CW Contests or knitting?

When operating in CW Contests I am normally one of those operators who Search & Pounce (S&P) across the band, never having the confidence to try calling CQ and hold a Run Frequency. In addition to lack of confidence, I have never had a lot of success calling CQ, which I had always attributed to running modest power levels on a crowded band. 

During a recent UKEI CW Contest, I ran out of new stations to call and thought that I would try calling CQ for the last 10 minutes to see how it would go. I was amazed to hear at least 4 stations calling me at the same time and spot on my frequency - my ears and brain went into melt down and I experienced blind panic for the first time in many a year. I have never been on the receiving end of a pile-up before and it was a very sobering experience. CW Contesting has always been a specialised business that attracts the elite of operators but I came to the conclusion that CW Contests are getting more challenging every year. I think that I have identified a couple of reasons for this;

• Operating seems to me, to be getting faster these days. I am not sure if the standard of operating is getting better or whether the use of decoders such as FlDigi or CwGet make copying fast CW easier. Certainly, the use of logging/operating software like N1MM makes sending very fast, accurate CW easier than ever before.
• With waterfall displays and Contest overcrowding becoming so prevalent, stations returning a CQ call are virtually spot on frequency. Whilst on the face of it, this should make operating easier, in fact, trying to single out a particular caller in a pile up with exactly the same tone is, to my ears, impossible.

I did persevere and managed to add a few more calls to my tally but it was a very harrowing experience and, to be honest, a little embarrassing. I vowed to improve my technique or take up knitting. Fortunately there are several pieces of software available to help. One that has survived the test of time is "Morse Runner", a programme that very realistically recreates the contesting experience. It is probably a bit early to evaluate any self improvement but my copying speed and accuracy is definitely improving but I still find pile-ups extremely challenging. Even without the stress of live operating the feeling of absolute panic sets in and the brain fades into static as all calls melt into one meaningless tone. I recently mentioned this to other Spalding Club members and was reminded what it must be like for rare DX stations , like the Bouvet Island expedition, operators. OK, but at least they have the luxury of being able to operate split frequency that Contesting does not afford. 

I will carry on with Morse Runner for a bit longer but even so, more kudos to those DX and Contest operators who run pile-ups so efficiently. They make it sound so easy. Now, in my very modest fashion, I can appreciate just how good you need to be to carry it off.

With any luck my next attempt to call CQ during a CW Contest will be a little less embarrassing than the last time but many thanks to all whose patience is tested in the process. Maybe, just maybe, I'll never call CQ again and take up knitting instead.

Ageing ears

The years roll mercilessly past and as much as I would like to deny their passing has any relevance in my life, I have finally had to admit that they have taken a toll on my hearing.

For many years now the default frequency that I have set my CW sidetone to has been 750Hz. This has always been the optimum frequency that my "brain filters" manage to distinguish the required CW signal from the pileup. It has also been the frequency that I have found most comfortable to listen to, especially during Radio Contests, when I can be listening intensely for several hours at a stretch.

Last week I was operating CW in the RSGB 80 meter Club Championship Contest, a contest that I usually find quite relaxing. However after about an hour of operating I noticed a distinct  feeling of ear/brain fatigue. I was finding it increasingly difficult to separate the required signal from the crowd.

Returning to normal operating several days later, I was listening to a pileup on the radio and found some signals distinctly easier to read than others. I booted up FlDigi so that I could utilise the waterfall to anylise what I was listening to. It was an interesting exercise as I found signals on my usual 750Hz were definitely "down in the noise" compared to some others. When I adjusted the same signal up in frequency it magically popped out from the crowd. I tried tuning the signal to various frequencies before settling at 950Hz. At this frequency my ears could tune in much more clearly, any higher and it became irritating to listen to.

After several days of using 950Hz as my default sidetone I can definitely say that CW has become much more pleasurable again. I can also see why, when calling a rare station in a pileup, it could be advantageous to call him slightly higher in frequency, rather than on or below it.

Perhaps time to book a hearing test!