This reply got way too long...
On Jun 16, 2023, at 10:43, <alex@kr1st.com> wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> Can someone provide an explanation why the ARRL June VHF contesting
> rules discriminate against portable operations, and only on VHF? This
> is the rule I?m referring to:
>
> ?COND.2 Multiple entries COND.2.1 In VHF+ contests: Individuals and
> stations are limited to one entry per contest. Rover operators may
> submit one separate entry as a Single Operator (fixed station) in
> addition to their rover entry.?
I think it is the opposite. The rules are providing a benefit
to rover stations, not discriminating against portable stations.
Rover stations have been an area of difficulty for years, resulting
in the various classes of rovers after activities like pack rovers
and grid circling were invented. The various rules concerning
rovers have become a tangled mess.
> During this past June VHF contest, I operated from home as KR1ST, and I
> operated a portable station (100% separate hardware) as KR1ST/P from a
> different location. It turns out that after I submitted my home KR1ST
> log, it gets overwritten by the KR1ST/P entry I submitted later. I
> assume that is because of the rule I quoted above.
> What I?m curious about is, how is it justified that if someone goes to
> a mountaintop to operate as portable station they may not also operate
> from their permanent station, while it is perfectly fine for a rover
> station to do so?
You go to a geographically beneficial location to operate, that is
a benefit to you. If you want to operate from multiple locations,
you operate as a rover.
The rover signs as call/R - so other stations can tell that "call" and
"call/R" are not duplicates. Should all portable operations be logged
as /P ? The /R is enough of a problem for logging.
What of stations that are in both of your logs, having worked you as
a portable station, and then again on your home station? Presumably,
they appear as dupes to them.
> And why does this rule only apply to VHF? What
> would be the harm to allow for a portable station to also allow for an
> entry from their permanent station, just like rovers?
The rule applies only to VHF because on HF there are no rovers.
> I would think that in the spirit of Amateur Radio we should be as
> permissive as possible when it comes to operating practices in order to
> generate maximum activity.
The word "contest" indicates some competition. As a radio contest,
it should be about radio contacts, not about how many contacts one
can arrange by internet, telephones, and other non-amateur-radio means.
It used to be against the rules to use these means to solicit contacts
once the contest had started.
Alan
wa6azp
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