--- On Wed, 2/6/13, W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu@w0mu.com> wrote:
> From: W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu@w0mu.com>
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] SS Sundays
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Date: Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 11:21 AM
> Slow Sunday's have been in the cards
> since I started doing SS. It is the number one gripe
> or complaint I have heard. When something stops being
> fun, people will be drawn to other interests. Mowing
> the lawn might be more fun than working 11 people an hour on
> Sunday in SS.
>
> While it has been part of the contest forever. It is
> part of the problem as well.
>
> I wish I had a simple solution to make the contest more
> interesting on Sunday but I don't.
>
> I hear comments that this and that cannot be changed because
> of the old records. Records mean nothing if the
> contest dies. Records are for the people that have
> them. They are an indicator of that year. Things
> change and records were meant to be broke. Even if the
> rules were changed those records are still on the books.
>
> A great many of our contacts come from people that are not
> really contesters. While we contesters will put up
> with lousy conditions and slow rates, the average ham
> probably will not.
>
> It is unfortunate that we have to attempt to create more
> contacts by having people use multiple callsigns, stations,
> etc.
>
> If most of the people can be worked in 14 hours then why not
> shorten the contest to 14 hours or change the time period to
> better coincide with peoples operating habits?
>
Yes, the fix is simple: shorten the overall length to 24 hours. Still keep a
required off time of 6 hours. The off time is important to allow stations in
different parts of the country to choose the best times to operate (day/night).
That is particularly important for small stations. Choosing when to take off is
also part of SS strategy.
With 24 hours total the exact start time doesn't matter either as far as
propagation- it covers a full day.
I'm sure the average qso speed in SS has gone up over the years- computer
logging/etc, plus the exchange used to be longer. So it makes sense to make the
whole thing shorter.
Yes, records get messed up. But they already get messed up every time a new
section is added.
Tor
N4OGW
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