In a message dated 98-04-14 18:59:02 EDT, N6TJ/ZD8Z writes:
<< BETTER YET: If you're REALLY serious about maximizing your fun and
competitiveness, get on an airplane, plug your radio into a Caribbean
island tri-bander, and find-out what some of us learned many years ago.
Downside risk to this is, of course, you may not want to go home. >>
That is the whole point of returning back to 30 hours, which proved to be
better than 36 hours - in giving chance to those who can not go "south" or
those that take pride of operating from their home, their station, under their
conditions and trying to compete with the rest of the world. (It's WPX
CONTEST, not contestS!)
Don't we have just about all other contests that give you the humongous
advantage if you go south with better/longer propagation or point advantage
from the other continent?
What the shorter time in the contest does is to give a chance to fix
equipment blow-outs, take a rest, use your propagation knowledge (and luck)
and skill to maximize your score within certain time frame when the bands are
open.
We can see that most of those who are for unlimited time are the
"equatorians" and expeditioners. Sure you want to work the world after you
have taken trouble of getting there, for as long as you can. Those "looser
northerners" and those far away with shorter openings, would welcome at least
one decent contest that they could enter and have a chance from THEIR station.
(This was 30 hrs WPX.)
Yes, if I am dead serious about winning or beating a record score, I would
pack and go to geographically advantageous location and do my best, if the
conditions and contest rules demand that.
But.... what if all of us packed and went south (wouldn't that be fun)?
Personally I think it is less taxing on family, finances and time to be able
to operate from home (your station + your skill) and therefore potentially
giving us more contesters involved and more of them to work = more activity,
fun, etc. I have been south, and it is fun to run stuff with wet noodle and
baby rig, and I can beat my big station up North score.
Let's think, what is contesting supposed to prove?
To me in brief, it means to design and build competitive station that can
hear better, be heard better, is efficient to operate and technology will help
the operator to maximize the results. It means to be top notch operator, fast,
efficient, knowledgeable of propagation, band openings, tactics (not just sit
on one freq and perpetual CQing) and endurance. Rules should encourage one to
make most contacts (points) with widest area (multipliers) - some incentive
to go and "hunt" not just sit on frequency and CQ. Time-wise we should have
major contests around equinox dates - better propagation. I like to compete
with others on the same (or closest to) level, so we can demonstrate how well
we mastered the above and produce the biggest score and beat that record. The
scoring system should be tailored to help us to do that. This would attract
more people, give fairer chance.
I agree with my com-test-padre Jim, that grabbing the rig and plugging it
to some equatorian tribander (longer propagation, rare station) beats the
pants off souped-up northerner any time with no time limit on operating, there
is about 37% advantage right there.
I have a feeling, if there was a vote 30 vs. 36 that us "northerners"
would prevail. Wouldn't that be more fair to more people? (And give a lousy 1
point to domestic QSOs!)
And I agree and reinforce Lew's, W7EW point:
<<We need a world-wide contest (not contests!) where U.S. Hams can compete
against each other in a fair fight. The CQ-WPX could be this test.>>
73 de Yuri K3BU, VE3BMV, P40A (P40eh?)
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