----- Original Message -----
From: <stanka1ze@aol.com>
To: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 11:02 AM
Subject: [VHFcontesting] A practical consideration
> From: "Kenneth E. Harker" <kenharker@kenharker.com>
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] A practical consideration
> >>Historically, circle roving has been very controversial.
> In the January, 1993 contest, the first circle roving effort
> (team KA1ZE) was so controversial in effect that it led to
> the infamous rules change in rover scoring and nearly killed
> off the category. In the January, 1999 contest, the grid
> circling Team N3IQ's result was so controversial that N1ND
> felt compelled to include in his writeup that the score
> was achieved "within the rules." Team N6NB/R has been the
> first circle roving team to keep at it over multiple contests:
>
> Hello Gentlemen,
>
> I knew I would eventually see my call regarding the 1993 1st rover
> event. I would like to remind most of you (who have heard this before),
> that I invented grid circling to prove a point about how the contest
> encouraged this type of participation because of the way the contest
> score was calculated. I felt this was a flaw in the scoring method and
> did it to prove what ridiculous scores could be had using equipment
> that was not really capable of making long distance contacts. I did
> this for one contest and continued the rest of my contesting life like
> the 99.9% of you on this VHF Contesting reflector. From that experience
> I do not understand why anyone would want to do this contest after
> contest. Rapid fire contacts across a field did not give me the feeling
> I normally get after a successful contest. I think the bottom line is
> the participants who just grid circle will soon tire and will stop
> doing it. The problem for me would be the serious rover who competes
> against another serious rover who in addition to working the field also
> meets with a partner and does a grid circle. I see no value in the 16
> short range QSO's per band other than artificially inflating the final
> score of the dancing couple and in doing so would beat the 1st roving
> station.
>
> Stan, KA1ZE/3, FN01xt
Hello Stan and the group,
Sorry but you have your history wrong... The first contest won by rovers
using
grid circling was the January 1992 VHF Sweepstakes. WB9EEA/R (+AA9D)
did one full four corners circle with W9XA/R (+N9KC) at the EN51,52,61,62
corners in a residential neighborhood near Chicago... The WB9EEA/R won the
contest over NQ2O, KD2KQ, and AJ0E, as well as their roving 'partner' who
were all over 100,000 points because we spent the rest of the contest period
working as many other stations as we could. To quote the June 1992 QST
article listing the results for the January contest, "Rovers were
outstandingly
competitive this year... Considering the time of year, their efforts are
noteworthy."
[ Amazing how their attitude changed later...]
Also Stan - while you 'invented' grid circling, it was independently
invented by several others including me. (I like to think it was just
inherent in the rules.) As for grid circling in contest after contest,
I'd still be at it, but I stopped roving seriously after the first rules
change and doubt that I will ever get serious about it again even
though I still own a roving vehicle.
73,
Jim
W0EEA (ex- WB9EEA)
mail can be sent to my call @ w0eea.com
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