[3830] WPX SSB KY4AA M/S HP

[n4gn at n4gn.com]

                     CQWW WPX - SSB
                    
Call: KY4AA
Operator(s): K4AT, K4IU, K4WW, K9GX, KC4CQT, N4GN, W4OKY
Station: N4GN

Class: M/S HP
QTH: KY
Operating Time (hrs): 48
 

Summary:
 Band     QSOs   Prefixes
-------------------------------
  160:     13
   80:    131
   40:    152
   20:    651
   15:    634
   10:    731
-------------------------------
Total:   2312 x    945  =  5,013,225

Club: Dawson Hill Contest Club

Comments:

This was the debut of the new club call.  It seems to work!

Unfortunately, the N4GN station is not really competitive in this category, and 
ESPECIALLY not after the latest rule change.  Frankly, I think the move to make 
the WPX M/S category just like the one in that other CQ-sponsored contest is a 
bad idea.  Why the need to mimic another contest's M/S category?  Why can't we 
simply celebrate the differences here?

Who or what was the driving force behind the rule change?  Who does it benefit?

A few years ago, KB4SRE and I made the top ten in this category with a single 
tribander, some wires, a single TS-430S, and a whopping 500 W amp.  We just 
took turns operating the radio.  Those days are gone--that category no longer 
exists!

The biggest frustration is that now we are supposed to somehow hand out a 
single stream of sequential numbers from two different radios.  This causes me 
to wonder if anyone took five minutes to think about the implications of this 
rule change.  This kind of M/S makes sense (and is a lot of fun) in CQ WW.  But 
in WPX, it is simply impossible to comply with this rule and make any 
reasonable number of QSOs on the second radio.  Imagine trying to do this with 
paper logging--it can't be done!  It's not much better with computers.  The 
problem is that if the other station logs a QSO while you are in the process of 
working someone, you will hand out the wrong number.  In some cases, the guy on 
the other end of the QSO will be penalized for logging the wrong number, when 
he in fact logged what you sent him!

If both stations log a QSO simultaneously (within the latency time of the 
computer network), it's even possible to give the same serial number to two 
different stations.  Then what are we supposed to do?  "Oh, hey, wait a minute, 
I know I told you '59 1724' but the other station logged someone at the same 
time, so I guess you're '59 1725' now."

I will admit to such errors being in our log.  We tried to do the right thing, 
but I'm sorry, this ill-conceived rule change makes for all kinds of headaches 
like this.

I know some will claim that the new rules give the operators something to do 
when they aren't operating the main radio--now they can run the second radio.  
So now a competitive entry has to staff two radios for 48 hours.  And how much 
fun is it to be tuning 75 for new mults in the middle of the second night, when 
the "run" radio is on 40 in the phone contest?!  Thank God we had 20 meters at 
night this year, but how much fun will the second radio be in 2005, day or 
night, especially on phone?

I guess that's the key for me.  The old category was simply much more 
enjoyable.  The new category is such a headache that I'm not sure I ever want 
to attempt it again.

PLEASE, can't we just call this a failed experiment, and go back to the old WPX 
M/S rules?

73,

Tim Totten, N4GN
n4gn at n4gn.com


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