A 24 hour catagory makes sense. I think it should be all band only,
with power catagories The clock starts running when the first
QSO is made and ends 24 hours later. This is best for the
following reasons:
1) It will tend to spread out the operations compared to fixed start &
stop times.
2) It will let people pick their period to fit their schedules.
3) It will make strategy more interesting - if conditions are better
one day and you guess wrong, you lose!
4) It will make things easier for the contest sponsors - they don't have to
check for excess hours, rubber clocking, minimize lining up mults, etc.
5) Operator endurance will still be a factor. If the new categories are
at all competitive, you will have operate a full 24 hours straight. Its
not as tough as 48 hours of course, but still requires quite a bit of
dedication.
Who will operate the 24 hour sub-contests? Maybe you. What do you do when
a close relative decides they must get married on a CQWW weekend, or some
other situation you have no control over and can't avoid crops up? Chances
are you meet your obligation and get on for a few hours during the European
or JA opening and run some stations the day you are free. With a 24 hour
contest maybe you will put in a serious effort.
My guess is that 24 hour sub-contests will encourage more people who operate
less than 24 hours to operate more than will encourage those who operate
24-48 hours to operate less.
73 - Gary
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Gary Sutcliffe - W9XT Unified Microsystems (414) 644-9036
ppvvpp@MIXCOM.COM PO Box 133, Slinger WI 53086
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