David Yarnes wrote:
>
> Bill and All,
>
> I'm not an ardent contester, so this is a serious question--not a
> criticism.
> I did jump in this year on a very erratic basis, which only yielded about
> 110 Q's. But I'm curious--how does "ENN AU" convert to "599 21"? More
> specifically, the "E" and the "AU" part? I know it is getting to be
> pretty
> "standard" to use "N" for "9", and "T" for "0". That happens all the time
> in regular QSO's. I even started getting used to the use of "A" for "1"
> during the contest--lots of South America stations doing that. But the
> shorthand I question above is new to me. Probably it has been in use for
> a
> long time, but I sure didn't know it. I suspect a lot of others didn't
> either. That has to add to the confusion, and cause otherwise unnecessary
> requests for repeats. And the use of "A" for "1" by some ops, and for "2"
> by others, makes no sense. Seems to me if shorthand is to be used it
> should
> follow some generally accepted standard. Anyway, as one of the leading
> check-out stand tabloids says, "Inquiring minds want to know!"
>
Dave these are "cut" number abbreviations. N for 9, T for 0, E for 5, A for
1 and U for 2. There are others but they're very seldom used. I made a
mistake before and should have said ENN UA instead of ENN AU. ENN UA is the
correct abbreviation for 599 21.
Why do guys send these cut numbers? To save time. Using the databases in
most logging programs, the exchanges are presumed to be 599 (although they
can be modified by exception). The logging programs also pre-fill most zone
numbers based on prefix (i.e. they know 4L is in Zone 21). As soon as
someone copies you as 4L0A, they already know your zone and RST is presumed
599, so 4L0A could send his ENNUA exchange at 100 WPM and most serious
contesters wouldn't bat an eye.
Could this really make a difference in time spent making an exchange? As an
exercise, let's compare:
59921: ..... ----. ----. ..--- .---- (assuming a dash = 3 dits, you have 55
dits worth of timing.
versus:
ENNUA: . -. -. ..- .- (same rules = 18 dits worth).
The latter exchange is roughly 3X faster. Now assume you repeat that for
the 7247 QSOs 4L0A made, *and* also assume he sends the cut exchange at high
speed (e.g. 60 WPM) and you begin to see why guys do it.
Hope this helps and I personally never use anything but T or N for cut
numbers.
73, Bill
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