Hi Duffy
I would have to agree. We need people on the bands. The problem is not the
League rules. The problem is activity. There is no reason to get on the VHF
bands at this time, so no one gets on the VHF bands. (I am a recent HF
convert as a result)
I took a look at the ham population and was surprised to find that the
sheer number of hams is rather large in states that have almost no VHF or
microwave activity. So why is there more activity on VHF in the
Philadelphia, NJ, and NY area? I think it was the formation of a few VHF
clubs way back in the prehistoric era that pushed that form of activity.
They provided a reason to get on those bands, and it has had a long term
effect. My observation today is that the levels of activity there are
dying off. That is not good. I would suggest that tweaking a few rules in
four ARRL contests will not change things for the better.
Rules changes have not helped in the recent past. That is just my humble
opinion from what my lyin' eyes have shown me.
ACTIVITY= MORE FUN.
A hint... The Microwave Sprint last Spring was won by home station K0VXM in
Florida. Why was the winner not from NYC or Philadelphia? You guys figure it
out. A few points in a contest for a microwave QSO amounts to nothing as far
as the big picture goes. Look elsewhere.
Another hint.... I was in Philly for the January Contest and N3NGE has a few
Packrat plaques on his wall for winning the yearly "Home Brew" competition.
Gee, the Packrats had a home brew competition? What is that all about?
Could they be encouraging people to home brew stuff to get on the higher
bands?
For my part, I am working on something to help build activity in my neck
of the woods. To be successful we all need to be a part of the solution.
Dave K1WHS
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Duffey" <jamesduffey@comcast.net>
To: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Cc: "James Duffey" <jamesduffey@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2015 3:16 AM
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Question to the group
The ARRL VHF contests have a schizophrenic approach towards microwave
activity. With the one hand, they seem to want to encourage microwave
activity by awarding higher QSO points for the higher bands. With the other
hand, they discourage microwave activity by promoting the limited classes,
creating new three band classes and FM only classes. One would think that
you can’t have it both ways, but apparently you can.
Due to the higher points given to microwave QSOes, our current ARRL VHF
contests are de facto microwave contests unless you enter the limited
classes, at least when there is no sporadic E.
But it is more than just the points question. It does little good to have
more points for QSOes if there is no one to work on those bands. And when
the limited classes are an option at little additional expense, that
discourages microwave activity even further. And when the big multi stations
drop microwaves that reduces incentive even further.
The real question to ask is what is the goal to be accomplished with the
additional points for microwave QSOes? If it is to encourage microwave
activity, then the limited classes undermine this. If it is to reward the
difficulty in making microwave QSOes, then that undermines activity on the
lower bands by removing activity from them for the duration of the microwave
QSO.
Other questions worth asking are: Does it make sense to include microwave
QSOes at all in a VHF contest like the June contest when there is a lot of
sporadic E and activity on 6M? Does it make sense to simultaneously
encourage microwave activity by awarding additional points for it and
discourage it by implementing the various limited classes?
I find it interesting how these discussions always end up about geography
and level playing fields, even though those topics are not in the original
question at all. - Duffey KK6MC
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM
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