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Re: [VHFcontesting] VHFcontesting Digest, Vol 217, Issue 39

To: vhfcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHFcontesting Digest, Vol 217, Issue 39
From: Ben S <bschudel2@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 22:02:30 -0600
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
All,

Here's another $.02 or maybe $.01. I have been doing a limited rover effort
for the ARRL VHF contests for the last several years now. The last several
contests which I participated in were major disappointments-low levels of
activity and almost no voice or cw. I am not really a contester (maybe a
couple a year plus Field Day), but the thing that attracted me to the
VHF/UHF contests was the off beat/semi lade back nature of coordinating
other bands via .200 digging signals out, random comments from other ops
etc. not the click a station by the hour that WSJT-X modes offer. There was
color and a rich smorgasbord of QSO flavor, instead of the monochrome
offered by FT8.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing with new modes as much
as the next guy, and even have packed a computer along to try to catch a
few digi contacts. Heck I even watch a black and white movie from time to
time. But as a mainstay it is painfully dull, and probably not something I
am going to spend a day or two on driving from grid to grid as in the past.
I will still get on and try to make some contacts for the hell of it
because I get a kick out of VHF weak signal, but we're probably done doing
anything but a cursory effort for the VHF contests. This last contest's
activity was a single local 6m FT8 contact that I made just because I
happened to be in the shack at the right time. If it becomes fun again I
will be back, but until then the outdoor radio time I typically reserved
for the VHF contests is going to largely get transferred to HF POTA ops.

Regards,
Ben, KB0ZOM

On Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 4:42 PM <vhfcontesting-request@contesting.com>
wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Re: VHF contesting yesterday vs today (Richard Dickens)
>    2. Re: ARRL VHF Test 3 Band Category - long rant better delete!!
>       (Gregory Winters)
>    3. Re: Solving FT8 (Peter Laws)
>    4. Re: Solving FT8, scoring, categories (Jonesy W3DHJ)
>    5. Help with vintage mirage brick amp (Tim Coad)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 15:40:46 -0600
> From: Richard Dickens <ky0q@sbcglobal.net>
> To: vhfcontesting@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHF contesting yesterday vs today
> Message-ID: <B87C334C-1BF5-43DB-8E85-9AF19CB62AAF@sbcglobal.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=us-ascii
>
> The agenda and meeting minutes are posted at:
> http://www.arrl.org/board-meetings <http://www.arrl.org/board-meetings>
> If you are a member you can elect to have them emailed to you.  The
> minutes usually take a few weeks to show up on the website.
>
> 73- Rick, KY0Q
> (off V/UHF for awhile but have 6M and 2M beams now on a roof tower,
> waiting for warmer wx to finish the install)
>
> >
> > Message: 3
> > Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 13:54:18 -0700
> > From: w5zn@w5zn.org <mailto:w5zn@w5zn.org>
> > To: Jim <jimk8mr@aol.com <mailto:jimk8mr@aol.com>>
> > Cc: VHF Contesting <vhfcontesting@contesting.com <mailto:
> vhfcontesting@contesting.com>>
> > Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHF contesting yesterday vs today
> > Message-ID: <5cc1526d6e8c8f3793c75ceede6c734a@w5zn.org <mailto:
> 5cc1526d6e8c8f3793c75ceede6c734a@w5zn.org>>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
> >
> > Hi Jim,
> >
> > Beats me - I have absolutely no clue. I haven't been involved in ARRL
> > politics for 10 years. I just know there was a board meeting this past
> > weekend. Other than that I'm not privy to anything that goes on "on the
> > inside" anymore. In the "old days" there would have already been a brief
> > summary sent out from HQ but its a strange new world up there these
> > days.
> >
> > I suggest you go right to the horses mouth (or maybe the other end) and
> > contact your ARRL Division Director who can give you all the details. If
> > not, you may need a new director! :-)))
> >
> > 73 Joel W5ZN
> >
> > On 2021-01-19 13:45, Jim wrote:
> >
> >> So was there anything relevant to be reported?
> >>
> >> Jim   K8MR
> >>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:44:41 +0000
> From: Gregory Winters <greg_winters@hotmail.com>
> To: Herb Krumich <wa2fgk@yahoo.com>, "alex@kr1st.com" <alex@kr1st.com>
> Cc: VHF <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] ARRL VHF Test 3 Band Category - long rant
>         better delete!!
> Message-ID:
>         <
> MWHPR20MB19827DE8035E7CE54DB3F166E7A30@MWHPR20MB1982.namprd20.prod.outlook.com
> >
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> It does need to be fun (again).Theres no prize money, big prizes,
> sponsorships, free radios, that I'm aware of. Wish there was! A plaque or
> paper is all.
>
> I do wish we had more activity weekends. Not just Field Day. Its hard
> enough to get people off DMR and repeaters. Getting VUCC aside from
> contests is difficult when people turn things on 3 weekends a year. Really
> hard to 'keep it by using it' when its not used 99% of the time aside from
> 3-4 weekends a year.
>
> I do wish 146.52 and the other simplex freqs were not usable for ARRL
> contests. I get yelled at every contest about it by some people on the air,
> but thats where almost everyone is. Monitoring 146.48 through .58 I still
> catch 80% at .52 anyway, a lot of QSOs. Allowing contesting on that freq in
> particular takes away fun when you're getting reprimanded every contest
> (following the rules) and undermines the necessity of a National Calling
> Frequency (and CQ WW VHF doesn't allow it). Maybe not a lot, but people do
> still use simplex.
>
>
> Greg, K3RW
> ________________________________
> From: VHFcontesting <vhfcontesting-bounces+greg_winters=
> hotmail.com@contesting.com> on behalf of alex@kr1st.com <alex@kr1st.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2021 6:34:34 AM
> To: Herb Krumich <wa2fgk@yahoo.com>
> Cc: VHF <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] ARRL VHF Test 3 Band Category - long rant
> better delete!!
>
> Hi Herb,
>
> I agree. These contests have been minimized in significance (cheapened?)
> to a level that they cannot be seriously considered competitive events
> anyway. I call them activity weekends. They are basically "everything
> goes" events now with a few rules sprinkled in to make it look like a
> contest. Heck, everyone can now print their own participation award and
> look like a winner, and QST prints maybe a whole page about it if you're
> lucky.
>
> Unless the ARRL indicates a willingness to seriously look at VHF
> contests to turn them into (dare I say "fun") contests again, it is
> useless to even discuss the rules. You've seen in a recent article that
> they look at the (logging) data only in terms of participation. The
> competitive element of a contest is secondary, if that even. Whenever
> you see data presented in a way to defend the status quo, you know that
> that is where the discussion ends. We vent a little on a lists like
> these and then the dust settles, until the next event. Rinse and repeat.
> :)
>
> 73,
> --Alex KR1ST
>
> On 2021-01-19 08:56, Herb Krumich via VHFcontesting wrote:
> > Jeff your spot onThis theory of everyone wanting a trophy is a
> > jokeActually deters hams from making improvements in their
> > station Stay SafeHerb at WA2FGK
> >     On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 12:22:50 AM EST, Jeff Kabel
> > <kabelj@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >  I think that there are too many categories in the VHF contest. It
> > makes it
> > too easy to pick a category that doesn't have any competition and win,
> > which doesn't seem that fun. I'd rather have a middle of the pack score
> > than win without putting any effort in.
> _______________________________________________
> VHFcontesting mailing list
> VHFcontesting@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 15:48:39 -0600
> From: Peter Laws <plaws0@gmail.com>
> To: "vhfcontesting@contesting.com" <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Solving FT8
> Message-ID:
>         <CANVAiQ9pL794LbW22ACVEfw=
> 98C8-TpEDMLPVHL-3VERTQ0AuA@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> On Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 3:23 PM Gregory Winters
> <greg_winters@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I do not support eliminating FT8 or moving to an all digital contest.
> Its not a problem to solve--because it is NOT a problem. What is happening
> is what was always going to happen. There will be new kings and new
> compeititors over time, and by rights there should be.
> >
> > We must be careful, since the slippery slope won't end to make everyone
> happy.
>
>
> FT8 split the RTTY list (which has been around since steam days) into
> two. The original list is dead and "rtty-digital" is not much better.
> Hint - more channels doesn't mean more good content.  You'd have
> thought we'd learned that from Cable TV, but alas ...
>
> Can't for the life of me figure out what's up with some people. You
> want to do FT8? Great! Have fun!  It's run my WAS totals up,
> certainly.  And my VUCC totals.  Don't want to do FT8? Great!  Don't
> do it. Plenty (and I mean *plenty* of other ways to wiggle the
> electrons.
>
> I swear that some hams won't be happy until everyone is forced to run
> spark.
>
>
> --
> Peter Laws | N5UWY | plaws plaws net | Travel by Train!
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 15:30:12 -0700 (MST)
> From: Jonesy W3DHJ <mailserver@jonz.net>
> To: vhfcontesting <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
> Cc: NM VHF <nmvhf@groups.io>, RMVHF+ <rmvhf@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Solving FT8, scoring, categories
> Message-ID: <o95q2993-s0-s2n7-sqo2-n865s938622@wbam.arg>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
> I'm just sayin', if you hope to log DM87 (or DM77) in the three Summer
> VHF contests, you'd better display rudimentary voice or cw skills.
> 73
> Jonesy
> --
>   Marvin L Jones     | W3DHJ      | W3DHJ  | https://W3DHJ.net/
>    Pueblo, Colorado  |  @         | Jonesy |     __ linux FreeBSD
>     38.238N 104.547W |   jonz.net | DM78rf | 73  SK
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:41:51 -0800
> From: Tim Coad <timcoad@gmail.com>
> To: VHFcontesting@contesting.com
> Subject: [VHFcontesting] Help with vintage mirage brick amp
> Message-ID:
>         <
> CAFs6rS+L+YGOVXe4164CWr1KrSKr7JxCvhMJNySRbP_jCAZ8sQ@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Hi , I have an older brown faced Mirage 2 Mtr 30-160 amp and right before
> the contest it stopped working.
>
> The power light comes on but the amp does not key. I plugged a foot switch
> into the back thinking that might be an external key input but nothing
> happens. So maybe there is a relay that is out?
>
> Does anyone know how hard this is to fix and if this is common problem?
> Thanks
>
> Tim
> NU6S
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of VHFcontesting Digest, Vol 217, Issue 39
> **********************************************
>
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