recording a whole contest?

Barry N1EU

CQ WW DX contest rule IX.9:

"Correction of logged call signs and exchanges after the contest, by use of any database, recordings, email or other methods, is not allowed."

Burt Fisher

Walt - KZ1F

Now you're just making me feel bad. I used to do both. Probably picked up the habit from listening to Cape Cod repeaters.

Ken - NM9P

@Burt & @Walt......"Nothing heard...." is usually said to indicate that "i'm done calling, the frequency is clear."  which is unnecessary.  I will more often say something like. "NM9P QSY" which, I know is CW jargon, but is commonly used to say "I am leaving the frequency, don't bother trying to call me."  Still not the best procedure.

But some common misnomers I hear a lot:....

"I'm destinated, so I need to sign off."    "Destinated" is not a word, but I hear it all the time.  I wish they would say "I have arrived at my destination." or simply, "Well, I'm her, so I gotta go."

"When referring to their station, a term that has invaded the amateur ranks from the 11 1/2 meter "freebanders" is "Working conditions."    "The Working Conditions here are a Flex-6500 and AL-80B running into a TA-33 at 56 feet."  Old timers would have a kiniption over that.  Rather we should say, "The Station here is....."  "The rig here is...."

Often new hams will say "The Personal here is..."  instead of saying "My name is Bob."  or the third party... "The name here is Bob," which is not as proper, but better than "The Personal here"  ..... personal what?  I always thought that my name WAS personal.

On CW, the nomenclature has shifted in international contacts.  Instead of "TNX FER THE CALL - UR RST IS 5NN 5NN - QTH IS Washington - MY Name is Ken."  
it is often sent "TU 5NN WA - OP JORGEN BTU"

The use of OP took me by surprise when I got back into CW DXing, but I caught on quickly that it was short for "operator."  The exchanges have gotten much shorter with more abbreviations or shorthand.  Now perhaps this is because I have entered the realm of higher speed operators and DXers who are after a quick contact so they can move on, but it sure has changed over the past 42 years.

Some of the CW changes I can appreciate.  It was interminably long completing a simple contact at 5 WPM CW, especially when everything was spelled out complete with punctuation.  This, I think drover many young hams out before they ever learned how to abbreviate or send faster.

Listen to me...Geez....Burt, you must be rubbing off on me....hi hi.  (CQ Jargon intentional for effect)  I need to buy you a coke at Dayton to get it out of my system!

Actually, back to the Original post..... There are times that I would love to have the ability to record highly compressed copies of some the the more interesting QSO's that I have had....Like the one with an old timer who actually worked spark in the old days..... or the guy who worked on the early Gemini & Apollo programs...or the ham who lived in the boonies outside of Whitehorse in Northern Canada in order to get back to nature while he fought cancer....or the teacher who taught geography to her junior high class by making contacts all over the world by Ham Radio and having her class research each nation/state they contacted...Or the German station celebrating the changes in the geopolitical world on the day the Berlin Wall came down, or later on "Unification Day," when East and West Germany were united....or the Russian stations who could finally speak freely, or at least more freely, when the Soviet Union dissolved....  Or the first time I heard Owen Garriott transmitting from the Space Shuttle....

It would be interesting to replay some of these...or share them with other young hams who will never have the opportunity to hear some of these stories.  A good recording utility would be very helpful not only for contests, but for things like this as well.

Ken - NM9P

Burt Fisher

Destinated is shorter than "I have arrived at my destination", thus efficient.

Then you must be against QTH? You would rather send on CW " I am located at?"

You said we should say, ""The Station here is....."  "The rig here is...."

What is the purpose of the word, "here?" Do you think the rig might be somewhere else?

You said, hi hi. Are we on CW here?

Walt - KZ1F

Ken, I knew that. But you have to admit, Burt does have a knack for making idiosyncrasies pretty hilarious. I was watching his contesters lie video the other day and nearly blew perfectly good **** out my nostrils. Burt, I believe lives just over the bridge onto cape cod, the hook that juts out into the Atlantic on the east coast of Massachusetts.

Ken - NM9P

Just having a little fun, guys.  I hope you understand....no insults meant, only a friendly tweak...I'm serious about the Coke at Dayton.   Sorry, that is as strong as I buy -- except perhaps for Mountain Dew!

@Burt.  Actually I am not against the use of Q-Signals (or even "HI" ) on CW, or even on phone when they have become commonly used.  

My observations were mainly how phone and CW usage has changed from my novice days, in the 70's, but also how some common nonsensical phrases have crept into usage in the last generation of hams - i.e. destinated, personal, working conditions, etc.  

But that is the nature of jargon.  Every hobby and profession has its own jargon-lexicon, which is constantly in flux.  Some of it is fine, because it becomes a common shorthand to speed up communication.  Other have crept in to make the adherents seem more intellectual or sophisticated because it sounds fancy, secret, or technical.  Other "new" jargon is harmless, but different, and the old timers have difficulty adjusting, because "it isn't the way I learned it, so it is wrong."  Old timers (and I am almost one of them) still use phrases and jargon that bear little relation to their original usage - LID (a poor operator whose "fist" sounded like they were sending code with a **** lid) or someone being QLF - sounding like they were sending with their Left Foot.  Or their "Ham Shack"  when most hams no longer must build separate sheds to house their equipment to keep the family safe from ozone and noise generated by spark gaps, or off-gassing from batteries.....

Burt, you are probably correct about the constant usage of the redundant "here."   That is just the standard format I was taught by my Elmers and from ARRL operator's guides I read in the late 60's and early 70's.  I am not suggesting that we should go back to the wooden, standardized format from my early days.  They were pretty sterile, especially on CW.  But I was reflecting as to how many old timers would react to some of the new "standards."  I admit, that I have a bit of a problem with a few of them.  I remember reading an article many years ago (about 40?) called "Losing your Novice accent."  It was about adopting more proper Amateur protocol and eliminating some of the other habits that were holdovers from 11 Meters, where many hams had cut their radio teeth before getting their Amateur ticket.  It was also about learning how to relax and talk naturally instead of trying to be "pseudo-technical" or "pseudo-intellectual."  It made a lasting impression.

As the son of two teachers, I had a difficult time adjusting to the common CW practice of not using complete sentences.  But I quickly learned the value of economy, especially at 5-10 WPM, which, by the way is why I call myself KEN instead of "Kenneth" (my full name) or "Kenny" (what my parents and everyone else called me until I became a freshman in HS and decided that "Kenny" was two juvenile and wanted to be "Kenneth." )

In February of my Freshman year I got my Novice ticket and quickly decided that it took far too much time to send "M-y   n-a-m-e   i-s   K-e-n-n-e-t-h" at 5 WPM!  I quickly shortened it to "Ken" for Ham Radio, and began using it everywhere else, too.  Ha!  It took my parents a long time to adapt, and those with whom I grew up, still call me "Kenny."

Small things turn a life in new directions.  

Well it must be getting late, because I am rambling with nostalgia.   

Ken - NM9P

Dan -- KC4GO

To funny, That why Dannie turned in to Dan (CW). Besides the fact that my mom gave me a girls name and my teachers said i couldn't spell it that way

Joe Duerbusch

I don't see it mention here, but Writelog has had the ability to record the whole contest.  Not only that but after the contest you can click on any qso in your log, and Writelog will bring up the audio for that QSO.  Pretty neat.  .

Joe K0BX