First off, I am an ARRL Life Member and definitely NOT an ARRL basher. But I
am bothered by the new editorial policy of QST as far as contest reporting
and section news goes... I'll forget about Section News for purposes of this
post and stick to the contest results.
Observation number 1:
--unless I'm a Big Gun and win my Category or at least my Division, I can
forget about seeing my call in the QST write up. But I'll see the Big Gun
calls over and over again and read contest after after how the same few
people jockey for the top spot each year. Is this supposed to attract new
contesters? I'm not putting down the big guns, but I find the little pistol
stories much more interesting and THEIR SCORES are more indicative of what a
newcomer might hope to achieve if he/she enters a contest for the first time.
Observation number 2:
--the on-line Soapbox was a really COOL idea and I loved it! When it first
appeared many contestents posted their tales and lots of great pics. Have
you looked lately? Compare the number of entrants to the Soapbox from, say
Field Day this year compared to last, or Sweepstakes, or any VHF contest...
Get the picture? Maybe 1/5 or 1/6 as many entries. I guess the novelty is
wearing off.
As the sunspots decline, it would have been refreshing to feel like the ARRL
was in our corner trying to promote participation.
Just my thoughts,
73, Jim N3AWS
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