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Re: [CQ-Contest] WRTC Qualifying

To: "Matt NQ6N" <matt@nq6n.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] WRTC Qualifying
From: "Bob Shohet, KQ2M" <kq2m@kq2m.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2018 20:10:22 -0400
List-post: <mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
Hi Matt,

I have a few comments on some of your observations based on my experiences:

- In a perfect contest, participants would be indifferent to where in the world 
they operated from.  
>>>>Most participants would generally rather operate from where it is most 
>>>>convenient – whether it was from their own station or where it would be 
>>>>easiest to get to to operate from a competitive station.   Some would want 
>>>>to go to a particular station or country because THAT was one of the 
>>>>objectives, not just the contest.
So far we haven't found a scoring mechanism that manages to accomplish this. 
Some geographical areas are a better place to go if you want to win. 

>>>>A smart op. will spend the time and effort to figure out what areas or 
>>>>countries the scoring mechanism of that particular contest favors; and then 
>>>>endeavor to operate from there.  If the CQWW contest were to make all 
>>>>NON-US zones worth 3 pts per qso, there would be a stampede to build and 
>>>>operate BIG stations in zone 8 in the Caribbean as opposed to seeking out 
>>>>and building those BIG stations in every 3 pt location with good 
>>>>propagation to the US and Europe.  KP2 and KP3 would be in far greater 
>>>>demand than they are right now.  So change the scoring mechanism for a 
>>>>given contest and the locations that are favored and most desired will 
>>>>change overnight. 

- In spite of the obvious differences in what is possible from different parts 
of the US, we still celebrate the top score from the US as if it is an 
accomplishment for a W1 to beat a W6 in a contest where most of the points come 
from QSOs with Europe. 

>>>>Personally, I celebrate making the largest score possible.  I don’t care 
>>>>who I beat or what call district they are in and I know that most of the 
>>>>top ops feel the same way that I do.  We celebrate the largest scores 
>>>>regardless of who makes them.  If it happens to come from a W6 we would 
>>>>celebrate harder!  :-)  But we are also mindful of who makes them and from 
>>>>where, and often give major kudos to guys like W7WA, N2IC, W9RE, N9RV, N2NL 
>>>>and others who constantly make great scores operating from areas not 
>>>>normally associated with being advantaged toward Europe.   At least that is 
>>>>what I do and the people I know also do.  That’s what true radiosportsmen 
>>>>do.  But there is nothing wrong will celebrating the winners either or the 
>>>>guys that made really big scores.  They had to work hard and beat lots of 
>>>>other guys too and they deserve credit for that ESPECIALLY if they built 
>>>>their own station and operated from it!  The winner still has to make the 
>>>>most points in the contest and that means that they likely worked more q’s 
>>>>and hunted down more mults than anyone else.  Why shouldn’t that be 
>>>>recognized and celebrated?

- There are great operators all over the world. I suspect that if east coast US 
ops thought they could win from W8, W9, W7 or W6 they would ask to guest op 
there just for bragging rights.  

>>>>NONSENSE!  Great ops want to operate from either where they feel that they 
>>>>will be the most competitive or from where they think that they will have 
>>>>the most fun and that is not always the same place.  They don’t need to 
>>>>prove anything to anyone and would NOT do as you suggest!

One in a while there is propagation that allows for some great openings and 
unexpected outcomes, but those are exceptions, and typically the large volume 
of QSOs from EU dominates the final scores. 

>>>> In my previous posts I gave plenty of what you would consider “unexpected 
>>>> outcomes”.  There would have been MANY more “unexpected” outcomes had 
>>>> those same and other ops used bigger stations and operated religiously TO 
>>>> WIN in EVERY DX contest.   Had they NOT operated just those few weekends, 
>>>> what they did (winning) would still be considered impossible!  Such is the 
>>>> self-fulfilling prophecy of perception.  Winners FIND ways to win - they 
>>>> don’t expect opportunities to be handed to them and they overcome 
>>>> obstacles and disadvantages to win -  the rest of the pack does not.  So 
>>>> the “rest of the pack” doesn’t win even when an opportunity might be right 
>>>> in front of them! 

- In spite of all this, contesting is still fun.  As someone else pointed out, 
all the new remote sites in W1 and W2 will make those districts significantly 
more competitive, and so earning a WRTC spot will certainly become 
significantly more difficult from there due to increased competition. 

>>>>  That is not new - it has been that way for many WRTC’s now.  Using a 
>>>> quota system by call district has ensured that many of the most skilled 
>>>> and most deserving ops in W1 and W2 don’t get to go to WRTC.  But that is 
>>>> up to each WRTC committee to decide.  There will ALWAYS be lots of 
>>>> deserving ops that don’t get to go to that particular WRTC, both in the US 
>>>> and in the rest of the world.

- WRTC results show that there is not significant difference in operator skill 
across regions of the world. That's a good thing as it indicates that the local 
competition is usually high quality, but it also reveals that the glory that is 
heaped upon US "winners" of DX contests who enjoy a significant geographical 
advantage is misplaced, and that more focus should be allocated to the exciting 
and much more competitive regional horse races and rivalries. 

>>>>>Absolute NONSENSE!  If you look at the winners of past WRTC’s and the top 
>>>>>5 places in each WRTC, you will not that the US has a very pronounced and 
>>>>>disproportionate number of winners AND in the top 5.  That does not happen 
>>>>>by accident.  We have a very large number of the best contest ops. in the 
>>>>>world and always have!  And the fact that we continually demonstrate our 
>>>>>excellence regardless of what country the WRTC takes place in, just proves 
>>>>>my point.  There have been 6 WRTC’s and a US team has won FOUR of them!  
>>>>>Often we have at least two if not three US teams in the top 5!   And the 
>>>>>guys who accomplish these results ARE the same guys that win DX contests 
>>>>>both from the US and from overseas!  Why don’t you look through the 
>>>>>results of all the WRTC’s and see for yourself?

- Put another way, it should be fun for a W1 or W2 op to visit the midwest, 
take the helm of one of the top stations in the region, and win W9. 

>>>>Why do that if you can stay home and have fun?  It costs less and is much 
>>>>more convenient!

If the standings and write-ups recognized operator skill (defined as the 
challenge of maximizing the prop and the station against others with similar 
prop/station), the only reason to go to the Caribbean would be the tropical 
weather, not the propagation. I realize this point overlooks the pleasure of 
being in a high rate flow state for many hours.

>>>>>High rates and better propagation are PRECISELY the reasons to go operate 
>>>>>there, as well as visiting another country.  As far as “maximizing the 
>>>>>prop and stations against others...””   How exactly would you propose to 
>>>>>do that?

- WRTC shows us that top operators will travel and take time out of their 
schedules to participate in a fair competition using minimal stations. Let's do 
more things like this.  I think station building and operator skill are hard to 
separate, because it takes a skilled op to maximize a station of any caliber, 
and adding more aluminum is only as effective as the operator is at knowing how 
to use it.   But one way to highlight station building prowess is to show how 
well they fare against a WRTC style setup on their own turf.  

>>>>>I agree with all of that.  I think that most contest ops do too rather 
>>>>>than engage in an “arms race” of station building.

I'm looking forward to one day having the time to set up a competitive station. 
Until then I enjoy guest operations, occasional travel to the Carribbean, and 
watching WRTC as a spectator.  I can't wait to see who wins this year, and I 
think it's safe to say that nobody reading this would have much chance of 
beating whichever team wins in fair competition.  The qualifying criteria are 
what they are, but the ops who are competing are all top notch.  

>>>>Indeed!

73

Bob KQ2M

73 and best of luck to all,

Matt NQ6N



On Mon, Jul 9, 2018 at 11:46 AM, Bob Shohet, KQ2M <kq2m@kq2m.com> wrote:

  Hi Jeff,

  The examples that I cited are not common but they are not “abnormalities”.  
They would certainly be more common had the same group of excellent ops 
operated from similarly big stations outside of New England in ALL the major DX 
contests.  As a result there would have been many more “outside New England” 
wins and fewer “New England” wins.

  N2IC’s CQWWSSB win in 2013 makes that point clearly.  Had I been able to 
operate more than my Atrial Fibrillation (AFIB) shortened 38 hours in that 
contest with at least some time spent on 80 and 160, I would have won easily, 
not Steve.  But that would be expected since I am ~2200 miles closer to EU than 
he is.  But Steve still beat everyone else in New England that weekend that DID 
operate full-time!  If Steve didn’t get on then someone in New England would 
have won and we would have continued to hear the chorus of “You can’t win if 
you are not in New England” nonsense.  This again proves the point that I was 
making earlier.

  We also know that the density of world-class ops and BIG stations is GREATER 
in New England than in any other part of the country.  That adds to the 
lopsidedness of W1 victories.  And when a great op from somewhere else in the 
country moves to W1, that just adds to the total.  There are lots of reasons 
why W1 is by far the most competitive place to be in ANY DX contest.  You have 
to be a great op at a really good station just to finish in the top three in 
New England in most DX contests! 
  With K5ZD, K1DG, KQ2M, NN1N (before he moved), K0DQ, W1KM, N1UR, K1AR, K1ZZ 
and many other fine ops getting on in CQWWCW SOABHP NON-assisted, Top 3 in New 
England is a heck of an accomplishment!  And that doesn’t even include KL9A 
remoting in or some of the other FB ops!  And remember, that is just the 
competition from WITHIN W1 !  

  We all know that New England has an outsize advantage to working EU that 
varies on any given weekend with propagation, the particular contest and the 
point in the sunspot cycle, and that this advantage is not reciprocal with the 
advantages outside of New England to JA/Asia/Pacific - considering the 
disparity in qso totals. 

  But all of this misses the original points that I was making; namely that 50 
miles matters in DX contests, especially when that 50 miles puts you close to 
the Coast and a water path to a high volume target like Europe.  AND, that 50 
miles matter much more under cndx of high absorption and/or in the lean years 
of the sunspot cycle.
  And it is especially true at the higher latitudes of New England, the Pacific 
NW and the Great Plains.

  I have a 3 stack of 5L yagis on 20 and I routinely get stepped on by stations 
in ME with far less aluminum, especially when cndx are poor.  This is even more 
noticeable on the low bands, especially 80 and 160. On 80 I have a 4-square and 
am pretty loud but guys on the coast can blow right through me in the EU 
pileups with a high inverted V regardless of cndx.  On 160 it is even worse.

  I am technically in New England, but if I drive 10 miles West I am in W2.  My 
qth is ~ 140 miles from the Atlantic across land.  Guys within 20 miles of the 
Atlantic in EMa or Eastern NH routinely walk through me on 40 – 160 with less 
in antennas than I use.

  I’m not complaining; I’m just making it clear to everyone that mileage to 
water matters and that being in “New England” isn’t everything.  It matters 
WHERE you are whether it is New England or anywhere else and how close you are 
to the water for the high volume areas that you can work. 

  73

  Bob, KQ2M


  From: Jeff Clarke 
  Sent: Monday, July 09, 2018 11:53 AM
  To: Bob Shohet, KQ2M ; cqtestk4xs@aol.com ; cq-contest@contesting.com 
  Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] WRTC Qualifying


  Bob,


  The examples you mentioned are true but they are abnomallies. K4BAI and 
myself did a multi-single from WW4LL for ARRL DX SSB maybe five years ago and 
won the US. The event that helped us win was a tremendous middle of the night 
opening Sunday morning to EU on 20 meters. Even the QRP guys were loud. Never 
realized there were so many PC, PD and PD stations. I think that is some type 
on novice class in the Netherlands.  Maybe they didn't get this opening up 
north?  In the past I've heard K1TO working EU on 20 meters a couple hours 
before our sunrise and I couldn't hear any of stations he was working. I think 
that everyone can think of a time where they had some openings similar to this 
that helped out their score.

  I think the point that Bill was trying to make is the advantage the East 
Coast enjoys to Europe is the norm. I contested from Ohio for 25 years and had 
the opportunity to operate from the East Coast a couple times so I have a good 
idea about the propagation differences  up there and down here in the 
southeast. 

  I have to admit I enjoy doing domestic contests from Georgia. We have a very 
good skip zone on 20 meters and somtimes 15 and 10 meters to high population 
areas of the US and enjoy an advantage. Although 160 and 80 meters can be a 
struggle compared to what I enjoyed in Ohio.

  Jeff KU8E 



  Jeff Clarke 
  Information Technology Professional 
  Ellerslie, Georgia

  http://www.ku8e.com

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-clarke-ga


  -------- Original message --------
  From: "Bob Shohet, KQ2M" <kq2m@kq2m.com> 
  Date: 7/8/18 10:30 PM (GMT-05:00) 
  To: cqtestk4xs@aol.com, cq-contest@contesting.com 
  Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] WRTC Qualifying 

  Bill,

  I didn’t forget anything.  My response was generalized because I couldn’t 
possibly express all the differences by band, by antennas and by qth region 
that I have seen and experienced in more than 300+ SOAB efforts plus another 50 
or so single band efforts encompassing  CQWW, ARRLDX, WPX, IARU, WAE and the 10 
meter contests over the past 45 years.  Nor did I want to have to address the 
changes in propagation by region from one mode to the other between CQWW, 
ARRLDX and ESPECIALLY WPX.  Of course I left stuff out.  It is impossible to 
address all the relevant similarities and differences in one brief contest 
reflector post – it would take an entire BOOK!

  Having said that, I can’t even count the number of times that I listened to 
you (from Florida) run EU on 20 and 40 during openings when I couldn’t even 
hear a whisper.  I also remember listening to KR0Y run EU on 20 during EU 
sunrise at the top of the cycle from WM5G (or N5AU)  that KC1F operating from 
K1EA and I operating from KM1H couldn’t even hear!  Jeff won ARRLDX SSB because 
of that opening.  K3LR milked a similar opening from K3TUP the year he won 
ARRLDX SSB (1991 I think).  K4ZW has won CQWWSSB twice I think and Bill KM9P 
won CQWWCW from GA.  N5RZ won WPXCW in the early-mid ‘80’s twice I believe.

  Yes, these guys are great ops and most were at great stations, but they also 
had propagation better than I did from W1, or W2 where I was operating from 
that weekend because they were running EU stations for hours that I could not 
even hear during EU sunrise when the band was closed for New England! 

  And then there was the extraordinary and likely never to be repeated CQWWSSB 
win by WA6VEF from AI6V in 1983.

  And then there were the CQWW and ARRLDX wins from the mid-Atlantic states in 
the mid – late ‘80s – K0DQ operating from W3GRF, and others.

  Before all of those wins, I remember ~35 years ago talking to KR0Y, KM9P and 
maybe WC4E outside an elevator in the Crowne Plaza at Dayton and I told them 
that I KNEW that CQWW, ARRLDX could be won outside of New England and the 
Northeast – that all it would take was a highly motivated and highly skilled op 
operating from a top-notch station on the right weekend, and that the ONLY 
reason that it had not happened yet was because everyone thought it was 
impossible, so therefore the right ops hadn’t bothered to operate with the 
right mentality to WIN.  They thought I was nuts and told me so.  Funny though 
how it was only a few years later when all the non-New England wins started.  
Why?  Because of the combination of highly skilled ops, operating from 
World-class stations operating on the right weekend and then beating EVERYONE 
in New England and everywhere else.  Equally funny was the amnesia that they 
had when I reminded them of what I had told them that night in Dayton just a 
few years before.  There was no magic – I had figured out what it would take to 
win outside of New England – it was just a matter of other very talented and 
motivated guys figuring it out too and deciding to go DO IT instead of making 
excuses about why it couldn’t be done.  That was the point.  I would like to 
think that I motivated those guys that night by (nicely) challenging them.

  In EVERY sunspot cycle, the right op at the right station (outside of New 
England) on the right weekend can win CQWW or ARRLDX, or WPX (especially WPXCW) 
or IARU.  BUT, it will be harder now than in the 1980’s of 1990’s because there 
are more EU ops than ever before and the New England superstations are more 
built up and further East than ever before.  And we all know that there are far 
fewer JA’s on now than back then.  Advantage New England for sure!  But I STILL 
say that in EVERY cycle, the right op operating at the right station on the 
right weekend can WIN one of those DX contests!  But if no one good enough is 
on, then it will not happen.  Will it mean that it couldn’t have been done?  
NOPE!  Only that the right op didn’t try from the right station on the right 
weekends.

  BTW, the one less hour of darkness that you mention means one additional hour 
of daylight – when the bands drop out here and we can’t work the Pacific or 
Asian mults on on 20 or 15, and guys to the South and West do.  And then they 
could run for Asia/Pacific stations as a slow pace for 1 – 2 hours while we 
have to fight to the death for a frequency and terrible qrn on 40 or 80.  I 
won’t even talk about 160 or the fact that by the time you get darkness the MUF 
is already below 7 mhz in New England at this time of the sunspot cycle.  If 
you don’t have a big yagi on 40 or are near to the coast qth in New England you 
might as well be watching tv for all the good it will do to operate.  That is 
when I used to sleep for a few hours.

  Of course we GENERALLY get more Europe than anyone further away, we should, 
we are closer.  And yes that translates into more EU mults across all the 
bands.  But look at the CQWWCW mults – the highest mult totals are frequently 
NOT in New England, and the highest zone totals are definitely not most of the 
time. 

  But also look at the stations that you are comparing against.  Most of the 
competitive New England stations are BIG – MUCH BIGGER than my station. And 
their qth’s are MUCH BETTER than mine.  That combination is significantly 
better than most of the guys in the rest of the country who do SOABHP.   And 
most of the ops are REALLY good at running EU and maximizing mults and passing 
them.  It is NOT an equal comparison even BEFORE you get to differences in 
propagation.

  If it weren’t for KM9P, KR0Y, and K4ZW, a lot of contesters would STILL 
believe that it was impossible to win the big DX contests outside of New 
England, even though it was never really impossible at all – it was all in the 
perception - “I believe that it is impossible for me to win, therefore it is 
impossible for anyone else to win”.

  A champion says “I can DO it – I CAN WIN”.  And then he builds the station, 
develops the skill and operates enough so that he is ready on that weekend when 
the propagation gods shine on his qth. 

  73

  Bob  KQ2M


  From: Bill via CQ-Contest 
  Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2018 7:54 PM
  To: cq-contest@contesting.com 
  Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] WRTC Qualifying

  Come on Bob, being in Al or FL is an advantage to work JA and VK, true.  
However, no way can it make up for the multitude of countries and QSOs that are 
available  in EU, especially on 160 and 80.  I'm only 4000 miles from JA out 
here in KH6, and would gladly exchange the NY EU runs for my much slower JA, 
BY, YB, HS runs from KH6.  The quantity is just not there, even with my 
outstanding location.


  You forgot one other thing too.  Being in AL or FL means that we get almost 
one hour less darkness at the end of Oct and Nov to get all those 40, 80 and 
160 mults and countries.  Even the ARRL DX contests have that issue.  The only 
time AL, FL have equal darkness is for WPX SSB.  And no, the extra hour of 
light is not a big deal for AL/FL on 10, 15 or 20 especially at this point of 
the cycle.


  I once had a big time contester come down from NY to do a multi-single.  He 
listened on 80 and wanted to know when the signals got better/stronger.  I 
broke the news to him.  That was a strong as they got.  He was quite 
disappointed.  End of story.


  Bill K4XS/KH7XS

  .  The same way that being in Alabama should provide a BIG advantage vs. New 
England to working Japan, Southeast Asia, UA9/0 and the Pacific even though 
there are not as many stations to work.I’m sure that 100 miles North or South 
makes a big difference on some DX paths in Alabama too but that it is less 
noticeable until that 100 miles gives you a nice water path somewhere and then 
you will REALLY notice the difference.
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