Session 24, August 21 with Recording

Contesting is a big part of Amateur Radio.

Some operators love contesting.  Others shy away.
Whether you are into competing and building up a score is up to you.

The important part to understand is that for a new CW operator, contests are an opportunity to make contacts, whether you wish to enter your logs to be scored as part of the contest or not.

Contests are also a fantastic opportunity to test yourself.  Some of the best CW operators in the world will work contests, especially the big DX contests in the fall and winter months.

Nobody in this class is among the best in the world yet, and that includes me, but that doesn't mean any one of us cannot make contact with the best.  The best contesters want as many contacts at they can get, and that means they want to talk to you.


The trick is learning how to make contact with very fast stations, even though you would not normally be able to keep up with them.

The secret to working a contester that is faster than you is to take advantage of the many repeats a contester makes while working many stations one after another.  It gives you the opportunity to gradually piece together their callsign and their contesting exchange a character or two at a time with each consecutive contact they make.  Only after you already know most of what the other station is going to send do you make your first transmission and attempt to contact them.

It is this tactic that we attempted to simulate tonight.  I intentionally ramped up the speed beyond your current abilities to give you the opportunity to try to piece together the callsign I was operating under and the rest of my information.

Don't get frustrated.  This is an opportunity to learn.  Fighting through contacts like these are a very valuable training technique that will help you dramatically increase your speed.  At first you won't copy much, but as you listen to multiple CQs you'll learn how to copy a character or two each pass.  Gradually you'll figure out the callsign of the faster station.  The first few times you attempt this, it may seem impossible.  DON'T GIVE UP.    Listening to multiple contacts being made at a fast speed is a valuable opportunity.  Don't ignore the opportunity.  Take advantage of it.



Session 24, August 21 Recording




Mark,
NRØR