On Jul 15, 2005, at 2:54 PM, KE5CTY Bob wrote:
> This is really discouraging:
Do not be discouraged. You've just be introduced to the cruel reality
of contesting. It's really an opportunity to improve.
A friend of mine once told me, the thing about playing a musical
instrument is that there's always someone better than you -- someone
who can play something you can't.
The same factor is true in contesting. There's always some guy who
can work stations you can't.
> I thought I did pretty well for my second contest *ever* and then I
> see
> scores like the one below. As you can see, I was also SO(Single
> Operator) but running LP(LowPower) and worked all bands CW(CW Only):
> Operating Time (hrs): 15.95
> Total: 189 0 43 Total Score = 24,897
In 16 hours of operating, you worked 190 stations. That means you
worked about 12 QSOs / hour. In the contest world, that's a pretty
low contact rate.
> How can *one* person amass over a million points. There *must* be more
> to this contesting than meets the eye.
Yes, there's TONS more. That is exactly what makes contesting FUN!
> What operating methods are these
> guys using? Are scores dependent more on operating methods or
> equipment?
Scores are MOSTLY dependent on SKILL. Just look at the WRTC scores
from the last competition. Here you have over 100 of the best
operators in the world, all using very similar equipment and
antennas. Yet, N5TJ and K1TO produced a score about twice as large as
the average of all the contestants. How can they do that? (W4AN, now
SK, told me it is because they are mutants....)
Scores are PARTLY dependent on EQUIPMENT. A good operator will make a
higher score at a more capable station.
> Call: UP4L
> Total: 1614 7201 187 Total Score = 1,346,587
UP4L has a few things going for him here. First, he operated the
entire 24 hour period. Second, he operated mixed mode, which gives
him the opportunity to work stations twice. He also operated more
phone. Phone is faster than CW, so you can work much higher rates.
UP4L is also DX, running high power and probably has some decent
antennas. He worked nearly 9000 QSOs. That's how he managed to make
over 1,000,000 points.
> Granted I operated a *few* less hours, was Low Power and working on a
> fan dipole 10-80 antenna up 25 feet at the apex, but even so, can
> working just 10 or so more hours, going high power with beams and a
> tower make *that* much difference in scoring??
Absolutely.
Bob, when I moved to my current QTH, I got an invitation from W4AN to
operate from his superstation in Dalonegah, GA for SS Phone in 1995.
I thought I'd be in the top ten with all those towers and monobanders.
I made a pretty good score, but not as good as I had made from home
with just a tribander and wires. That experience taught me that
there's much more to contesting than just a bunch of equipment.
I spent years contesting from home with nothing more than a vertical
and some dipoles. It wasn't a matter of who I could beat in the
contest, but how well could I beat last year's score, or make a
personal best.
I also worked on improving my station, within the limits of my QTH
and budget. Now I have a small tower with a tribander, a better
transceiver, and I'm still working on ways to improve my station.
There's no shame in working low power or QRP. Those scores are in
different categories than the guys running high power.
To score better in contests, you need to work on your skills. Enter
more contests, even if it just for a few hours. Listen to the big gun
stations and see what they are doing. Learn about propagation. Work
with MorseRunner or other programs to improve your reactions.
Improve your station -- contesters figure station merit by their
antennas. You need more than just a fan dipole. Can you get a small
2-3 element tribander up? Can you get that dipole up higher? Perhaps
you can put up a monobander for 15 or 20m and just try to work that
band. Can you hang an 80m vertical or four-square in the trees?
Keep working at it. You'll find your scores will skyrocket. And so
will your enjoyment of contesting.
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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