I am glad to see that everyone else is starting to agree that zero points in
WPX is bad for contesting. I have been trying to convince the contest committee
and CQ of this for over two years. Below are some of my opinions on the subject
which I help will reinforce my point.
I do strongly agree with others on here of what this contest is. It is a PREFIX
contest. It is not a DX, Sweepstakes, FD, or QSO party. The object is to work
as many prefixes as you can, or at least I thought that was what it was. Where
the prefix is does not matter a hill of beans. A WA4 counts just as much as a
SM5 does in the multiplier column. If it was a DX contest then the SM5 should
count more there also. I agree with the two big DX contests each year that US
should be zero points for contacting each other but do not turn around and tell
me that I am mulitplier.
These are some figures from my effort this year in WPX that I have noticed run
about the same as others.
Total Q's = 980 Zero Points= 334
Total Multis = 497 Multipliers that were 0 pts = 169
So 1/3 of my q's were zero pointers but over 1/2 of those zero points were
mulitpliers. Close to half of my multipliers came from zero point contacts. I
do admit that I would go on 40 and 75 and just call the US. It is something
I have been doing for over two years. I could not hear any so call DX so I
went after multis.
Something else to take into consideration and this has nothing to do with any
person or station, just looking at numbers and scoring. When a Single Band,
Single OP on two different single bands, doubles the best US Multi Single and
beats the best Multi/Multi I think something is not exactly right in your
scoring system. Check out the top 15 meter and 40 meter single band scores in
my scores from Brazil.
I feel the biggest thing that anyone would see by making working your country
1 point is the increase activity on 40 and 75 and maybe on 10 till the sunspots
come back. You should also remember that the new hams have the newest prefixs
usually. I was glad to work a KF4 which the newest ones in 4 land.
One last comment on reducing the time. I prefer to work the entire 48 but I
am sure that is out with most. The only thing to me is why have a 48 hour or
two day contest and take almost a day off. I just do not see the point of that
much time off. The format now gives you two nice 6 hour naps each night and to
me that is enough. Just an opinion on the time deal.
Well these are my thoughts and I did not mean to offend anyone by them.
73 Jim
PS: All this is just another good reason to have that Contest Forum I have been
asking for at Dayton. Let ARRL and CQ be there and discuss all the rules and
regulations.
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