from your latest contest effort. That should go to
3830@contesting.com.
* What is the QSL route for xxx?
* What is the E-mail address for xxx?
* Is the xxx mailing list up/down?
* Is the xxx DXpedition on the air yet?
* Product annoucements.
* Solicitations for nominations for "Young Ham of the Year".
* Advertising (unless approved in advance by N5KO trey@kkn.net)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) Subscribing and unsubscribing
2.01) General information about subscribing and unsubscribing
Subscription management is handled automatically by a program that answers
mail sent to CQ-Contest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM. This address also answers
administrative requests, like stopping mail, or showing a list of
subscribers. Subject lines are ignored.
PLEASE do NOT send these requests to the list mailing address!
2.02) Subscribing to the list
To join the group, send a message to CQ-Contest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM and
write the word SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
2.03) Unsubscribing from the list
To leave the group, send a message to CQ-Contest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM and
write the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
2.04) Getting the list in Digest form
The CQ-Contest messages are also distributed in digest form. This means that
all messages posted to CQ-Contest on a given day will be bundled together
and resent as a single message, nominally at 11:45 p.m. EST. This is useful
for people with Internet providers that place a limit on the number of
messages you can have in your mailbox at once. This is the case for many of
the JA subscribers.
To subscribe to the digest, send a message to
CQ-Contest-digest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM and write the word SUBSCRIBE in the
body of the message.
To unsubscribe from the digest, send a message to
CQ-Contest-digest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM and write the word UNSUBSCRIBE in
the body of the message.
If you are subscribed to the digest, you will still be able to post messages
to CQ-Contest. You do not need to be subscribed to CQ-Contest.
2.05) Temporarily stopping and restarting mail
To stop mail (for example if you're going on vacation), send a message to
CQ-Contest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM that says:
UNSUBSCRIBE
To start mail again, send a message to CQ-Contest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM
that says:
SUBSCRIBE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Operating Practices
Electronic mail is different from packet radio, in that many subscribers
receive their E-mail through commercial services such as CompuServe and
MCImail. In essence, many people are paying for each byte of every message
sent to CQ-Contest. In order to minimize spurious messages, please follow
the operating hints detailed below:
* Put your name, callsign and E-mail address on every message you send.
We don't all know everyone by just a callsign, nickname or Internet
address. Furthermore, not everyone's E-mail software lets you see all
the headers of the message, so it's sometimes difficult to reply to an
individual posting without knowing the sender's address.
* Use a subject line that indicates the true subject of your message.
* Wait a while before answering someone's question. Six other people have
probably answered it already. Most answers should go directly to the
person who posed the question, rather than to the list.
* Unlike PacketCluster, many people pay $$$ when they receive messages.
Some people pay per message, some per byte. Therefore, please take this
into consideration when writing a response. Would you pay $0.50 to read
the message that you just wrote?
* Eschew flamage. If someone sends a flame to the list and you can't bite
your tongue, send your flaming reply directly back to the flaming
individual, not back to the list. No one wants to pay $1.00 to read
these messages (the original flame + your reply). Treat flamers the way
you would 2-meter repeater jammers - ignore them.
* Make sure there is something of value in each message you send to the
list. Avoid messages that are a complete reprint of someone else's
message, with nothing but "I agree" or "Me too" added to the bottom --
not much value there.
* Some people pay by the byte, so when following up to someone else's
message, be sure to include only the essential pieces or thread of the
note. Don't include those 20 extra header lines that your mail gateway
tacked onto the original message.
* If you are going to make a personal reply, make sure to remove
CQ-Contest from the header of your outgoing mail message. Otherwise,
everyone else on the list is going to see your personal message.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Mailing List Archives
Every message to the list is archived. You can view the archives on the WWW
at:
http://www.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
You can also fetch messages from the CQ-Contest archive by sending a message
to cq-contest-request@CONTESTING.COM that says:
GET cq-contest.yymm
where yymm is the year and month of the archive desired. For additional
information, you can send a message to cq-contest-request@CONTESTING.COM
that says HELP.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) E-mail addresses of Contesters
5.01) General information about E-mail addresses
There are number of ways to find the E-mail address for a particular
contester. Please do NOT send a message to CQ-Contest that says "Does anyone
have the E-mail address for ______?"
5.02) W4AN Contesters Email Database
Bill Fisher, W4AN (W4AN@contesting.com), maintains a database of contesters
on his web page, http://www.contesting.com/. You can even add or update your
own address. Special thanks to George Fremin III, K5TR (ex-WB5VZL) for
previously maintaining this list.
5.03) CQ-Contest REVIEW
You can get a list of CQ-Contest subscribers by sending a message to
CQ-Contest-REQUEST@CONTESTING.COM that says WHO.
5.04) QRZ! Ham Radio CDROM
The QRZ! Callsign Database has the E-mail addresses for over 30,000 hams!
You can access it on the WWW at http://www.qrz.com.
5.05) World Wide Web Directory Services
There are several services on the WWW for looking up E-mail address for a
given name. Here are a few of them:
* Bigfoot http://bigfoot.com/
Four11 http://www.Four11.com/
WhoWhere? http://www.whowhere.com/
Thanks to Steve Zettel KJ7CH for the information!
5.06) The old-fashioned way!
If you've exhausted every other resource, try calling the person you seek on
the telephone and asking for their E-mail address directly. Or send a letter
to their Callbook address (and include an SASE if you desire a quick
response).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) Related Mailing Lists
6.01) Contest results group -- 3830@contesting.com
This mailing list is a forum dedicated to post-contest score reports, as is
done on 3830 KHz after contests. Summaries of the scores reported to this
mailing list are posted on CQ-Contest on a regular basis after contests. To
subscribe to this mailing list, send a message to
3830-request@contesting.com that says SUBSCRIBE.
6.02) Kids contest group -- kids@contesting.com
This mailing list is used to post the results of the SquINT contests which
are announced on CQ-CONTEST. These contests encourage kids to participate in
a fun filled event and gain exposure to amateur radio and contesting.
Contact n6tr@contesting.com to sign up and receive a copy of the rules.
6.03) CT users group -- ct-user@ve7tcp.ampr.org
This mailing list is a forum dedicated to the CT Logging Program, by K1EA.
To subscribe to this mailing list, send a message to
ct-user-request@ve7tcp.ampr.org that says SUBSCRIBE.
6.04) NA users group -- na-user@ve7tcp.ampr.org
This mailing list is a forum dedicated to the MA Logging Program, by K8CC.
To subscribe to this mailing list, send a message to
na-user-request@ve7tcp.ampr.org that says SUBSCRIBE.
6.05) SuperDuper users group -- sd-user@blacksheep.org
This mailing list is a forum dedicated to the SuperDuper Logging Program, by
EI5DI. To subscribe to this mailing list, send a message to
MAJORDOMO@blacksheep.org that says SUBSCRIBE SD-USER.
6.06) TRLOG users group -- trlog@contesting.com
This mailing list is a forum dedicated to the TRLOG Logging Program, by
N6TR. To subscribe to this mailing list, send a message to
trlog-request@contesting.com that says SUBSCRIBE.
6.07) Internet DX Reflector - dx@ve7tcp.ampr.org
This mailing list is a forum dedicated to Amateur Radio DXing. To subscribe
to this mailing list, send a message to dx-request@ve7tcp.ampr.org that says
SUBSCRIBE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) Internet Resources for Contesters
7.01) Contest Log Submissions
Jimmy Floyd, WA4ZXA (floydjr@interpath.com) is the unofficial Internet
scorekeeper. He compiles the "score rumors" that are posted to the 3830 and
CQ-Contest reflectors.
Contest Name Address
ARRL Contests contest@arrl.org
CQ WPX n8bjq@erinet.com
CQWW CW cw@cqww.com
CQWW SSB ssb@cqww.com
DARC Worked All Europe (WAE) 100712.2226@CompuServe.com
NCJ Sprint (CW) cwsprint@contesting.com
NCJ Sprint (SSB) ssbsprint@contesting.com
North American QSO Party (CW) w9nq@ccis.com
North American QSO Party (SSB) merchant@silcom.com
7.02) World Wide Web
Contesting On-line http://www.contesting.com/
ARRL Contest Branch http://www.arrl.org/contests/
CQ Contest Magazine http://www.affcom.com/cqcontest/
National Contest Journal (NCJ) http://www.waterw.com/~ncj/
KA9FOX Web Page http://www.QTH.com/ka9fox/
LA9HW Web Page http://www.sn.no/~janalme/hammain.html
OH2KI Web Page http://www.mpoli.fi/~leif/oh2ki.html
WB2K Contest DXpedition
Registry http://www.mordor.com/wb2k/dxmenu.html
CT by K1EA Software http://www.ve7tcp.ampr.org/Software/ct/
Super Duper by EI5DI http://www.iol.ie/~okanep/
TR by N6TR http://www.QTH.com/tr/
WriteLog for Windows http://people.delphi.com/w5xd/writelog.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) Finding out more about the Internet
Pick up a copy of the book The Internet Companion by Tracy LaQuey,
Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-62224-6. If your local technical book store
doesn't carry it, you can order from Computer Literacy, 2590 North First
Street, San Jose, CA 95131. Their phone number is +1 408 435-0744.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This FAQ was written by Trey Garlough, N5KO (trey@kkn.net) and converted to
HTML by Jim Reisert, AD1C (AD1C@tiac.net). Many thanks to Jim and to
everyone else who has contributed to this FAQ.
--
CQ-Contest on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST@contesting.com
|