I would love to have an updated version of DR. DX that could be downloaded and
run today. Would be a lot of fun to check out propagation in different DX
locations
73 John AF5CC
Sent from Proton Mail Android
-------- Original Message --------
On 8/11/25 7:27 PM, Mike Fatchett W0MU <w0mu@w0mu.com> wrote:
> Are contests gaining in popularity or is is just easier to submit logs
> now? Do we really know how many people were in the contest 10 years vs
> today? Has anyone taken all the logs and figure out just how many
> stations got on and made it into a contest log and compared today with
> 20 years ago or even 5 years ago.... The covid years probably outliers.
>
> We need to get to the point where scoring is done in real time. where
> everyone can watch the competition as it unfolds. In online gaming you
> can see what everyone is doing and learn from it. Everyone gets better.
> Do we get to the point what band/rate etc is displayed at all times? I
> think we must. Webcams probably need to be thing. Online delayed audio
> should be a must. I don't believe that this could be done for every
> entrant but we are talking about the super serious. It could be
> extended as technology allows. I watch a lot of online gaming with
> hosts that were watching "tournaments" and would switch back and forth
> between games and teams.
>
> Do we need to make contesting more popular? I think the above will
> happen because it is cool. Younger people have attention spans of about
> 3 seconds so something has to be going on to keep interest.
>
> What could kill RF contesting? Do you all remember Doctor DX or now
> morse runner etc. where there is a pseudo contest going on. Doctor DX
> allowed you to change CW speed and tune a vfo. Stations would come back
> around your sending speed. K0GU and I would hold 10 min or 15 min
> sprints and communicate via 2m for hours trying to get ready for our
> Contest expeditions to V4. We had a great time. If and when someone
> managed to do that for say 100 or even 1000 people at a time or
> instance, that could change the face of contesting. Will it replace CQ
> WW or ARRL DX? I doubt it. It would open the world of contesting to
> all and would actually create a fair contest environment where everyone
> has the same setup. IE the contest is built on 100 watts with
> Tribanders and wires or maybe there is a superstation category. None
> the less each station would be essentially the same. Maybe you could
> provide a budget where people could spend 20k on their station so there
> would be a bit more strategy involved. Once the best setup is figured
> out everyone will use it. That is the way of online gaming.
> Manufacturers and retailers could sponsor contests, give away prize
> maybe have teams like NASCAR. I would play that game a lot!
>
> W0MU Mike
>
>
> >
> > Well, first of all, I'm not an inexperienced contester, although for
> > various reasons I haven't been an active one the last few years. I've
> > held regional records at times in a few contest categories and I've
> > placed top ten U.S. in a few.
> >
> > More importantly, although contesting is more popular now than it has
> > ever been, at least in terms of numbers of participants, we are an
> > aging group. The annual collection of pictures from Dayton tells the
> > story. My suggestion was prompted by the comments from W2SC who has a
> > hundred times more street cred than either you or I. If he sees that
> > contesting will change in a way driven by younger hams, we might want
> > to pay attention instead of just assuming that it will remain popular
> > "just the way it is". You might check out how few commercial ham
> > radio outlets remain in business before making comments like that.
> > There is a reason for it.
> >
> > I strongly suspect that something similar to what I described below
> > will never happen. But something should.
> >
> > Dave AB7E
> >
> >
> > On 8/11/2025 3:56 AM, Daniel Weinhold NC8R wrote:
> >> I have heard this idea brought up quite a few times. I am a young
> >> (Gen Z) ham myself. To me, this idea of transforming ham radio
> >> contesting into a video game does not appeal in any way. Part of the
> >> reason radio caught my interest in the first place and the reason it
> >> continues to fascinate me is that it is not dependent on the
> >> internet. It is a form of communication much, much older than the
> >> internet or computer games. This is what makes radio so cool!
> >>
> >> I also think that contest rule changes should be left up to the
> >> older, more experienced contesters. Inexperienced people often want
> >> to change things without realizing that they are done a certain way
> >> for a very good reason.
> >>
> >> If you look around, you will find quite a number of young hams (even
> >> younger than myself) who have succeeded in major contests and are
> >> enjoying ham radio just the way it is!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> 73,
> >> Daniel NC8R
> >>
> >> Sent with Proton Mail secure email.
> >>
> >> On Monday, August 11th, 2025 at 1:40 AM, David Gilbert
> >> <ab7echo@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> A friend of mine (Bob, K7ZB) just sent me a link to a recent video
> >>> interview of Tom, W2SC (aka 8P5A) done by W1DED. In addition to
> >>> descriptions of his station and approach to contesting, Tom speculates
> >>> on where ham radio and contesting in particular might go in the future.
> >>> He pointed out that whatever happens will most likely be determined
> >>> by a
> >>> younger generation that isn't bound by what ham radio is to those of us
> >>> who have been at it for a while.
> >>>
> >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck-RMIyjSfI
> >>>
> >>> His view of the future is very interesting, and I agree that if ham
> >>> radio survives to any significant extent it will have to change ... and
> >>> it will likely be changed by a younger generation that comes up with a
> >>> way to adapt ham radio to something that is more interesting to them.
> >>>
> >>> Personally, I've always thought that contesting should figure out
> >>> how to
> >>> become more like an online video game:
> >>>
> >>> 1. Integrated computer graphics that display participants on a playing
> >>> field ... Earth or maybe even some simulated world. You could zoom in
> >>> or zoom out, but the part of the world available to be seen on your
> >>> screen could be determined by the real time propagation at that moment.
> >>> To make a contact you'd have to zoom in far enough to see the station
> >>> you're trying to contact, and the display would show their current
> >>> frequency. Real time propagation could be derived from actual contacts
> >>> being made if everyone's computer was connected to a common server ...
> >>> just like is done with video games. And before anyone says that real
> >>> time internet connectivity is an issue, keep in mind that it isn't at
> >>> all problem for the demographic we'd be trying to reach.
> >>>
> >>> 2. Multiplayer .... where every participant shows up on the screen at
> >>> their actual (or simulated) QTH.
> >>>
> >>> 3. ACTUAL COMPETITION! Instead of just trying to make the most
> >>> contacts and finding out at the end how you did, make each contact some
> >>> sort of competition that gets displayed on the screen ... and have some
> >>> way of preventing others from making a contact. How that happens would
> >>> depend upon the context of the particular game, just like there are
> >>> different video games. But the idea would be to contest each contact in
> >>> some manner that requires either an offensive action or a defensive
> >>> one.
> >>>
> >>> 4. "Contacts" (whatever the game required for a point) would still
> >>> purely come via RF ... station to station. The video display and
> >>> central server would only provide the environment for making the
> >>> contacts, albeit a hopefully more elaborate and richer environment than
> >>> whatever we currently picture in our minds while making contacts now.
> >>>
> >>> Some people might say that this is actually no different than a video
> >>> game and that video games have the advantage of a level playing field
> >>> since most computers don't hinder your play. And that's precisely why I
> >>> think a ham radio version might be more interesting. Propagation,
> >>> antennas, choice of times and bands would all make the game more
> >>> complex
> >>> than the typical online video game. The play style would be enriched by
> >>> the variables of ham radio and the technical side of the hobby would be
> >>> retained.
> >>>
> >>> The biggest problem I see with something like this is getting the
> >>> programming done. Successful video games can take years and lots of
> >>> money to develop, although there are games like Valheim that didn't ...
> >>> at least not by comparison. However, I strongly suspect that it won't
> >>> be too long before AI could do something like this, or at least most of
> >>> it. We wouldn't need the complexity of a top tier video game, and
> >>> graphics engines are becoming increasingly accessible for simple
> >>> environments. Station wise, I don't think it would be any different
> >>> than it is now to use a logger for rig control and score tracking ...
> >>> just different software.
> >>>
> >>> I realize that the actual game mechanics are missing here. That's
> >>> because I'm not smart enough to come up with the specifics. But I am
> >>> convinced that something like this could be done ... it's really just a
> >>> simple visual interface with an RF connection for the points instead of
> >>> data packets. The number of made contacts would be MUCH fewer than it
> >>> is now for a typical contest, but each contact could potentially
> >>> require
> >>> more thought and focus. Think in terms of catching fish instead of
> >>> hammering out CQ's.
> >>>
> >>> Thoughts?
> >>>
> >>> Dave
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
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