<flack jacket on>
I've participated in all the major VHF non-winter contests for almost 30
years now. Before grid squares. After grid squares. Before the new rover
rules. After the new rover rules.
The theme among complainers about winners is "those winners must be
cheating".
Well, no sir, time and time again it's been proven they have not been
cheating. No matter who it is, no matter what they are doing.
"Well, they push the rules to the LIMIT"
Isn't this a COMPETITION?
"They do the same, mundane stuff every year."
"They do it on high microwaves" (Um, more points-per-Q?)
"They do it with custom gear and frequencies"
"They only work their buddies!"
"They buy all their gear -- they are buying the contest!"
ALL within the rules.
If you look at the rules over the past 30 years, once enough people
bellyache about the same winners, and their is enough political pressure,
the rules get changed... And, those same top operators and competitors
adapt And they win under the new rules.
The League and the CAC has done a great job in adapting the rules to make
VHF contesting interesting for everybody.
If you're in the game to only WIN, you going to disappoint yourself a good
portion of the time. I've luckily participated with a group who
have won quite a few times -- but also have had our butts whipped by
others. As the rules change, adoptions are made.
I don't rove. I know a lot of people that do. I come from an unlimited
multiop perspective.
Ask K8GP if building and testing all the gear, driving a long way, setting
up and operating in sometimes very harsh conditions is always fun? I bet
they think so -- maybe not always -- but they come back (almost) every
year. They are skilled operators with great tactical strategy and do very
well.
Ask my friends as W2SZ if maintaining gear over 30 years or putting up 10+
guyed towers on a mountain top (sometimes in very bad weather) twice a year
or driving 1000s of non-contest miles scouting excellent locations for DX
uWave, or rounding up enough people to "make" it happen. At times, it's
REALLY HARD. Doing something difficult, and working as a team, pays off.
Even when we loose,
we are motivated to keep going. If the rules change, we adopt.
Ask K1WHS and his team why he keeps plugging at it (and catching us all
FAST!). Dave's built an incredible station over the years -- and it's not
always about winning.
If some rovers have a strategy of only working their friends -- perhaps it's
because their friends have a winning strategy. Rather than complaining
and spreading innuendo in a public forum -- why not embrace them and find
out how you might participate in that winning strategy also. You can
learn much from winners. If you perceive a real issue with the rules,
contact your CAC member -- don't knock someone who has used a strategy which
maximizes score based on the fules.
</flack jacket on>
I AM in favor of public logs, as I believe that MANY can learn from the
techniques of others. I doubt you'll find any cheaters in public logs.
These are my opinions and not necessarily those of my VHF Contesting buddies
at W2SZ FN32jp
73, Gerry W1VE
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