-----Original Message-----
Finally, I think a disservice has been done to a new operator. W6TAI may
well be gifted and could have a bright future with VHF contesting. The
truth is though, that she will likely have the highest score as a Limited
Rover without ever having put a station together. Don't you see anything
wrong with that?
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I don't. A new person is now interested in an extremely small facet of the
hobby, and is probably another new advocate of keeping our bands above VHF.
We'd have to ask her, and attacking a new ham's activities on a national
mailing list without them here to defend themselves seems ultra-rude,
anyway.
My rover scores in 2006 and 2007 wouldn't have happened without help from
the entire team at W0KVA. Working together means we end up in each other's
driveways, mounting antennas, working on cables, and generally getting ALL
of the participants who want help -- up and going.
She still had to operate that station, no matter how you slice it. And
someone had to recruit her to do it, show her the logging software, how to
operate the station, etc. She had to show interest. Most people who show
interest in operating, eventually learn more. She LEARNED something in the
process and added more signals to our ridiculously quiet bands.
That all seems "good" to me, and in line with the contest's STATED goals.
More people OPERATING the upper bands.
If the contest goal was about what you can build, then you can make the
argument. Personally, I think the contest is about "get anything you can on
the air on any band VHF and above, by hook or by crook and operate your a**
off to make contacts" -- which is like almost all contests, on any band.
Is it a "disservice" to bring new operators to one of the giant HF contest
stations and let them operate during a contest? No.
They didn't build the station, they didn't do anything other than sit down,
hit the footswitch, and start running... probably learning the logging
software on the fly... and maybe how to use the
auto-keyer/auto-voice-caller, whatever... in fact, it probably puts the big
contest station at a DISADVANTAGE while the person can't yet keep up with
the usual run-rate.
The only disservice I see here is the constant bitchfest running people off,
with certain people on the list complaining about the stated goals of the
contest.
(But up until now, there's never been ANYTHING discussed here about changing
the rules to make the requirement that you built your own station, 100%.
Hell, let's ban all DEMI products and I have to build my transverters by
hand too? Some people do. I never will.)
It's an OPERATING contest, not a popularity contest, not a home-brew club
show-and-tell, not a "I must do this all on my own" event. If someone WANTS
those things to be a goal, they can ask for a sub-category or start another
contest and hope some people show up.
No one who's ever asked for help from the W0KVA/rmham.org team has ever been
denied it, and I doubt ever will.
If a new rover/new ham asked us to help them get set up from soup-to-nuts
with a "contest station in a box", I'm sure we'd find a way to make it
happen. We'd also teach them how it works in the process. We'd do it, even
if it meant others of us buying gear/loaning it out, for the new person to
use.
Any radio sitting idle on contest day is a waste of money, time,
opportunity.
Meanwhile... my W-2 came in, and my "score" was lower than last year. I
feel I have no chance of ever beating the top "scorers" without a lot of
hard work and teammates looking out for my back. I'd probably even have to
own the business and let a lot of others utilize my resources, and/or
utilize someone else's resources and my genius abilities (ha! Yeah, right!)
to create more value than we could have created alone.
I think I'm going to go bitch about whoever created those rules... shouldn't
everyone win!? I want some free money, perhaps a personal "stimulus
package".
Nate WY0X
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