My initial reaction to this debate was, "lets do what we can to level
the field". However after reading some of the excellent points on here,
I am beginning to agree that a level field is a dream and wouldn't be
practical. Us folks from the middle of the continent will not win a DX
contest. Just too many skip zones to the major DX population centers.
However like others have said, setting realistic goals and challenging
oneself and other locals, should keep you motivated. Personally I always
try to better my last years score, or strive for some target number of
Q's.
The fact that I will never win or likely ever place in the top 10
doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see some changes.
Distance scoring, makes sense to me. I see no harm in changing this. A
east coast station may have the rate to Europe but others Midwest and
west coast stations will be reward with more points even at a lower
rate.
Another change to consider would be to turn the contest into more of a
sprint format. Meaning limit the number of QSO's on a single frequency.
Try and prevent the frequency monopolization of a few big guns that
scream bloody murder when propagation shifts and you are in their skip
zone. They come up on your frequency claiming your are qrming them and
they have been on frequency for 44 hours and to please qsy. A 48 hour
sprint would be a true iron man contest and would eliminate the clusters
and skimmers from playing a part. This would be more of a test of
operator skill!
Just my $0.02006 cents worth (The Canadian dollar being worth more than
the US$ afterall)
Ed
VE4EAR
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