I have done a lot of contesting as a single op, a multiop and now for the
last several years roving. There are reasons for the operating technique as
it is. Multiops are slow moving folks, communication is a problem between
stations. At K8GP when we were at Spruce Knob, we moved folks as fast as
possible and all of our ops understood how important it was but at best we
were no better than an average single op.
Because upper band points are worth so much, you have to move folks so you
don't have to try to remember who you missed where. And, if it's a rover,
you HAVE to get them now because they are going to move to a different grid.
Andy, K1RA, is our lower 4 operator and he is probably the best coordinator
I've seen. I hear him constantly group folks together to move 3 or 4
stations up the bands at once and he always asks "is there anyone else? I
think this is the best way to handle it and I hope others adopt it. The big
single ops are probably the hardest to get because they are trying to move
as fast as possible to get back to 2m to start all over again. Now that
single ops can operate more than one band at a time again, hopefully more
will learn how to operate "SO3R" so they can keep 6 and 2 open and use the
third radio to pass to themselves.
The only thing I can think is to be faster on the mic to get them before
they QSY.
Andy and I will be activating K8GP again this weekend and will try to leave
a space before moving to catch others.
Good luck to all.
Terry - W8ZN
-----Original Message-----
From: VHFcontesting [mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf
Of N1BUG
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2016 12:55 PM
To: VHF Contesting
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] request to ask for other stations
I like the idea but to be honest I doubt it will ever catch on. The real
contesters are in a hurry to run the bands and rack up points/multipliers.
That's their game. That is why they are on in the first place.
That said, this is one of the biggest frustrations for me in VHF/UHF
contesting. I am located far from any activity center, in an area people
don't point toward much. All too often the ONE time during a contest I hear
a particular station is while they are making arrangements to run the bands
with another station. They either are gone so quickly I can't get their
attention, or they hear me and say "Please wait, I will be right back".
Unfortunately by the time they come back, that momentary propagation peak is
gone, the station never to be heard again. They lose a contact and in some
cases a multiplier. I lose a good QSO and some fun.
I consider it to be just the nature of the game. Many of the best potential
QSOs always have and probably always will be lost this way.
I should note that I am not a contester per se, at least on VHF and up. I
will never be able to run up a decent score from here. I am there to hand
out my grid and to have some fun. Mostly the latter.
Many of the stations that are active in contests are rarely or never on at
any other time. I very much enjoy making contacts at the limits of my
station capability, and contests provide an opportunity to do that. That's
why I am there.
It's not like I can call CQ and get anywhere either. I'm so far from the
activity centers that I can't possibly tell what might be a reasonably clear
frequency in those more populated areas, and I'm going to be weak there even
when running a kW.
73,
Paul N1BUG FN55mf
On 09/06/2016 12:09 PM, Pete K0BAK via VHFcontesting wrote:
> I've been frustrated quite a few times by finding a strong contact
> between two stations, and then hearing them run away up the bands as
> fast as possible. I try to throw out my call as quick as I can after
> the QSO is complete, but they're gone immediately (or at least don't
> respond).
>
> Since I'm still pretty new after just two years, maybe this is how the
> big boys run through the bands to get to the juicy microwaves. As a
> lowly Limited Rover, I only have the 4 low bands to offer. But still,
> this weekend please consider taking literally 2 seconds to ask for
> "any others?" before running away, especially if you have a strong
> station. (I have to do better at this too.)
>
> Thanks!
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