Aw, Dave, many of these can really be interesting and fun! I think more and
more state groups are getting serious about making these work, by diligently
working on getting most of their counties on the air. MN had its first one
in years this year and it went pretty well, even if the word didn't get out
as good as hoped.
The key seems to be for all but CA (maybe few others)--keep 'em short and be
specific about the times to be on 80/160--maybe 10. Lots of folks seem to
like these shorties when they can try and work the key stations on many
band/modes. If there is action, it's a success. No sense on having the
contest run all night when no one is on.
The nice part here is the stations in the sponsoring state get a chance to
practice running, and the out-staters (with few exceptions) get to perfect
S&P and quick band/mode changes.
There is no problem with more than one state having the same weekend, as it
gives the masses more stations to look for. Might be a good idea for some
sort of co-ordination to alleviate both (or more) states being on the same
frequency.
John
N0IJ
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