********Actually this statement is incorrect. There is a clear correlation
between
the start of the rover catagory and a period of increasing activity. There is
a similar correlation with the begining of the current decline in activity
and the revision of the rover scoring method.
73 Paul AA4ZZ****************
For the Record:
I have found a new contester and have been instrumental in his role in
getting his IC-706MkIIG active on 6m, 2m, and 432. I will be providing his
information in a future email once I am able to confirm that his station
will be active for June! How is your recruiting going??????
Now for the topic and hand:
If the numbers support your theory Paul, then there is no argument to
make. However, I do not believe everything I read without verifying the
information on my own. I am not sure when the Rover scoring changed,
however I believe it was approx. 1993 or 1994. The records for the last few
years are easily accessible on the ARRL site and with a calculator you can
confirm the following information. Your theory may be correct between 1994
and 1997 as I did not sample that far back. I'm interested in the here and
now aspect of this as what happened in 1994 is not as relevant to us as
what happened in 2002. Especially for finding out why things are or are not
happening now, as opposed to 10 years ago.
As a result, here is my take on 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 VHF/UHF contests in
relation to rovers. This is not a perfect scientific study nor can I verify
the results are mistake free, however they are within a reasonable
tolerance. The number of logs and total of the top ten scores is listed
below. I did not take the time to determine total score of all which
submitted rover logs, however if someone wishes to do so, I would enjoy the
findings. For now, we will stick with number of total rover logs submitted
and total scores of the top ten rovers in each contest.
Jan 2000. 46 logs, 619,100 pts
Jun 2000. 50 logs, 1,306,639 pts
Sep 2000 67 logs, 1,000,945 pts
Jan 2001 65 logs, 1,045,636 pts
Jun 2001 60 logs, 1,132,146 pts
Sep 2001 53 logs, 1,161,112 pts
Jan 2002 72 logs, 1,626,811 pts
Jun 2002 84 logs, 1,274,488 pts
Sep 2002 62 logs, 1,079135 pts
Jan 2003 65 logs, 2,732,084 pts (unofficial. Numbers based on the logs
submitted page)
Just out of curiosity, I went back a little further for rover logs submitted.
73 logs in Jan 97
71 logs in Jun 97
66 logs in Sep 97
74 logs in Jan 98
73 logs in Jun 98
57 logs in Sep 98
75 logs in Jan 99
72 logs in Jun 99
62 logs in Sep 99
In 7 years, there was only one contest where the logs were way down and one
where the logs were way up. I have no access to the data for the contests
previous to the rules change, but since 1997 the rover logs are not in a
"decline." Throw out the low of 46 and the high of 84 and you have an
average of 65 Rovers per contest. Surprise, In Jan 2003, we had an average
amount of rovers. Where is the decline in the last 7 years??????
The top 10 scores are increasing and more points equates to more QSO's
which have taken place during the contest period. I don't care if the
rovers worked one station 1000 times or 1000 different stations. I don't
care on what bands or at what distance they occurred, Q's are happening.
Furthermore, the rovers are going out and putting up great scores and
adding bands every contest. What are you doing to increase the potential of
your station?
Changing the Rover scoring does not make it possible for Rovers to make
more Q's. We made 898 Q's in Jan. 2003. If you changed the scoring, we may
have had a higher score, but we would have still made 898 Q's. For this
reason, I fail to see any validity to the Rover scoring change having
effect on the rover category or the contest in any way. The effect of the
rule change is only less score, not less Q's and surely not declining
activity as previously documented.
Would we love to have 10 rovers in each ARRL Section? You bet we would. How
about 10 stations in each ARRL Section? You bet we would. So, go out and
find people to do it. Or better yet, you go out and do it. Combine with
another ham and go out in the rover. A rover with 5 bands, loops and a
laptop is all you need. It is not too hard! Find others to get on during
the contest! RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT
Have Fun
Mark
N9UM
http://www.vx5.com/~teampf
KI9R
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