As a VE4, I can honestly say the answer to working VE4 is small, unmarked
bills. Lots of them.
;')
Seriously, however, as a VE4 who is often on in modest to serious efforts, I
will often find a spot high in the band and call CQ. When enough of those
CQs go unanswered, I either go S&P or go back to Sudoku.
So if you want to work us, answer us when we're calling CQ. Or, as Vic said,
point your beam in the general direction and work stations until one of them
is the mult you need.
I can't count the number of times I've answered somebody's CQ either to be
told "Gimme a sec while till I turn the beam your way" or "Who's the Kilo
Echo 4?" So use some of that beamwidth of yours and split the difference.
The east coast won't be down that much if you're pointed at VE2, but you'll
hear the VE4s and VE5s that much better...
Here are the VE4s you're most likely to run across any given contest:
ve4mm, ve4vv, ve4gv, ve4xt, ve4yu. There are others but these are the most
likely.
So if you hear a "Four Victor Victor" or a "Four Yankee United" pay a little
closer attention...
73, kelly
ve4xt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Art Boyars" <art.boyars@verizon.net>
To: <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Rare Canadian mults
> N7ZG asked "During SS, where do the rare Canadian mults hang out and at
what time?"
>
> As a certified SS CW (I say again, CW) Little Pistol, I've thought about
that for MANY years. Back around 1967 I asked W4KFC "How do you get a VE4?"
He replied, "I just point my beam that way and call CQ until one answers."
>
> There is more wisdom in Vic's answer than you might think. First, a lot
of them will, in fact, be S&Ping, so you have to call CQ. Second, it's sort
of obvious, but you have to hit the band that is open to where you want.
However, the "what time" is a key part of the question. The guys who are
really rare are going to be the ones who are making only small or modest
efforts. They will be on when it's convenient for them to be on: Saturday
night, Sunday morning, early Sunday evening, and Sunday night.
>
> (Some of them might be on at the beginning of the contest, but it's
probably not profitable to actually be looking for them during that high
activity time. However, if you really want the mults, and are willing so
sacrifice a few minutes of rate -- which might be recoverable, if you are a
Little Pistol -- you might take a quick look at the high bands. I do not
start until about 00Z Saturday night, and some years I have, in fact, begun
with a quick tour up and down 15M or 20M to try to get a few mults like WY
or MT in the bag.)
>
> Backing up, what's rare for you might not be rare for me (East Coast).
E.g., Is QC (VE2) rare for you? If I stay alert on 40M, I can expect to run
across one (it could also be on 80M, except my antenna is too short; or on
20M if the skip gets short). OTOH, when I ask my West Coast friends about
VE8/VY1 or KL7, they say "Oh, he called me on 40M." Gee, I have to be
constantly checking 20M or 15M when they are open up that way. And I
usually do not find one (so maybe I should be looking more on 40M in the
late evening or early AM, eh?). And it's often Sunday evening before I find
a VE4 or 5 or 6 who can hear me, usually on 20M or 15M, even though there is
usually at least one big effort from those mults.
>
> Backing up even further, I would wonder why you focused on Canadian mults
(unless Hockey Night in Canada takes a lot of guys off for a few hours
Saturday evening). I'll bet NNY is just as difficult as MAR, and some years
I've wondered if the Florida Panhandle (NFL) has gone QRT. The same
rationale would apply: be on the band open to those areas, at the time when
the modestly active guys will be on.
>
> And always remember to trade your mult hunting for rate as best suits your
goals.
>
> Hope this helps. Even if you do not agree, perhaps it will stimulate your
thinking.
>
> 73, Art K3KU
> One op; one 100W radio; one antenna
> "Tune for maximum fun"
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> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
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