Well, I can empathize with the East coast boys and their problems with sprint
propagation as a function of contest starting time and the sunspot numbers. We
suffer difficult propagation challenges here in Texas on just about every DX
contest where European QSO's must be earned through their propagation advantage.
But on another thought concerning the sprints, I tend to agree that the QSY
rule causes bedlam on 75 and really puts everyone in a no win situation. We
cause aggravation to the pig farmers via our scurrying all over "their" band,
and we get tossed back some pretty ignorant QRN as a result.
NAQP, as an example, is a super contest, but it doesn't thrill me to always be
aware of the fact that eventually I must move to 75 meters for contacts.
10, 15, 20, 40, 160 ..... Great!
75 ................. Sucko !!
Might sprint not be a better contest if we started sprint earlier so as to
better use the high band propagation, and didn't even use 75 meters as one of
the bands? After all, who says the same old start/stop times have to be used
every year. Can't we adapt our contest session timing to suit prop conditions
and time of year?
I, for one, just don't want to hear that 75 meter crap any more. It just haunts
me to know it's coming when I QSY to 75 meters. It bothers me more, knowing
that the wrath shoveled out on us by the the good old boys has some bit of
merit behind it, to their way of thinking.
73,
N5RP
Houston, Texas
Email: perring@infocom.net
http://www.infocom.net/~perring/bucky.html
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