Congrats Lloyd on the VK6FZM/MM contact!

If he is sending out QSL's, that would be a neat one for the collection, if
you do that sort of thing.

I am always trying to learn from experienced contest operators like you, so
keep those strategy ideas coming.

I enjoy reading them!

Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ



-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Lloyd Rasmussen
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2014 10:54 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Anybody Need Dominican Republic for the Contest?

I'm glad you got it working.  I don't think I had worked you on CW for
several years.
I concentrated this weekend on running stations, which I did at various
times on 10, 15 and 20.  I decided that if I wasn't making at least 40 QSOs
per hour, I probably shouldn't be on.  One fun thing that happened was being
called by VK6FZM/MM on 20 while I was trying to run Europeans.  If this is
legitimate, it would be the ship carrying the Amsterdam Island DXpedition
back to Freemantle, Australia.  Maritime mobiles count for QSOs but not for
any multiplier in ARRL DX contests.  This contest really was a blast.
When I am running, I try to open up a channel at least 500 Hz wide, set the
receive bandwidth to 400 HZ, and send somewhere between 25 and 30 WPM.  When
doing search and pounce, I try to adjust my sending speed to fit the
operator I'm trying to call, or my perception of how fast he will be able to
copy given conditions.  Having a speed control pot on the FT950 is handy for
this, because it adjusts the keyer and the rig's memories.  And since I'm
not yet running a WinKeyer, I made a lot of mistakes when answering people
who called me.  A dozen times or more I had pileups on my CQ's, which is
always a good stroke for the ego.  But thank you for the congratulations.
73,

Lloyd Rasmussen, W3IUU, Kensington, MD
http://lras.home.sprynet.com