On Oct 30, 2009, at 8:22 AM, Julius Fazekas wrote:
> Like most others, [I] follow my friends' scores.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Unfortunately, I find the QST editorial emphasis on "Top Ten" boxes
for all the major contests works against the local competition
interest factor. Yes, I know, I can go to the interactive database on
the ARRL web site and examine scores in my section, for instance, but
I could also go there and just as well construct any kind of Top Ten
list I choose. (But someone please explain to me how limiting the on-
line contest results to ARRL members builds interest in these contests
or membership in ARRL. Imagine going to college to take courses but
being told at the end of the semester you can't know what your final
grades are because you don't have your degree yet.)
While being near the east coast is nice, the competition is heavy
because of our high [ham] population density. The odds of winning my
division are pretty low and I, for one, sustain my interest by
competing with others in my section or my local club or by adding to
my club's score. Back when QST printed all the scores, I used to read
the section results not just for my own section but for many of the
sections of the USA or elsewhere in the world because of where many of
my friends had landed. These days the Top Ten tallies in the QST
write-ups are of almost zero interest to me in the absence of all the
scores from the rest of us, who are "mere mortals" compared to the
winners.
Bud, W2RU
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160 meters is a serious band, it should be treated with respect. - TF4M
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