Thanks for your reply David. I suspect you are correct. Perhaps I should
not have asked the question about captive Rovers. I did not expect the
answer I got. But hey, the truth is the truth. I asked that only rovers
respond because I suspected the NON-Rovers would be the ones to skew the
results.
Starting as a captive rover myself I can say I would not be a rover at
all had I not had an Elmer to get me started by loaning me equipment and
sending me out to some great sites. New contesters could bypass all the
years of fiddling around and getting bored because things did not work
and not finding sites (1978 thru 1988 for me). I am no longer captive
and my rover is getting quite powerful with contacts over 350miles on
3ghz using a 6 foot dish on top of my van. So I can understand how both
sides feel on the issue of captive rovers. I have built much of my own
equipment and I do not want to see Rovers removed from these contests.
Being a microwave builder I also do not want to have only one contest a
year I can try my neat gear on.
Face it, almost every rover I have met or talked too got started due to
an Elmer, someone who got the bug in this guys ear. Many rovers could
not operate at home for some reason or other. The new rover, not unlike
a new ham doing CW for the first time, will only try to contact his
Elmer until he figures things out and gets comfortable. Once he makes an
outside contact he will get hooked like I did. Then this new rover
starts making every contact he can. Now I favor the stations with the
best Microwave gear.
Let's not forget that the ARRL mission should be to improve things and
increase the usage of the bands. I think FUN is a word often forgotten
in these discussions as well. If the membership wants captive rovers
they might as well make a category for them to keep every one happy. BUT
WE SHOULD NOT KILL ALL ROVER's from the contest as is being proposed
now. I am also against killing the June contest. On this point I think
most NON-rovers and Rovers alike seem to agree. My poll may not have
been taken very seriously (only 15 responded) but of the people that
have not given up I think it shows an approximate feeling. I wish more
would have taken it.
Right now everyone must say something and not let Apathy allow the ARRL
to do what it feels like without considering the needs of the ARRL
membership.
What do I want? I want more PA base stations to run Microwaves and I
want K8GP (and other stations down there to point north towards me more
often.
,, Tim KE3HT/R (PA Rover) Former captive rover.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Hinton [mailto:ke4yyd@gtcom.net]
> Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 1:16 PM
> To: ke3ht@ke3ht.org; vhf-contest-proposal@arrl.org; n2ff@arrl.org;
> n3efn@arrl.org; n3srj@arrl.org; wb3fpl@arrl.org; w1ud@arrl.org
> Cc: vhfcontesting@contesting.com; rover@mailman.qth.net;
> RoverLog@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Rover Poll, What did the rovers think.
>
> Tim,
>
> One would expect those results from a captive audience. I think the
rule
> change committee is trying to satisfy all participants and
consequently
> many
> individual participants are crying foul. For example, some folks
living
> in
> a grid with large numbers of contesters might like extra point value
for
> contacts within their own grid while folks like me who have no other
> contestors in my grid might like no points allowed for contacts within
> one's
> own grid. Folks with lots of bands want extra credit for those bands
> where
> those with one band might say no way. I feel the committee is trying
to
> be
> fair and ascertain that no contester type has a perceived advantage
over
> another type. Mistakes may be made but the overall concept is in the
> right
> direction.
>
>
> David
> KE4YYD
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tim" <ke3ht-dated-1079027807.c3244f@ke3ht.org>
> To: <vhf-contest-proposal@arrl.org>; <n2ff@arrl.org>;
<n3efn@arrl.org>;
> <n3srj@arrl.org>; <wb3fpl@arrl.org>; <w1ud@arrl.org>
> Cc: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>; <rover@mailman.qth.net>;
> <RoverLog@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 12:56 PM
> Subject: [VHFcontesting] Rover Poll, What did the rovers think.
>
>
> > This poll sent to ARRL 3/6/2004.
> > Rover Poll Results
>
_______________________________________________
VHFcontesting mailing list
VHFcontesting@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
|