On 1/19/04 12:12 AM, K4SB at k4sb@earthlink.net wrote:
>Also doing some work on W4AN's hypothesis that you better be loud into
>the 2,3,8,9 areas and have broken down the FCC database to where I
>have counts of all the call areas. If you're curious, 4 land has (
>including all calls ) 106,225 hams minus No Code Techs and Novices.
>Think I will also remove Techs. Second place goes to California with
>79,670 hams. Strangely enough, 3s are the lowest with 28,934 followed
>by 9s with 39,302. Will post the entire grouping later.
Ed, I don't think that it has anything to do with the population of ham
licensees. It has more to do with the ACTIVE ham population.
After reading Bill's observation ("in a domestic contest, if you aren't
working 8 and 9 land, you are losing"), it has been my experience that if
I can effectively run stations in 8/9 land, I have my best rates of the
contest.
On NAQP Phone this weekend, when I finally went to 20m at 2000z, the rate
meter immediately shot up to over 150. Who was I working? lots of 8 and 9
land.
I think the key is that if you can find the band that is open to
8/9-land, you have found the band open to the largest population of hams
(which also includes 2-land and the top side of 4-land)
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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