This article posted after 2020 Field Day contains some very useful information about “Running” and excellent example of Laurie N1YXU controlling the run to achieve maximum contacts
Because we could not get together this year for a club Field Day weekend, Laurie and I decided to participate from home in the 1D classification. We would only use one station and take turns operating with Laurie operating SSB and me operating CW. We would run 100 watts and band selections would change based on time of day and propagation. We had a great time and made lots of QSOs. When it was all over I ended up with more CW QSOs, but we pretty much attribute that to on-the-air time. We were on the air for a total of 18 hours. I was on for 11.5 hours and Laurie was on for 6.5 hours. During that time we mostly RAN (we called CQ and other stations called us) but did some S/P (Search and Pounce – calling other stations that were calling CQ). Running is much more effective to get the QSO count up. To that point, we ended up with a tie for one key metric. In the QSO/Hour metric we both had a maximum rate of 144. Perhaps some of you have “run” before and some of you are hesitant to give it a try. There are a couple of key factors when running. First, don’t assume it is mandatory to copy the call of the station calling first time. You can ask for repeats, clarifications, or whatever may be needed to copy and accurate exchange of information. Second, you are in control of the speed, what station you come back to, etc. Listen to this recording and hopefully you will hear how easily Laurie manages the pile-up. At this time her rate is 135 QSO/hr. It is only 4 minutes – enjoy!
© 2024 recording by N1YXU, N1LN, OCRA Inc
73,
Bruce N1LN