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#105 - If you have a pileup for your QRP CQ, whom do you answer?
Date: 4/15/07-5/14/08 --- Votes: 349
| Whom | | Nr | Pct |
| The strongest station. -OR- |  | 41 | 12% |
| A weaker station. | | 49 | 19% |
| The easiest to copy. -OR- | | 59 | 17% |
| The most exotic call. | | 31 | 9% |
| A friend. -OR- | | 28 | 8% |
| Someone I never worked before. | | 54 | 15% |
| Someone sending the closest to my CQing speed. -OR- | | 57 | 16% |
| Someone sending faster than my CQing speed. -OR- | | 6 | 2% |
| Someone sending slower than my CQing speed. | | 24 | 7% |
I found this to be one of my more fascinating polls and I'm glad Richard N2UGB suggested it and Tom WY3H helped to modify it a bit. Fascinating because I had no pre-conceived idea of how the voting would turn out. On a good many polls I can usually predict how the voting will go, but not this one. I'm surprised so many folks neglect their friends to work someone new. I'm not sure if that is good or bad as I see a bit of both in it. Not too many folks are adventurous and go back to someone sending faster than their CQ. That adventure is a good way to increase CW ability.
#104 - Which CW activities do you take part in fairly regularly?
Date: 3/15/07-4/14/08 --- Votes: 364
| Which | | Nr | Pct |
| Awards chasing | | 56 | 15% |
| Contests (> 4 hrs) | | 55 | 15% |
| Sprints (< 4 hrs) | | 45 | 12% |
| County hunting | | 8 | 2% |
| DXing | | 73 | 20% |
| Fox hunting | | 9 | 2% |
| NAQCC challenges | | 17 | 5% |
| QRQ (> 35 WPM) | | 5 | 1% |
| Rag Chewing | | 89 | 24% |
| Traffic work | | 7 | 2% |
Pretty much as I expected. Rag chewing and DXing seem the most popular activities. I'm a little surprised at so many awards chasers - maybe because we are getting little response to our NAQCC awards program despite the 'bargain' price awards we offer. Contests (short and long) fit in about where I expected. I'm pleased so many voted for our NAQCC challenges, but confused because we've never had 17 reports for any of our challenges save for our N3A challenge last October. It's also surprising the small votes for Fox Hunting and County Hunting. Those activities seem popular, but apparently the participants seldom visit my web site. Traffic work, no doubt is a dying art because of the Internet, and that shows in the vote, although it could also be because the traffic handlers don't visit my site. Anyway I thought it was an interesting poll.
#103 - Which can you do while COPYING (not SENDING) CW?
Date: 2/15/07-3/14/08 --- Votes: 241
| What | | Nr | Pct |
| Talk to someone in the shack or on the phone | | 38 | 16% |
| Watch TV | | 16 | 7% |
| Listen to TV/Radio | | 14 | 6% |
| Look up data in (or read) a book or magazine | | 18 | 7% |
| Fill in a paper log | | 20 | 8% |
| Fill in a computer log | | 23 | 10% |
| Tune a 2nd receiver | | 10 | 4% |
| Eat and/or drink | | 46 | 19% |
| All of the above - and more | | 7 | 3% |
| None of the above - I can't multitask while copying | | 49 | 20% |
It's remarkable to me there were so many votes from folks who can't multitask while copying. I wonder if these same folks also can't multitask while having a normal conversation with someone. Perhaps it's just being kind and giving full attention to what the person is saying. Personally I use the time while I'm copying someone to do a lot of things around the shack if they need doing. Or if nothing really needs doing, I try to find something to do as it is rather boring to just sit there and copy code. Not in any way, shape, or form that what the person is sending is boring or uninteresting. Just the action of copying is boring, unless it is up above 40 WPM or so. Then it does take a bit more concentration and the exchanges are shorter timewise with not as much time to do something else. I think the hardest to do for me personally is to talk to someone or listen to TV/Radio, although I can do them, especially if the person sending CW is sending the standard info like RST, rig, wx, etc. If they are talking about something like their job, or how they served on a battleship in WW2, then I have to concentrate more on just what they are sending. All the other choices are quite easy to do while copying, and the votes pretty much reflect that. At any rate it was interesting. Thanks Don for suggesting it. Don't forget later I'm going to re-run the 'What you can do while SENDING' poll as I feel it was mis-understood.
#102 - What percentage of your CW QSO's in 2007 were made using QRP?
Date: 1/15/08-2/14/08 --- Votes: 137
| Pct | | Nr | Pct |
| 100 | | 42 | 31% |
| 90-99 | | 31 | 23% |
| 50-89 | | 10 | 7% |
| 25-49 | | 10 | 7% |
| 1-24 | | 23 | 17% |
| 0 | | 21 | 15% |
OK, let's refer back to poll #44 which was similar to this one, but done in early 2003 just after the peak of the sunspot cycle. That poll asked what percentage of your operating is done using QRP. It didn't specify CW nor a time period. Then 25% said they operated only QRP, now it's 31%. Then 10% said they didn't use QRP at all, now it's 15%. Simplifying things a bit further - then 59% operated QRP 50% or more of the time, now it's 61%. Not all that much difference, and I don't really see anything significant in the stats. Any difference can easily be explained by sampling errors introduced by such a small total response. There were more votes in #44 - 188 compared to 137 now. Both of those are really small samples of well over a few million hams around the world. Still it does show perhaps that QRP operating habits don't depend all that much on the point in a sunspot cycle which is what Don VE3HUR was wondering in the first place when he suggested such a poll.
#101 - Which can you do while SENDING (not receiving) CW with a SK, Bug, or Paddle?
Date: 12/15/07-1/14/08 --- Votes: 290
| What | | Nr | Pct |
| Talk to someone in the shack or on the phone | | 21 | 7% |
| Watch TV or listen to the radio | | 25 | 9% |
| Look up data in (or read) a book or magazine | | 18 | 6% |
| Fill in a paper log | | 27 | 9% |
| Fill in a computer log | | 23 | 8% |
| Adjust the receiver volume | | 49 | 17% |
| Tune your RIT or tune a 2nd receiver | | 36 | 12% |
| Watch life go by out your window | | 44 | 15% |
| None of the above - I can't multitask while sending | | 46 | 16% |
| Other comments - email me | | 1 | 0% |
I think (although I could be wrong, of course) this poll was misunderstood. I think many who filled in their answers thought it applied to receiving as well as sending CW. That was entirely wrong. I wanted to know what you could do while SENDING CW. That is, using your right (or left) hand to operate a SK, Bug, or Paddle. I find it hard to believe that so many folks can operate a key with one hand and write or type with the other. When I asked in my diary for those who said they could do so to explain, no one did except my friend Dave VA3RJ who said he could jot down notes while sending, but probably not neatly fill in a log. When I changed the wording in the question to emphasize SENDING, no more votes came in for the filling in a log choices. So I may re-run this poll later on to try to get some more accurate results. Still if you are reading this and can send with one hand and write with the other, I'd like to hear from you please. Other than that, most of the other answers seem pretty logical.
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