Topic for the upcoming NCJ issue: Station Sharing, More Fun Per Buck?
There are many challenges that are changing the face of Ham Radio contesting
today. Some are sociological challenges, such as the urbanization of
America, along with many covenants and restrictions, that have forced the most
competitive of us to relocate to the country. Other challenges are related to
the
pace of life that we lead, as our hectic work schedules in our competitive
marketplace have eaten into our precious free time. Other challenges are
economic, many of us face finances that are stretched to the point that our
ham
radio dreams take a back burner to family expenses, not to mention college
expenses for our kids.
This all seems to a growing vortex that may drive fundamental changes in the
way we operate contests. If youâve been following the reflectors lately, you
âve probably heard a lot of talk about âleveling the playing fieldâ and
having categories for the 48 hour contests that may include shorter operating
periods, such as 24 or 36 hour entries.
With your help, this upcoming NCJ issueâs Contesting on a Budget column will
explore what I refer to âstation sharingâ. This is something like
multioping, except under separate callsigns. For example, the 30 hours of
Sweepstakes could be divided into two 12 (or even 15) hour contests, each
under a
separate callsign. The advantage is that new callsigns generate more
activity,
allow internal competition on a truly level playing field (from the same
station), and afford the overall contest a faster-paced competition that
demands
less of our individual precious time and resources.
There are some very interesting combinations and permutations of this
concept. In CQWW, for example, a multi-multi station could host two competing
teams under different callsigns, each operating 24 hours. Fresh callsign,
fresh
blood, fresh contest, fun and friendly competition!
A crazy idea? Not so, says Tom, K5RC, who has hosted a station-sharing
effort for Sweepstakes over the past three years. According to Tom, this has
breathed new life into the contest scene from his station, and has proven to
be
great fun. This has also been a topic of discussion recently within NCCC.
They call it HMO, Highly Motivated Operators.
I see this concept as a possible way of increasing activity and perhaps a
more productive use of resources, but Iâd like your thoughts, please:
Is this a viable concept from a practical and economic standpoint?
Would you support rule changes in major contests to facilitate this type of
operation?
Would you be more likely to participate if you could operate a portion of a
contest either under your callsign, or with a group under a separate
callsign?
What contests might be the best candidates for station sharing competition?
Any other thoughts and ideas are appreciated.
Iâd appreciate your inputs by Friday, the 20th. Thanks in advance!
Paul, K5AF
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