ARRL June VHF Contest - 2021
Call: K5TR
Operator(s): K5TR
Station: K5TR
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: EM00uf
Operating Time (hrs):
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 339 121
2: 107 25
222: 40 14
432: 66 16
903: 15 10
1.2: 11 8
2.3: 4 4
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
-------------------
Total: 582 208 Total Score = 155,584
Club: Roadrunners Microwave Group
Comments:
Six meters never got very good. The band was on the edge of being open most of
the weekend but there was a lot of QSB and for the most part signals were not
very good. We had some really good tropo but only in Texas - and while it
extended into west Texas - allowing me to work stations over 300 miles way in
places that I often do not hear there are not many VHFers out there so it was
only good for a few contacts and a few grids on a few bands.
The local rover activity was very good and that really helped out the QSO and
mult totals on the bands. The station worked well. I did manage to work any of
the three locals on 10ghz but I will admit that after we tried once I never did
get back to the band.
Over the years I have really enjoyed doing this contest. And I have added more
bands than I ever thought I would add. I have had some good success in this
contest on 6 meters over the years. I generally do not enjoy digital contesting.
I do a lot of HF contesting but after doing a few RTTY contests I have chosen
to not get on in those events. The various digital modes do not bring me joy in
HF contesting so I do not enter those events. Sadly this contest, and USA VHF
contests in general, are becoming digital contests. Over the last two years I
have done a fair amount of digital in the June contest. But after last years
event I was not sure I even wanted to continue doing the contest or even remain
on these bands outside of contests if all of the activity is going to be
digital. I thought long and hard about this and talked to a number of other
people. I do not see much of a solution. Maybe the CQ contest should move to
the weekend after the ARRL June contest and become an analog only event. That
weekend is is SMIRK contest and the Region 1 50mhz contest. Neither of these
events has digital modes. The Region 1 (European) VHF contests do not allow
digital modes or EME. To me, this sounds like a great thing. I enjoy these
bands. I am fascinated by working distant stations on bands that most people
and most hams would consider to be good for only line of sight or local
communications. I still want to improve my 144 mhz station as that has become a
band that I like to try to push the limits on. Just today I stopped doing the
last two hours of FD to work SSB and CW on sme 144 mhz Es and that was great
fun. I ended up working a number of stations and new grids and at least one new
state. But, maybe it is time to move on from the contests and maybe get rid of
a few bands. I am still thinking it over.
Going into this years contest I decided that I would not do any digital at all -
in the end I did go listen on 144 mhz meteor scatter and I worked two stations -
one late night before going to sleep and one early in the morning when I got up.
The rest of the time I was calling CQ non-stop on 6 meters and also on the high
bands on SSB or CW and this made me happy. I am sure there were many people
whom I could have worked during the contest on 6m and even 2m if they had
ventured off of the 3 khz FT8 channel. I know there were several locals that I
did not work because they only did FT8. I can't blame them - it makes things
much easier. The computer does the copying of the signals, the computer digs
them out of the noise, the computer will keep calling even if the contact takes
10 minutes or more. The operator does not even have to listen to the audio they
can watch the golf game or hang out with the family or in one case go to work
and still click on stations on their iPad. I can see why many might opt for
this experience. I do not want to force them to work SSB/CW. But I do not
want to be forced to work FT8 etc. So, at least for this year that I did not
work FT8 or digital modes in general (except for the two MS contacts on 2m) and
I found this to be better for me. Will I keep coming back year after year? I
am still unsure.
For years a number of us in the June contest were hoping for those great
weekends where we could make 1000 contacts on 6m and then when that goal was
acheived we tried for the next level and got close to 1500 contacts and then
finally to almost 1900 contacts. I have dreamed of breaking 2000 contacts in
this contest on 6 meters. But it has become clear to me that this will not
happen as long as folks are on FT8 or even FT4 in those 3 khz audio channels.
When the band opens wide from coast to coast with huge signals the throughput on
on these modes goes way way down. And even on FT4 if everthing is perfect you
can only work stations at a fix rate per minute. To get the really large contact
totals you need the ability to burst up to very high rates because the band
openings on 6 meters are fickle and you have to shove as many folks in the log
as you can when the band hot. I fondly remember a number of years ago having
two 225+ clock hours back to back on 6 meters, it was great fun. These are the
moments that I hope for going into the June contest. You can not do this with
any of the current digital modes and as long as all the players lock their
radios in those channels you will not get to work them quickly when the band
opens here and there through the course of the weekend. In fact I make many
contacts in 6 seconds on QSB peak. This does not happen on these digital modes.
And I suspect many easy contacts never occur because of these short lived peaks
from area to area.
Writing this brings me no joy, I just feel sadness for what these VHF contests
are becoming. I am not sure how you justify spectrum for amateur radio if on a
day to day basis it lives in a 3 khz voice channel or two.
Change modes the next time the band is open and call some CQs maybe you will
find some other folks to work on SSB or CW.
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