I thought that after participating in several of these things, that one
would improve. I see N2AA did, WA2SRQ had a killer serial number KR0Y
was 20 q's ahead of me three milliseconds into the event. Derek's big
Tejas siginal was a constant beacon as was K5GN and other 5's.
Worked Derrick VE4VV only once, his #001 - guess he was black holed.
Lots of 1's and 2's as opposed to April. 6's and 7's (except for Alan)
only on backscatter, since 40 had no part in this thing. Just as well,
I usually go down to 40 to hear N6TR, N6TV, K6LL (no dave this time?)
etc many q's ahead of me. Instead, I noticed that almost everybody was
ahead of me.
I'm doomed to a rate of 50. Let's have some kinda handicap.
JUST KIDDING
I turned the stack, dislodged the now vacant bird's nest and unpacked
the 765 from the box I put it in right after the last sprINT. It will
stay unpacked for a while, I guess.
What great fun. 103 q's. 2 less than April.
Did someone have a list on new names that were inserted every 10 q's?
All the beebs and gleebs and gungs that appeared in the latter part of
the event reminded me of the 49er's famous "20 play list that Walsh
always started his games with". I assume it wasn't "Larry".
Eric (no mention of call difficulties) NV6O
edwoods@pacbell.com
>From Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> Mon Jul 25 16:57:47 1994
From: Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> (Steve Harrison)
Subject: Contest times
Message-ID: <Pine.3.87.9407251147.A8383-0100000@eagle>
I'm surprised that nobody has yet had the guts to stand up and admit that
what all the "also-rans" are really bitching about is not that they do
not have a chance to snatch victory from one of the super-contesters; the
real issue is that there are certain conditions, whether they be
rules, regulations, operating habits of some contestants, or something
else, that make participation in contests a whole lot less fun than it could
otherwise could be for the little guys.
It's not that everybody really would gain from having a handicap applied
to their score for low antennas, living within deep valleys with
mountains on all sides, or having a radio that overloads at the slightest
provocation. After all, there are ten times as many contest stations that
never place in top ten lists simply because their operators are not among
the best or have some other problem, such as lack of time.
What it really is, is that there are a lot of excellent operators out
there who simply don't have the opportunity to operate at a station that
would give them the additional physical edge required to compete on even,
or nearly-even, terms. Most of these guys are so addicted to contesting
that they just cannot quit; yet, they know, before they turn on the
radio, that they have no chance of seeing their call highlighted in the
published standings. From time to time, some of these guys make a brief
impression by operating from another's station, or in a contest that
takes place immediately after a severe storm that takes down all the high
and huge antennas of the local super-stations, leaving the little
tribanders intact.
These guys consistently experience things in contests that the
super-operators and super-station owners have forgotten happen to the
little guy. They get their run frequencies taken away, they get beat in
pileups that, to the little guy would be a multiplier but to the
super-station is simply another 2 or 3 pointer, they hear the super-stations
on backscatter running DX when the band is quiet for the low-antenna crowd,
and they have to fight off the family just when the band starts getting
really good for them. They have TVI, RFI, line noise, ignition noise,
bees and wasps in the garage, and cockroaches shorting the SB200 power
supply. And yet, they stick with it. They grimace when working
super-stations while thinking they would really rather not but if they
don't, they may throw away any chance of ever being invited to operate
there. And at the end, they bear all the egostistical boasting and
bragging by all the super-operators and station owners about how many
hours the bands were open to wherever when the band never once opened
there for the little guy. They bitch, moan, groan and complain about how
unfair life is here on the Reflectors and try to tune out the "Life is Tough"
comments from the big-gun types.
And through it all, most of them keep returning; maybe the next contest,
sometimes after a few years of reflection and rebuilding their own
bruised egos.
And then, they never hear a "Thank you, little guys, for just
being there, working us and putting up with your own problems,". Instead,
they hear heartless and unsympathetic "If you can't stand the heat, get
out of the kitchen,".
THAT'S what the real bitching from the 'lil guys is all about; they feel
unwanted, cast aside, and used. A few sincere and sympathetic words of thanks
always go a long way to smooth-over ruffled feelings. Maybe those of us
who don't do that too often should sit back and try to understand how our
own contesting activities come across to our brethren, then figure out
how to make things all-better. Almost all of us can run piles of
150+/hour given the right conditions, so obviously, high run-rates aren't
all there is to being a top contester. There is also the human aspect,
and far too many of us fall flat on our faces in that department.
73, Steve KO0U/4
>From Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> Mon Jul 25 17:41:40 1994
From: Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> (Steve Harrison)
Subject: CQing
Message-ID: <Pine.3.87.9407251240.B8383-0100000@eagle>
On Fri, 22 Jul 1994, Larry Tyree wrote:
>
> Am I the only one who thinks that a station who calls more than 12
> unanswered CQs should give up his frequency to whoever calls him
> on it?
>
> Tree N6TR
> tree@cmicro.com
>
Nope. Steve, KO0U/4
>From eric%modular.UUCP@cs.arizona.edu (Eric Gustafson) Mon Jul 25 17:26:52
>1994
From: eric%modular.UUCP@cs.arizona.edu (Eric Gustafson) (Eric Gustafson)
Subject: UA9BA's defences...
Message-ID: <9407251626.AA19880@modular>
Willy,
There is nothing objectionable about your grammar and composition. What
you had to say was copiable Q5.
I'm sorry that you and everyone else on the reflector had to be exposed to
a relatively new phenomenon in America which you put your finger on
precisely. It has become fashionable in this country to whine about any
inequity perceived or actual. An entire generation has been given the idea
that this country is about equality of outcome rather than equality of
opportunity. If it is sad to see from your side of the pond, inagine how
saddened most of us are to see it from this side.
Who cares if W5WMU has a tremendous antenna farm _and_ runs 43 KW or
whatever. It only affects how well he does, not how well I do. I prefer
to worry about things that affect how well I do. Those are the things I
can take pride in doing something about.
73, Eric N7CL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Gustafson N7CL | The mountains are high and the Emperor
6730 S. Old Spanish Trail | is far away.
Tucson, AZ 85747 |
INTERNET: modular!eric@cs.arizona.edu | You can't work 'em
CI$: 71750,2133 | if you can't hear 'em.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> Mon Jul 25 17:43:27 1994
From: Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> (Steve Harrison)
Subject: CQing
Message-ID: <Pine.3.87.9407251227.C8383-0100000@eagle>
On Sat, 23 Jul 1994, Barry Kutner wrote:
>
> On another note, how about a rule banning multi's from CQing. Wouldn't it
> be nice for the rest of us to have a shot near the bottom of the bands?
>
> --
> =======================================================================
> Barry N. Kutner, W2UP Usenet/Internet: barry@w2up.wells.com
> Newtown, PA Packet Radio: W2UP @ WB3JOE.#EPA.PA.USA.NA
> Packet Cluster: W2UP >K2TW (FRC)
> .......................................................................
>
YEAH! YEAH! That's the idea! I LOVE it! Steve, KO0U/4
|