The following is from Pat, N9RV. I echo his thoughts! See you in the Sprint
on Saturday night.
73, John, K1AR
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just two times a year, the CW Sprint contest, sponsored by NCJ, takes place
this weekend beginning at 0000 UTC on September 8 (Saturday night, local
time).
This is the big one, and the big boys (and everybody else) will be on.
Plenty of folks are forming teams, there's still plenty of time to form
your own.
Rules are here: http://ncjweb.com/Sprint-Rules.pdf . Of special note, of
course, is the QSY rule that requires that you leave the frequency you are
on after completing a QSO where you called CQ or QRZ.
Its the fastest four hours in radio, but if your code speed isn't checked
out at 55 WPM, don't despair. Call some CQ's at a speed you're comfortable
with -- the Sprint's QSY rule means that chances are good that the big guns
will call you in this one instead of the other way around. Or linger on
the higher frequency bands as the "pack" heads to the lower frequencies,
you will find plenty of real estate then.
Some items to note for both new and experienced participants:
- leave a second or two for the "ack" of a received exchange from the
station who is leaving the frequency before dumping your call in. If the
exchange isn't copied, it isn't a QSO.
- oh, yes, try to be accurate. Log checking is a big deal in this contest,
and pre-fills have a way of being strangely wrong, so don't depend on
them. Having a golden log is really cool, and you can do it.
- it looks like a year when the CWOps Open Test runs right up until contest
start. Not much we can do about that, but prepare for an extra adrenaline
rush at 0000z!
Other tidbits and strategy gems depend on where you live. I would suggest
that you not leave 20 meters too early (or come back later and check it).
Our KH6 and KL7 friends would appreciate it! Having coached a lot of
newbies in running this contest, I would also offer a simple suggestion for
first-timers: don't quit! Its easy to get frustrated in the first half
hour when the KW's and Yagis are crushing you in the piles and it seems
like the herd is pulling away from you at warp speed. This will pass
eventually, and you will be spinning the dial and racking up contacts like
everyone else.
I look forward to hearing you on all three bands!
- Pat
N9RV
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