Slow down to bust a contest pileup
In the Minnesota QSO Party last weekend, there was a big pileup trying to work a station in some remote county. The operator was working about 23 – 25 wpm, so I replied at that speed. I even sped up a little thinking that I might be able to slip my call in before the others.
Well, after several unsuccessful calls, and hearing the MN station reply to several slower stations, I decided to slow down myself. Bingo! I got a reply to my first call at the slower speed. My guess is that the slower speed made my call easier to copy and to stand out from the others. I don’t know if this tactic would work in a bigger contest, but I’m going to use this tactic again in a future QSO party.
Panadapter helps work DX
Last night, I was trying to squeeze another QSO out of 40m, but not having a lot of success calling CQ just below 7030 kHz. Scanning the panadapter, I saw a lone signal down on 7012 kHz. From the pattern, I guessed that the station was calling CQ. Sure enough, I tuned down there (actually clicked on the signal in the panadapter) and found a YV5 calling CQ. We each gave each other 579 reports, and I had another DX QSO in the log.
HW U?
At the end of the first transmission, it’s customary to send HW? short for “how copy?” Well, if the signals are good, and I’ve worked the other station before and know the operator, I’ve started sending HW U? instead. This is short, at least in my book for, “How are you?”
This is a little more personal than just HW? and seems to elicit a more personal response. It’s definitely a better conversation starter, and you’ll certainly make a better impression on the operator at the other end. Give it a try. You never know what you’ll learn.
Darrell KD0EZ says
What are your thoughts on using the abbreviation that are used for texting? Especially the more well known ones, such as LOL or BTW. Maybe even use HRU for your ‘How are you’ conversation starter. Or would all that be bring too much modernity into ham radio?
Dan KB6NU says
I actually like the idea of using text abbreviations on the air, and have written about it before. I’ve used “BTW” at least a couple of times, and it seems to have been understood. As far as LOL goes, we already have “HI HI.” I think that I prefer that over LOL as it’s slightly shorter to send and sounds more like laughter than LOL. Overall, though, I say go for it.