In a message dated 96-12-02 19:39:55 EST, you write:
> Contesting has now become a contest
>not of skill in operating, but a contest as to who can pour the greatest
>amount of money into a station. Who has the greatest amount of bucks can
>win! Skill comes a long way second. Gee, if you cannot operate from your
>own backyard, just go down to the Carribean... It is a well known fact that
>there are only about half a dozen locations in the World where you can win
>CQWW?
Hi, Tom --
Whilst the amount of money being spent on and the technological hardware
available for contesting sometimes boggles my mind as well, I try to keep it
up close and personal.
I think you're wrong - I don't think you can sit anyone down at the best
contest station/location in the world and have them win. Far from it, even
most competent journeymen contesters won't win from there. The hardware is a
minority in the winning equation Conversely, you can take a world class
contester, sit them down at an average station and they will beat many
stations of much larger size. It's operator 80% and hardware 20%.
Hey, we all want to operate at the other end of the pileup. It's FUN!!
Go out and do it but it doesn't automatically mean you're going to win.
>
>I would like to draw a firm line under Internet. Just by dabbling into the
>Web and looking at various facilities and programms that are CURRENTLY
>available, not to mention the future, it seems just a matter of time before
>someone is caught cheating, by connecting via the Internet to another
>location in the World. With telnet, real audio, so on and so forth, it is
>just a matter of time until you can seriously operate a remote transmitter
>anywhere in the world via your own home PC. You wont
>even need your own radio. At midnight zulu when the band is closed in
>Europe, why not operate via a remote station in California, and when
>propogation starts to go from there, QSY to Singapore or where ever. Why
>spend money in going to Aruba, when you could pretend you are there and
>operate an Aruba station from your own home.........Guys are operating their
>HF rigs via 2m links, why not via an Internet link? IT IS ONLY A MATTER
>OF TIME.
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling." Every 'new' enhancement that
has come down the pike (SSB, electronic keyers, computer logging, ad nauseum)
has produced the same response from someone. They all become part of the
whole - the contesting, the competing and the fun.
>
Compete with your buddies, compete with yourself to better last year's
score, do something so that YOU have fun. That's what it's all about.
73, Steve K7LXC
>From cooper@gmpvt.com (Tom Cooper) Tue Dec 3 14:25:39 1996
From: cooper@gmpvt.com (Tom Cooper) (Tom Cooper)
Subject: No Skill Required. Huh?
Message-ID: <199612031425.JAA00411@web.gmpvt.com>
>> >However, WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE? Contesting has now become a contest
>> >not of skill in operating, but a contest as to who can pour the greatest
>> >amount of money into a station. Who has the greatest amount of bucks can
>> >win! Skill comes a long way second.
>
What??? A billion dollars wouldn't help you if you can't keep up a good rate on
the NA simulator, let alone in heavy traffic. Of course, we all know that Wayne
Gretsky is only great because his sticks are so expensive.
Tom WA1GUV
>From fisher@hp-and2.an.hp.com (Tony Brock-Fisher) Tue Dec 3 14:32:50 1996
From: fisher@hp-and2.an.hp.com (Tony Brock-Fisher) (Tony Brock-Fisher)
Subject: No Skill Required.
Message-ID: <9612031432.AA07883@hp-and2.an.hp.com>
>However, WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE? Contesting has now become a contest
>not of skill in operating, but a contest as to who can pour the greatest
>amount of money into a station. Who has the greatest amount of bucks can
>win! Skill comes a long way second. Gee, if you cannot operate from your
>own backyard, just go down to the Carribean... It is a well known fact that
>there are only about half a dozen locations in the World where you can win
CQWW?
>Then Bill, KM9P replies:
>
>I totally disagree with the above statement. Number one is skill. $$$ is
>important, but not first on the list. It just works out that the guys that
>are crazy enough about operating contests are also crazy enough to spend
>lots of money on their stations.
>
>Look at KQ2M and KT3Y. The "All Wire" guys. They both make the top ten
>USA. Copper wire isn't too expensive the last time I checked.
>
>73
>
>Bill
>
The real formula for success is BOTH money AND skill. KQ2M earned himself
a reputation (in more ways than one) operating from the mega-QTH of KM1H.
KC1XX broke into the winner's circle of Multi-Multi's in one season
by making contesting his number one priority in real estate, if not
life.
K1AR didn't win too many contests from his Long Island QTH, even
with his consummate skill.
Skill and well-funded stations: either one will get you into the
Top Ten. But if you want to WIN, you need both. Plus one other
thing: Luck!
-Tony, K1KP, fisher@hp-and2.an.hp.com
>From george@epix.net (George C. Cook) Tue Dec 3 14:51:21 1996
From: george@epix.net (George C. Cook) (George C. Cook)
Subject: My Wealthy Contesing Pals
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19961206095407.2c178dd0@epix.net>
I am sitting here in my palatial estate up here on Kirkridge Mountain
choking on my caviar
and crackers that someone dared to belittle us rich folks who can afford to
simply buy there
scores and not have any skills whatsoever. Why I would think in my own case
that you should be in awe of my state of the art TS930 and wire antennas.
And then I got to thinking here about some of my blue blooded FRC buddies. Why
I think that just looking at the scores you can tell that:
N3RS is a wealthy school teacher
N3ADL <V26B> made his millions in the Postal worker game
N3MKZ Raking in the dough over at the local Radio Shack
W3EA Used to work at Mac Truck before his back let out on him
Oh and me I made my fortune as a computer repairman!
The bottom line is that money has NOTHING to do with it. I never knew one
of these
guys to whine and complain that they didn't or couldn't win. Rather that
year after year
the scores get bigger and bigger. And I know that there are many more like
them world wide.
You want to win? REALLY?
Then keep working at it and make the best of what you got. I know I will.
Something Grandpa used to say:
"Winners never quit, Quitters never win"
*********************************************
*George Cook.....AA3JU.....AKA "The Ratman" *
*george@epix.net.....AA3JU@W3PYF *
*http://www.epix.net/~george *
* *
*Proudly Frankford Radio Club......... *
*.......Proficiency Through Competiton. *
*"Not just words but a way of life" *
*********************************************
>From rrossi@btv.ibm.com (Ronald D Rossi) Tue Dec 3 15:55:23 1996
From: rrossi@btv.ibm.com (Ronald D Rossi) (Ronald D Rossi)
Subject: Ooooppps, no mult!
Message-ID: <9612031555.AA20078@btv.ibm.com>
>>>ROBERT REED said:
> >What should be the penalty, if any to the M/S station.
> >Seems they violated the rules by working Randy.
>
> Yes, They worked Randy and should have logged it.
>
> In my opinion once a MULT station starts seeking QSOs by a CQ he is
> no longer a MULT station but a 2nd transmitter. Searching and working
> MULTS is not calling CQ and logging only the new ones. A MULT station
> can search out and call new MULTS. Other than that he should do
> nothing.
:) :) :) :)
What we need is to share a list of needed mults realtime on the internet or
packet so the computer at the station reponding to the CQ knows that they are
a mult for the M/M ... er I mean M/S station. CQ MULTS CQ MULTS de ....
:) :) :) :)
--
73 de KK1L ex N1PBT...ron (rrossi@btv.ibm.com) <><
Ron Rossi H/P SRAM Engineering -- IBM Microelectronics
>From k1vr@juno.com (Fred Hopengarten) Tue Dec 3 15:59:11 1996
From: k1vr@juno.com (Fred Hopengarten) (Fred Hopengarten)
Subject: Multi-single
References: <199612020209.UAA19161@zoom.bga.com>
Message-ID: <19961203.105717.5495.44.k1vr@juno.com>
From:
Fred Hopengarten, K1VR
Six Willarch Road * Lincoln, MA 01773-5105 * 617/259-0088
e-mail: k1vr@juno.com
Big antennas, high in the sky, are better than small ones, low.
On Sun, 1 Dec 1996 20:09:06 -0600 (CST) geoiii@bga.com (george fremin
iii) writes:
>In order to do the CQ WW multi-single catagory at a
>competitive level you have to have two stations - many of
>the serious stations use at least three stations.
>One running, one working multipliers and one tuning on
>the third band looking for multipliers so that in ten minutes
>they will have some to work.
>
>I do not think this needs to be changed - anymore than I see
>a need to change the catagories in the ARRL DX contest.
>I think that it is GREAT to have contest catagories that
>are diffrent. In the ARRL DX contest there is a "real" one
>transmitter class.
George has it exactly right, and for this reason my favorite contest is
ARRL DX CW M/S, where three or four guys can have a lot of fun, a
reasonable amount of sleep, and enough engineering talent to keep the
station on the air. I think of CQ WW M/S as a warmup to ARRL.
Some day we'll beat W3BGN (having come in second to BGN two or three
times).
>From syam@Glue.umd.edu (De Syam) Tue Dec 3 16:22:09 1996
From: syam@Glue.umd.edu (De Syam) (De Syam)
Subject: BD5QE
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.961203111959.6203F-100000@y.glue.umd.edu>
BD5QE is definitely in China. I have worked him, and N4XX locally just
received his QSL.
Maybe he didn't realize what zone he was in, and since he heard all the
JA's signing "59925" he did the same. About 99% of what he hears in his
area would be JA's
Very 73,
Fred Laun, K3ZO
>From kiddi@marel.is (Kristinn Andersen) Tue Dec 3 16:31:14 1996
From: kiddi@marel.is (Kristinn Andersen) (Kristinn Andersen)
Subject: So how do the "All Wire" guys succeed?
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19961203163114.00a4f7fc@marel.is>
As for most arguments, there are two sides to the debate
on money vs. skills in contesting. Now, being a low-$
small pistol, it was encouring to see Bill, KM9P, remind us
that many successful contesters (he mentioned KQ2M and KT3Y)
do well with wires only for antennas.
Wouldn=B4t it be great to hear how some of the all-wire guys
do it? Aside from operating skills, exactly what kind of
wire antennas are they using? Where and how are they located
(QTH, site/height/ground description)? RF power?
Please drop me comments and I=B4ll summarize to the list.
73 de Kristinn, TF3KX (kiddi@marel.is)
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