Dealing with Dits

A few weeks ago I received a preview LCR (log check report) for the recent CQ WW CW contest. There is a dreadful commonality among my LCRs for all contest: dits are my bane. Typical errors include:

• Confusing S and H, U and V, and A and U in call signs
• Confusing 3 and 4, and 6 and 7 in call signs and serial numbers
• Dropped E in call signs

I know I'm not alone in making these errors yet it still bothers me. You'd think that after decades of being a primarily CW operator and operating at high speeds in contests that I'd do better. Becoming proficient at high speed CW does come easy for some, while others like myself have to work at it. True proficiency can remain elusive. The problem becomes worse when fatigue sets in after long hours in front of the rig.

I'll keep practicing.

On the other side of the QSO the LCR tells a similar tale. You may have noticed that my call sign has a lots of dits: 11 of them. When I turn up the speed the other operator can miss one or two of them. Although I love my call -- it has a nice swing on CW -- during contests I envy those with less dits and more dahs, or at least not so many dits strung together.

Very few get the VE3 prefix wrong. Yes, some do at first hear VE2 or KE3, but that may be QRM rather than operator error. The prefix is so common that it gets copied by many as a single character. Indeed that is a common technique of proficient high speed operators, that of hearing character groups or short words as a single entity.

It's almost always the suffix that is the problem. The LCR list of busted calls on the other side of the QSO is always longer than the ones I make. I am sure this reflects the difficulty of copying all those dits rather than signifying that I'm a superior CW operator! I always correct their errors when they send my call. Since they rarely do that when I'm running I may have no idea that they've made a mistake and so I can't send a correction.

The most common copying error for my call sign suffix is UN. Other common ones are KN and WN, which may be more likely due to QRN or QRM where the space between dits may be unheard. Other errors are usually call signs of active VE3 contest operators that the other operator picked out of a master call sign database as a lazy way to deal with poor copy. I correct those as well, though a few race onward without listening or caring.

Since I often have to correct the other operator's mistaken copy I created a novel message that I can send with the press of a function key. Here's what it looks like when programmed in N1MM Logger:

F7 VE3-vn,ve3 >>v n<<

The prefix is sent at normal speed, then the suffix is sent 4 wpm slower with a space added before each letter. It works very well. I thought to create the function key only last year. It saves me so much effort I wish I'd done it sooner.

At least I don't have it as bad as HH2AA, 6Y5T and many others. The varieties of error people make with their calls is startling. When they get incorrectly spotted by a human or a CW skimmer their logs fill with dupes, from operators who don't stop to think or pay attention. That happens to me too. Since a VE3 doesn't attract quite as much attention I can deal with it.

A few of these stations with dit-heavy call signs have resorted to a trick similar to the one I use, to slow down part or all of the call sign in a contest CQ. From my side of the QSO it works well, and hopefully it works for them. Otherwise the slight decrease in QSO rate would not be justified. After all, it isn't their fault that they have calls signs with so many dits.

You might think that slowing down would solve these problems. It doesn't seem to. In my experience these dit errors persist at all speeds. A few stations with dit-heavy call signs have tried this and they don't appear to stick with it. Why bother slowing down and hurting your contest score if there is so little to be gained.

I would hope that those with a lengthy LCR listing of busted calls and exchanges feel motivated to improve their skills. That's the better solution. I know that I'm still trying.