Jose, thanks for your observations and analysis. It looks like you spent
quite a bit of time crunching the data! In one form or another, I have
already seen the future NCJ articles by K3NA and N6BV that have reached
some of the same conclusions you made, but there are a couple things I
wanted to comment on as one of the four participants in your analysis.
As even a playing field WRTC can offer, there are still a huge number of
uncontrollable variables. It’s too easy to look at the final results and
make an opinion about how good or bad a particular team is. Being 6,000
miles away from the population centers at the bottom of the sunspot
cycle, small differences in terrain unfortunately had a large effect on
a particular location’s capabilities. Add to that were the teams who
suffered antenna failures and line noise, and the variables become
significant.
Oms and his crew need to be commended for pulling off a fabulous event.
Imagine the logistics in locating 50 hosts willing to have strangers
stay in their home and erect a tower on their property. Add to that the
requirement of finding hosts in as-equal a setting as possible in a very
mountainous region. Then, building and erecting 50 towers from scratch,
100 yagis, 50 dipoles, 150 feed lines, 50 ground points, 50 rotator
cables, 50 amplifiers, ETC, ETC. The logistics are mind numbing. Add to
that the hundreds of hours spent with the power company locating and
correcting as many line noise sources as possible, in a coastal (salt
air) environment with questionable power infrastructure. Those guys did
an amazing job in minimizing these variables as much as possible. The
rest of us need to be aware that those variables did exist, and these
variables did have an effect on the final standings.
Dan and I asked each other immediately following the contest whether or
not we would have done anything differently. Unanimously, our decision
was an emphatic “NO”. Our initial goal all along was to do our best,
have a clean log, avoid mechanical failure, and most importantly, to
have fun. We met all those goals. The bottom line is that VE3EJ and
VE7ZO were the better team, and they deservingly won. Those two are a
great team, and their result is no fluke. That said, most of the
competitors and I realize that the final standings likely would have
changed had the station selection gone differently. ALL of the
competitors should be commended for their ability to make it to Brasil
with the airline difficulties, bring all their equipment, them set up a
station, deal with the problems they found, and simply participate.
The Russian contingent is very excited at the prospect of hosting the
next WRTC in their home country. They have a long history of national
competition with a very level playing field (everyone operates in a
large, open area). I’m sure they will build on the past events and pull
off another success, similar to what the Brasilians and all the past
WRTC hosts have accomplished. I only hope to be able to participate once
again.
Obrigado!
73, Dave N2NL/6
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