Call Your Own CQ………. Tuning around searching for CQs can tend to be frustrating. At times there just don't seem to be many folks calling CQ, and the ones I do hear are jumped on by a much stronger or faster station than me. Never fear, there are other productive ways to find a CW contact. Obviously another method would be to find a nice quiet unused frequency and call CQ yourself. Before you fire up your transmitter and send a CQ, listen a few minutes to the frequency to ensure that you are not going to stomp on another conversation. It is very possible that another ham is transmitting on the same frequency but their signal is skipping over you. It is highly recommended that you send a "QRL?", or better yet send a "QRL de ON3CL ?" to see if the frequency is clear. Technically the FCC requires you identify each transmission, and an unidentified "QRL?" is frowned upon. Although everybody does it. Or, if you have the patience, an even better method is to simply listen to the frequency in question for at least 5 minutes. Even then I would still send a "QRL?" before I cut loose with my CQ.
An old fashioned and rarely heard equivalent of "QRL?" is "dit-dit dit", or the CW letters, "I E". It would be sent before a CQ to see if the frequency was clear. Just like "QRL?". The correct response is the same as that to "QRL?" If you happen to be listening and hear someone send an "I E", if the frequency is not busy the correct response is to say nothing or to perhaps send an "N" for "no". If the frequency is busy, like you are having a QSO on the frequency, the correct response would be to send a "C" or "yes". "C" is often used as a CW abbreviation for the word "yes".
If your CQ is answered by more than one station, usually the best practice is to reply to the strongest station. The strongest station is more likely to copy you stronger also, and you will be better able to copy each other should you both be attacked by QRM, QRN, or QSB. If you are able to copy the callsigns of both hams who answer your CQ, and the weaker station has a more interesting callsign, certainly you could answer the weaker/more interesting ham. Since the weaker station is answering your CQ, obviously they can hear you as well. Should two stations respond to your CQ, you can answer them both and try a three-way contact. Three-way contacts on CW are difficult to do.
Send your CQ at the speed you would like to be answered. A three or four by two call repeated twice should be sufficient, "CQ CQ CQ de ON3CL ON3CL CQ CQ CQ de ON3CL ON3CL K". There are many variations. You will hear some beginners sending 15 or 20 CQs before their callsign, not a good idea. If you scan the band and find it active and full of ham signals, a shorter CQ should work. At times when I know another ham is listening on the frequency(perhaps I just heard them tune up), I may get them to answer with a simple one by one, "CQ de ON3CL K".
After sending your CQ you may get an instant response, or you may get no response at all. It may also take some hams a moment to respond to your CQ. They may need to tune up their rigs, zero beat your frequency, or take a few seconds to run to their desk from across the shack. These folks may answer you five or ten seconds after your CQ. Be patient. After sending a CQ myself, I may tune around my transmit frequency a bit using my receiver's RIT(receiver incremental tuning). Because some hams may have trouble zero beating my transmit frequency correctly. Perhaps they are still using crystal control - not uncommon with homebrew QRP radios.
If I get no response after a couple 3 by 2 CQ calls, or I can tell there is very little activity on the band, I may then send a 6 by 2 CQ. The more CQs you transmit, the greater the chance that another ham scanning by will hear and answer you. I believe a pair of 6 by 2 calls is more than enough CQs. Should you still get no response to your own CQs, maybe the band conditions are just plain lousy, maybe you are transmitting too close to another QSO that you can't hear, maybe no one wants to talk to you. Try another frequency, try another band, listen for someone else calling CQ, or turn off the radio and go feed the cat.
An old fashioned and rarely heard equivalent of "QRL?" is "dit-dit dit", or the CW letters, "I E". It would be sent before a CQ to see if the frequency was clear. Just like "QRL?". The correct response is the same as that to "QRL?" If you happen to be listening and hear someone send an "I E", if the frequency is not busy the correct response is to say nothing or to perhaps send an "N" for "no". If the frequency is busy, like you are having a QSO on the frequency, the correct response would be to send a "C" or "yes". "C" is often used as a CW abbreviation for the word "yes".
If your CQ is answered by more than one station, usually the best practice is to reply to the strongest station. The strongest station is more likely to copy you stronger also, and you will be better able to copy each other should you both be attacked by QRM, QRN, or QSB. If you are able to copy the callsigns of both hams who answer your CQ, and the weaker station has a more interesting callsign, certainly you could answer the weaker/more interesting ham. Since the weaker station is answering your CQ, obviously they can hear you as well. Should two stations respond to your CQ, you can answer them both and try a three-way contact. Three-way contacts on CW are difficult to do.
Send your CQ at the speed you would like to be answered. A three or four by two call repeated twice should be sufficient, "CQ CQ CQ de ON3CL ON3CL CQ CQ CQ de ON3CL ON3CL K". There are many variations. You will hear some beginners sending 15 or 20 CQs before their callsign, not a good idea. If you scan the band and find it active and full of ham signals, a shorter CQ should work. At times when I know another ham is listening on the frequency(perhaps I just heard them tune up), I may get them to answer with a simple one by one, "CQ de ON3CL K".
After sending your CQ you may get an instant response, or you may get no response at all. It may also take some hams a moment to respond to your CQ. They may need to tune up their rigs, zero beat your frequency, or take a few seconds to run to their desk from across the shack. These folks may answer you five or ten seconds after your CQ. Be patient. After sending a CQ myself, I may tune around my transmit frequency a bit using my receiver's RIT(receiver incremental tuning). Because some hams may have trouble zero beating my transmit frequency correctly. Perhaps they are still using crystal control - not uncommon with homebrew QRP radios.
If I get no response after a couple 3 by 2 CQ calls, or I can tell there is very little activity on the band, I may then send a 6 by 2 CQ. The more CQs you transmit, the greater the chance that another ham scanning by will hear and answer you. I believe a pair of 6 by 2 calls is more than enough CQs. Should you still get no response to your own CQs, maybe the band conditions are just plain lousy, maybe you are transmitting too close to another QSO that you can't hear, maybe no one wants to talk to you. Try another frequency, try another band, listen for someone else calling CQ, or turn off the radio and go feed the cat.
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