Whatever rules end up getting established or added, I'm not likely to use
any live assistance as a Single-Op Portable while I'm going to my favorite
hilltop. This is one of the best locations I've seen and the best that's
reasonably close to my home. Only there is no internet connection and phone
service is iffy. Sometimes I'll be able to access my cell phone for a few
minutes and then it's gone for a few hours. One of the disadvantages of
being out in the middle of nowhere, 10 miles from the nearest town and half
a mile from the nearest farm.
I do it all for fun, anyway. My main interest over the last few years has
been seeing how many microwave QSO's I can make. The lower bands are just
frosting on the cake.
:-)
73, Zack W9SZ
On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM, Dave Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net> wrote:
> So the guy with the best internet connection has a big advantage. I do not
> have any internet in my shack at this time, so that would now be a problem
> for me. EME contests are now pretty crazy. If you are not connected to a
> high speed internet connection and a chat page, you might just as well go
> watch TV or try bungee jumping. I tried digital EME in an EME contest and
> only worked K1JT. He had MAP65 running and his computer deciphered my call
> right away as soon as I called CQ. I worked K1JT and then I proceeded to
> call CQ and tail end other stations I heard, but never made any contacts in
> the hour or so of good moontime near my moonset. I could hear my echo just
> fine. Because K1JT did not post my frequency and call, I did not exist. I
> think as computer technology makes more things possible, we will run into
> even more difficult operating dilemmas. MAP65 and the HF skimmers have
> turned many things upside down.
> I really believe that VHF and HF are different animals, BUT, I also
> think that using internet assistance should put you in at least a different
> category than someone who does not use it. I also think that internet chat
> pages and propagation pages are detrimental to some aspects of VHF. We
> should be on the bands, checking the conditions and making noise. Too many
> of us (myself included) now are guilty of monitoring DX clusters and APRS
> and Hepburn maps only, rather than producing activity by actually being on
> the air! No activity means no influx of new VHFers. No new VHFers means
> that our scores will continue to drop in each VHF contest. It has gotten so
> bad here in Maine, that I put together a 160 and 10 meter station recently
> so I could make a few contacts! I was starting to forget what radio signals
> sounded like. Rather than argue about assistance vs non-assistance, we
> should be trying to build activity so that we can make many contacts all on
> our own. KA1ZE started a "205 Morning Group" from Western PA, that was and
> still is a shot in the arm for activity on 144 MHz. Every morning there is
> a group that gets on looking for DX, and everyone knows that it is possible
> to work someone on 2 meter SSB then. We need to build upon that. This
> morning I heard activity from Nova Scotia to North Carolina and Ohio to
> Ontario & Quebec. That activity begat more activity on 222, 432, 1296 and
> 2304. It sure beats watching a computer monitor for propagation hints.
> Dave K1WHS
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Todd
> Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 9:56 AM
> To: vhfcontesting@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHFcontesting Digest, Vol 129, Issue 26
>
>
> George,
>
> Great post, i thought i was loosing mind reading this stuff about
> announcements etc., where you post your grid, call , etc are you kidding
> me!!?? Where is the operating ability and skill to pull that out of a
> contact!
>
> I uses to send my grid during a VHF CQ but i dont so that anymore either
> just because it takes away skill of trying to work and copy stations.
>
> I am like you lets operate radio and work contacts the right way
>
> 73 Todd WD0T
>
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>
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