On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 16:54:26 -0400, Ev Tupis wrote:
> I believe that HF contests get 10k+ logs because the contests are designed
for
> HF operation. I believe that VHF contests get 2.5k logs because they are
> designed for HF operation and just tweaked a little. Turn the tables and I
> believe that HF contests would be at the 2.5k level and VHF would be at the
10k+
> level.
>
I don't think so. I happen to believe that one of the primary reasons
that VHF contests get fewer logs is that fewer people operate VHF SSB/CW
and there are far fewer stations to work in a VHF contest and thus
they tend to be considered more "boring" to most contest operators. HF
contesters routinely make 1000, 2000, or more QSO's (esp. multi-ops) in a
contest. They routinely have run rates in the 50, 60, 70 or more Q's per hour
range. The fact that HF is open beyond line of site (or so) with
more regularity, more predictability and for far more hours per day means
more QSO's which (for most people) means more fun. You rarely hear
HF operators yacking during a contest with locals and saying stuff like
"yeah, I'll be in and out during the contest today...I'm going to do a little
work in the back yard and leave the rig on and hope there's a 6 meter
opening in a few hours. I'll work a few on 2 meters around sundown".
Maybe this doesn't happen on the East Coast, but
it sure happens here on the West Coast. You run out of stations to work
in a hurry on VHF because of limited range. Most contesters get bored
with that quickly. Another example is the 10GHz contest. I sat on top
of Mt. Diablo last year all day long and made about 35 QSO's. That's
a lot of time to spend sitting around waiting. Most contesters find it
more fun to run EU's or JA's at 100 Q's per hour. The people that
operate the microwave contests tend to be the hardcore experimenters: the one's
that operate the contest mainly to prove that their designs work. I
find very few "hardcore contesters" operating UHF or microwave in contests.
I don't have any magic ideas for increasing VHF+ contest participation, but
I DO think it is unreasonable to expect VHF+ participation to rival HF
participation. Just my $0.02.
I'm relatively new to VHF+ contesting. I've been an amateur since 1975, but
never had VHF multi-mode capabilities until last year. Last year's
10GHz contest and the most recent June VHF QSO party were the first one's
in which I put in a substantial effort. I planned to operate in last
year's June VHF QSO party, but I listened to 6 meters a few times and heard
nothing so I assumed nobody was active and I gave up. That turned out to
be a mistake, but that's what I did. So, I essentially gave up because
it was too boring. I suspect this is true for many others as well. You
have to overcome this in order to increase participation.
Another thing to consider is the general problem of CC&R's and HOA's.
Fewer and fewer hams are able to operate amateur radio stations (other
than 2m HT's) at home, much less field a serious contest station.
This obviously applies to both HF and VHF contesting.
This is actually one reason that I decided to explore VHF+ contesting.
It's much easier to set up a competitive portable/rover VHF contest station than
a competitive portable HF contest station. As the problem of CC&R's and HOA's
becomes more pervasive, portable operation is going to be more and more
necessary. It certainly requires much more effort and a much higher level
of committment for someone to operate a contest portable or rover. This
means fewer and fewer people will participate. This creates a downward
spiral because less participation leads to less "fun" for those that DO
participate and eventually they lose interest and the whole thing
collapses. It may be possible to make portable and rover operations
more "fun", but I don't see any way to make it easier. It will always
be "easier" to turn the rig on at home with the volume up listening for
an opening while doing other things.
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