I'm going to chime in here on the heels of John's email. We participate in the
same contest group.
The comments I see here to some degree reflect where you are and what is around
you. Not all of us share the same environs.
September's VHF Contest was difficult for us. We started with voice on
6-meters, and it was 5 minutes into the contest before I had a voice Q. That
gave us a wicked hint of the conditions before us. On 6-meters, just hints of
openings during the contest. Nothing sustainable. The other bands were as bad.
There are a couple of significant 6-meter nets around us, and we advertised
extensively we would be on SSB at the top of the hour looking for local
stations. We made only one or two contacts.
Where was everyone? A beautiful Saturday. Still summer. College football in
full swing. LOTS of distractions and lots of contention for one's time and
priorities. The VHF Contest wasn't a priority for the environment around us.
As John pointed out, we need everything at our disposal to make Q's: SSB, CW,
digital. We're not going to set the world on fire, but we want to act like we
are!
Thanks for reading and 73,
Kim - WG8S
> On September 24, 2019 at 7:21 PM John Kludt <johnnykludt@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Lew,
>
> Problem is it is very difficult to turn back the clock. If you separate
> out digital that means no JT65 EME and no MSK144 meteor scatter. Maybe it
> is a regional thing based on population density. If you are lucky
> enough to live in an area with lots of local VHF maybe you don't need tools
> beyond CW and SSB. But if you are not so lucky, having more tools, digital
> tools, at your disposal is the the difference between staying active during
> the contest and watching football. Yes if there is an opening everything
> is different but openings can be very regional as well.
>
> If all you want to do is SSB and CW go for it, it is a hobby. There are
> those who love AM and they hang out on 160 and 75. More power to them as
> well. In my pursuit of the fun that is amateur radio I will use every tool
> in the kit - SSB, CW, FT4/FT8, JT65, MSK144. Each mode has radio
> requirements and operating skills to master. Yes, even the digital modes.
> Do you really think making an EME Q using JT65 is like shooting fish in a
> barrel?
>
> Gang, It's a hobby that is done for the fun of it and every one defines fun
> a ;little differently. And from this operators chair that is just fine and
> as it should be..
>
> John,
>
> PS - To some other posts in this thread, very few of us "turn the dial"
> because most of us have panadapaters that allow us to scan large band
> segments or the entire band visually. Technology has a funny way if always
> moving on.
>
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