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Re: [VHFcontesting] The impact of the digital modes on the January VHF C

To: chetsubaccount@snet.net
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] The impact of the digital modes on the January VHF Contest and some suggestions on dealing with those impacts
From: James Duffey <jamesduffey@comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2021 11:03:22 -0700
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>

Chet - Thanks for your comments. 

There was a lot of discussion on here and other platforms before, during, and 
after the rules for assistance were changed. I won’t rehash that discussion 
here, only to say that the “anything-goes” approach with respect to assistance 
has not brought any disaster in VHF contesting since then, and, in my 
experience, the rules changes have made my roving more productive. It is 
tempting to assign the growth in roving to the relaxed assistance rules, but 
while it has helped participation, there are other factors in play. Again, a 
topic for another thread. 

Now, to your “tongue in cheek” comments. Multiple CQs on the same band are 
currently allowed in most ARRL contests, including the VHF contests, as long as 
the two signals are not transmitted simultaneously.The transmitters have to be 
interlocked and there are HF stations that do this successfully. With the fixed 
intervals of the digital modes, and repetitive calling if an exchange is not 
copied, this should be pretty straight forward to implement and the hardware 
already exists, if not commercially, then home brew versions. I think they call 
it SOI2R. Single Operator Interlocked Two Radios. Talk to your local rabid HF 
contester. The problem as you point out is keeping receive isolation adequate, 
but there may be some approaches that work. Rover pairing is legal under the 
Unlimited Rover category, although I do not know of anyone who has done it. 
Until recently the Unlimited Rover category has been underutilized, and not 
really used as intended. But that has changed recently, and there appears to be 
growth in this category as well.

My thoughts. To all, not just Chet, write your director. - Duffey

KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM
jamesduffey@comcast.net

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