Some things to ponder:
Our Club and specifically one of our members was the organizer of the
Florida participation in February. The South Florida DX Association
along with the Florida Contest Group and other independent operators all
were coordinated by Pete N8PR.
So think of the totals needs...3 or more modes, 11 bands...for 7 days.
2, 3 or 4 hour segments on each mode. That's at least 500 hours to plan.
You can't have 2 operating SSB in any given hour because that can be
mayhem, and you want to keep all modes going for all hours if you can
and also have the volunteers that want to do it during those hours. One
may want CW, but is only available and home from work when a SSB slot is
open.
There were months of planning and scheduling and things happen. Some
want to be added and some drop out without a moments notice. Countless
changes from operators all over the State.
You want as many to participate as possible, and while it would be great
to only have contest experienced operators in each mode, it doesn't work
that way as those guys aren't always available. It isn't a DXPedition
with a group of dedicated operators with nothing else to do but ham
radio for a week or whatever the plan is for. People have jobs, family
and life experiences. Many work modes and bands they never have before
as they are pressed into service. We had the good fortune to have some
of the finest operators in the country, but not all slots can be filled
with the best of the best.
There are inner communications of who is working where and when. There
are constantly changing charts, spreadsheets and schedules. It is highly
coordinated among the Team leaders in each state with ongoing ideas and
thoughts. The ARRL and its teams I think are doing a terrific job in
keeping it going and the worldwide participation has been amazing and fun.
Florida's totals were over 50,000 QSO's with over 50 operators involved.
So the next time you see an guy struggling with a pileup on any mode,
tell him Thank You and politely suggest he/she work split. If they have
the experience great, if they don't, they are getting it really fast.
We go again for another week in November. Good luck and fun to all who
are celebrating 100th Anniversary of the ARRL.
Bill Marx W2CQ
President South Florida DX Association
_______________________________________________
RTTY mailing list
RTTY@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rtty
|