Not a Contestant - But Can We Help?

[M6PAP]

I know that there are some contests that you have to be a part of or your just wasting their time, but then there are some that you can give points to............
How can you tell or find out which is which?

[Orion]

I didn't realise there was any difference.
You take part to submit a score or not (your choice).....I wouldn't think you were wasting anyone's time as they need you for points.

Take part in which ever ones you want and have fun.

[M6PAP]

I didn't realise there was any difference.
You take part to submit a score or not (your choice).....I wouldn't think you were wasting anyone's time as they need you for points.

Which is what I thought but hearing some people talking yesterday, if YOUR NOT in it they can't win it?
Must be hard work if conditions are bad, working the same stations don't seem to count either!!
My thoughts are if someone is calling for ever with no reply then they need me, and there is a good chance I haven't worked where they are and they will make it happen, as opposed to me calling CQ with a bit of noise and getting ignored!!

[G6NHU]

I've never heard of any contest where your QSOs won't be counted towards other peoples scores if you don't submit a log

[M6PAP]

Right I will carry on then, lets hope I can help someone while getting a half decent contact for myself!

[Orion]

Was that a key I spotted on your desk?
Nice contest this w/e where you can give away points to non-Euro stations, if you find a free few mins

[M6PAP]

Was that a key I spotted on your desk?
Nice contest this w/e where you can give away points to non-Euro stations, if you find a free few mins

Only key on my desk is a door key!! (Pictures now in show us yours)
Will try and work a few in the contest this weekend.

[druid]

I guess this is the same question I was about to ask. There's a WHOLE pile of people all over 20M and 40M right now calling "CQ SS" or "CQ Sweepstakes". They all seem to be in the US. Can I answer from Canada, even if I have no idea what a Sweepstakes is? Will it help them? Will they get p*ssed that I responded to a contest CQ when I'm not in the contest?

I'm so new at this, I'd love to talk to Texas or Massetusits, even for a minute...

druid
VA7LAS

[K7KBN]

http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar

Pick a contest; check the rules. VEs are multipliers for SS (even if they misspell Massachusetts ..... wink!)

73 es GL
Pat K7KBN

[druid]

I did that - it was kinda fun. "Say again your serial" "Serial zero-zero-one Alpha, over". "Say again your check" (year of first license) "That's one-one. One-one, over" Didn't get through often, but did talk to Hawaii.

And why did your forefathers pick such hard-to-spell names? I mean, Mississippi isn't too bad once you get going (sorta like bananananana...), but Massetu... Massitou... Missouri?

druid - BC is easy to spell!
VA7LAS

[K7KBN]

Well, there you go! And Hawaii (I guess the "proper" spelling is Hawai'i, but how do you pronounce an apostrophe?) - anyway, it counts as a separate entity for DXCC.

Ah, BC. If I go north from Bremerton, I'm in BC - British Columbia. If I go far enough south, I'm in BC - Baja California. Surrounded by initials!

And sorry, but I didn't have a vote in the selection of "Massachusetts" as a State name; that happened a couple years before I was of voting age.

Glad you had fun! Keep that Contest Calendar link handy. Me, I haven't actually entered any contests since the '60s, but I'm frequently around for DX contests on CW, just hunting rare ones and pouncing before the pileup gets too bad.

[druid]

Ah, BC. If I go north from Bremerton, I'm in BC - British Columbia. If I go far enough south, I'm in BC - Baja California. Surrounded by initials!

AND, if you drive north, you're in Vancouver (Canada). If you drive south, you're in Vancouver (WA). It's always a bit disconcerting when I'm driving south down the I5 FROM Vancouver and I see "Vancouver, 157 miles".

Glad you had fun! Keep that Contest Calendar link handy. Me, I haven't actually entered any contests since the '60s, but I'm frequently around for DX contests on CW, just hunting rare ones and pouncing before the pileup gets too bad.

For me, it was play the contest or shut off the rig for the weekend - they were EVERYWHERE. So - better to join them...

druid
VA7LAS