Jim,
I was not aware of the IARU HF Championship rules (I haven't op'd that before)
but I did submit a proposal similar to the ARRL 10m Contest. See more below -
its similar to what I just posted on the ARRL Contesting reflector - sorry for
the additional bandwidth.
Similar to a few others, I have submitted a proposal to ARRL addressing VHF+
contest rules. I was happy to see the "Analog Only" subcategory but I don't
feel it goes far enough to fully address the issues. Where I live in SC (EM94)
I did not notice any significant increase in analog activity in the recent
September contest - there was a lot of SSB activity in June on 6m probably due
to the excellent sporadic -E conditions (in this area) but I did not notice a
significant increase in 2m analog activity then.
The proposal I submitted is modeled off of the successful and popular ARRL 10m
contest where the operating categories include Phone only, CW only and Mixed
Mode (PH+CW). I proposed the categories of "Legacy" (Analog = Phone and CW)
Only, Digital Only and Mixed (Analog + Digital) categories in VHF+ contests
(Jan,Jun and Sept). This is unique because it would allow 2 QSO's on the same
band with the same station (an analog QSO and a digital QSO). I am not in favor
of creating an additional category for CW only - Technician Class licensees
(and other newer "no-code" licensees) who have privileges above 30MHz may not
be able to participate in that category due to their lack of CW
knowledge/proficiency/skill and may discourage an entire group of potential
operators who don't do CW. My proposal also includes a restriction on
cross-mode QSO's between analog and digital (NO restrictions, as usual, between
phone and cw cross-mode QSO's). In my original proposal I suggested to keep
scoring as
it is now, however I'm starting to buy into an analog QSO being weighted more
heavily than a digital QSO to further encourage analog participation. The ARRL
10m Contest does QSO point weighting so there is a precedent set for that
concept. I may amend my original proposal with similar wordage and send it off
again.
The recent suggestions of having 2 or 3 June contests (phone, cw, digital)
seems (to me) as a time intensive proposition - many of us don't have 3
weekends in June (don't forget Field Day is also in June) to operate more VHF+
contests. I just don't see rovers, portable stations, multi-ops and many
single-ops being able to dedicate that kind of time. And, what about September
and January? Do we suggest 3 contest weekends then too or neglect those 2 other
contests? I don't think those months can absorb 3 VHF+ contest weekends or be
neglected from any new VHF+ rules.
73,
Ed K3DNE
> On 10/26/2022 10:27 PM K8MR via CQ-Contest <cq-contest@contesting.com
> mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com > wrote:
>
>
> A better parallel would be the IARU HF Championship. It has single mode,
> CW or SSB, and mixed mode categories.
> Also, for VHF distinguish only between "analog" or digital, i.e. keep
> SSB and CW together. Over the years I've had many QSOs where a guy can't copy
> me on SSB, but does when I switch to CW. I've never heard of an FT8 to CW
> mixed mode QSO.
>
> 73 - Jim K8MR
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark, K5AM <k5am@zianet.com mailto:k5am@zianet.com >
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com
> Sent: Wed, Oct 26, 2022 7:10 pm
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Suggestion for the ARRL June VHF contest
>
>
> Suggestion for the ARRL June VHF contest
>
> Recently introduced digital modes have resulted in a
> major change in the way contesters have operated in the
> June VHF contest. A wide spectrum of opinions have been
> expressed on the various e-mail lists. Many operators are
> concerned for the long-term health of VHF contesting. To
> what is considered by some to be a serious problem, there
> is a feasible solution.
>
> On HF (for example, Sweepstakes and DX) ARRL has had
> separate contests for CW, SSB, RTTY, and recently
> Digital. However, VHF has been slighted, like a neglected
> child, with ARRL providing only combined-mode contests.
> This inexplicable situation is easily corrected.
>
> Suggestion for an ARRL June VHF contest series.
> 1. Three separate contests will be held, on the first
> three weekends in June.
> 2. Each of the three contests will be conducted using a
> single mode.
> 3. In 2023, the sequence of modes will be SSB, Digital, CW.
> In subsequent years, the modes will be rotated.
>
> Notes.
> 1. The September and January VHF contests can be
> considered later, after an experimental three contest
> series in June 2023.
> 2. As with any proposed scheme, there are obvious pros
> and cons; the challenge for operators is to balance
> individual circumstances with VHF contesting in general,
> and the long-term picture.
>
> 73,
>
> Mark, K5AM
> https://www.zianet.com/k5am/
>
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