I've not been following this thread very well, but here are my
comments, from the perspective of a casual contester, long-time VHFer
with a pretty good station, in a grid with little activity:
1) VHF contests are generally a bore. The whole structure of
the VHF contests needs a serious re-evaluation. The exception
is the "Sprint" events which concentrate activity into a short
period on a single band. That structure makes more sense. It
is not unusual for me to make more Q's in the 222 Sprints than I
do in the January VHF Sweepstakes.
2) There is a serious problem with the scoring structure used
in the VHF contests. I believe the scoring should be distance
related, as is used in the Stew Perry 160 event. No contester
likes to work hours and hours to be thumped by somebody in a
grid where the activity is high. Remember: It's a CONTEST,
and it is about one's SCORE. The present structure discourages
activity.
3) Weekend-wise, I really don't think is makes much difference.
Yes, there is a contest (or a football game, or some such thing)
every weekend. I do think a shorter contest, perhaps starting
Friday nite ending Sunday noon might work better. "Off" times
might concentrate activity but will be hard to schedule.
No matter what changes might be made, I'll get on the VHF Contests
on a "secondary basis"....that is...I sure won't miss a minute of
the NAQP-CW to listen to VHF power-line noise for hours between QSOs.
Sorry to sound so "negative" but that's the view from EM99.
de K8RYU
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