It has been interesting reading the various discussion
regarding VHF contesting, both in QST and here. There
are a few items in those postings and article that I
find especially so, and some puzzling. Here are the
main ones:
1. The perception that VHF contesting has become
"defacto" microwave contests. I really don't believe
this is so, at least here in the upper Midwest, do
having the microwave bands make a big difference in
scoring, you bet. But then that is an incentive to get
the equipment to get on those bands; it's surely
prodding me to do so. To de-emphasis the microwave
bands or to fragment the entry classes (VHF/low-UHF
vs. microwave) would be a mistake. It will take away
the incentive and challenge for building a bigger,
better station. And isn't contesting itself intended
to be a challenge? And as such so should station
building.
2. Cabrillo log file submissions are onerous; this
really surprises me, especially coming from folks who
are posting here on the reflector, and are therefore
computer equipped. Most all logging programs now
support Cabrillo format, or have conversion utilities
to do so, even the freeware DOS based ones. I for one
would not be submitting logs if I had to do it on
paper; computer logging and Cabrillo are godsends. I
did like the suggestion about having a interactive web
page for people to enter logs, obviously this would be
great for those casual ops who make a few dozen Q's
and 10 or so grids, the task of transcribing/entering
them wouldn't be too burdensome. These same folks are
somewhat less likely to have logging software.
3. Line scores removed from QST = less reward. I'm
somewhat mixed on this one, I think it does tend to
make contesting to be more removed from the rest of
ham radio (exposure to casual operators). The casual
operator will not get as good a view of what VHF
contesting is all about without having to dig for it;
this might hurt the prospect of sparking their
interest. On the flip side the amount information that
is now available on the results web page is
phenomenal, you can analyze the data in numerous ways.
I do agree though it should be more accessible to
everyone, not just ARRL members.
4. Contest are too long. I disagree, if anything they
may be too short, the longer the contest period the
better chance of having opening of some kind. How many
times have you seen 6M close minutes before the
contest begins to only reopen just after it ends??
5. VHF contests are boring. I strongly disagree with
this one, I find it far more rewarding to be digging
out a few Q's/hour on an uncooperative V/UHF band than
working a run of 100+ Q's/hour on an HF band. I'm
pitting myself against the band conditions rather than
being elbow to elbow with other operators hours on
end.
Duane
N9DG
EN53bj
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