A couple of weeks ago, I got the following email from a reader:
I recently got back on the air and have started working CW again. I have a suggestion for those working CW contests. There are a lot of CW operators (myself included) that would enjoy working these contests but most of the “big boys” send at 25+ WPM with some around 35 WPM.
I’ve often wondered why , during the last few hours of the contest, that these ops continue to send endless CQ’s at these fast speeds with few if any replies (they have already worked the majority of the other stations) when there are hundreds if not more hams that they could work if they would just slow down to maybe 18-20 WPM during these last few hours of the contest. No, they won’t slow down either if you send QRS and they just continue to send endless CQ’s with few returns. Seems like getting more QSO’s at a slow speed is better then none at all in a contest.
I’m certainly not a top contester, but I think this guy has a point. Slowing down a little at the end of a contest could be a win-win situation. High-speed ops could log a few more Qs by slowing down for less-experienced operators, and the less-experienced operators could gain some experience.
What do you experienced contesters think about this?
Brian says
I spend a fair amount of time on 7118 Khz working slower CW stations. I really enjoy doing this and will slow down at the drop of a hat. I am WAY more able to slow down than to speed up anyway.
73 de KB9BVN
Jeff Greene says
If you want to be a serious CW DX contester, then your speed needs to improve. That’s on you to get better. Look at it as an incentive. Practice. Practice. Contesters are simply NOT going to slow down. I started in the 60s. Nothing has changed.
Bob, KG6AF says
But not everyone wants to be a contester, serious or otherwise.
Sterling N0SSC says
I was that reader once; I’d reply to a 33wpm contest CQ at 20wpm and before I was finished I could hear another CQ being sent through my break-in timer. About 1/3 of the ops would slow down but the other 2/3 were passive aggressive about the speed; as if it’s moving a mountain to slow down a few WPM (which I don’t understand; every keyer has a speed knob and N1MM has a simple hotkey…). If they had slowed, they’d have wasted a lot less time re-sending and re-sending the exchange at full speed.
To save face, I eventually gave up hand sending and started using full speed computer keyed CW during contests, and let the CQer make 2 or 3 QSOs so I could incrementally grok the exchange before I called in. By the time I called in, I would have the entire exchange prefilled.