Ahh ... you mean that more people will do what they actually prefer to
do instead of what they might feel compelled to do. I didn't realize
that was a bad thing for a hobby. I think it's pretty funny that some
folks are against a 24 hour category precisely because they think it
might be popular enough to make a difference.
But apparently you didn't bother to read the statistics in the original
posts from KR2Q. Fully 90% of all contesters who send in a log ALREADY
operate less than 24 hours and 75% operate less than 15 hours. I'd bet
that the numbers for those who don't bother to send in a log (but still
contribute to contest activity) are skewed even lower. I think it's
fully debatable whether or not a 24 hour category would encourage more
of the 10% who currently operate more than 24 hours to operate less than
it would encourage those 15% in the 15 to 24 hour group to operate
more, but personally I suspect it would be a wash.
Besides, I don't think anyone advocating a 24 hour category expects to
garner a victory from having one. Hard core stations and elite
operators will always win over casual ops. A 24 hour category merely
gives more people a chance to compare themselves on a more equal footing.
Dave AB7E
p.s. In cycling, fewer riders in the longer races absolutely impinges
on the efforts of others. Drafting in a group is critical ... a solo
rider will expend as much as 30% more effort than a rider in the middle
of a group going the same speed.
On 4/1/2013 7:21 AM, Richard F DiDonna NN3W wrote:
Because in cycling, the efforts of one cyclist don't necessarily
impinge on the efforts on others. By encouraging stations to operate
only 24 hours, you will have an effect on how the bands load and the
availability of stations during certain periods. I can guarantee you
that if stations got to chose to chose a 24 hour operating period,
most would chose to operate during daylight hours and would avoid
marginal bands as you can't mess up in a 24 hour contest. Look at the
scores from this past weekend's CQWPX contest - SOAB stations
completely minimized their efforts on 80 and 160 because the ratio of
time versus QSOs does not justify being up that late.
I'll also stand in total agreement with other posters who note that
creating a new "24 hour" category won't guarantee any victories for
non-hard core stations. It will instead mean that certain hard core
stations who don't want to do 48 hours, will instead do 24 hours and
will knock off the competition.
73 Rich NN3W
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
|