Beating the dead horse.. 24h tests

[Gerald.J.Kersus at att.com]

I've watched (in silence) the good discussion over the past few weeks 
regarding DX contest length.  I  kept my mouth shut, but now since
Bill, KM9P, asked for opinions from regular SO entrants I'll contribute (?)
my $0.02 worth even though I'm not one of the perennial top ten finishers
Bill listed.  However, as painful as it sometimes is, I have found the time to
put in 30 to 40 hours for most CQWW and ARRL contests for a number of
years and have generated some decent scores.  (Yes, my beard is also grey, 
which is why I shave.)

First of all, it's good to remember that this discussion started with the
expressed desire to INCREASE CONTEST ACTIVITY.  A number of people
supported the idea that contests were too long and that establishing a 24
hour category would increase activity.  Many of the arguments were based on
personal experience and the logic that goes something like this:

  1.  They could not commit to operate a significant portion of a 48 hour
       contest.

  2.  If the couldn't operate 48 hours, they couldn't win (implying that's
      the only reason they couldn't win).

  3.  If they couldn't win, they wouldn't bother to operate much if at all.
 
  4.  Adding a 24 hour category would give them an incentive to operate
      more (apparently they felt they could win in this category).

  5.  Therfore, overall activity would increase.

After reading Andy's (GM0ECO) comments and after talking to a few DX stations
and a few state side casual ops, I believe that Andy is right -- the number of
stations operating at slack times and when propagation is poor would
actually decrease if there were a 24-hour category. This will apply to us
State Side stations too, since the 24-hour category will apply to DX
stations, too.

Now, if the REAL reason for establishing 24-hour contest categories is to
increase activity, let's recognize that doing so may cause some marginal
increase, but nothing like that seen in SS.  (Personally, SS is not my
favorite -- probably a throw back to the long exchange when I first started.
But I do operate for the mug and for the club score since FRC decided to
participate in SS.)  The resurgence in SS and the participation in the
World Games and IARU  shows that activity can be generated by offering
something tangeble to many participants.  Both ARRL and CQWW already have
lots of categories for winning certificates.  Giving certificates, pins, etc. 
based on the number of QSOsand/or countries worked would really generate more 
activity AND, in the long run, would probably attract more folks to our ranks.

In the meantime, I see no compelling reason to change the format of either 
CQWW or ARRL DX contests by adding 24 hour categories.  (And anyone who knows 
me knows I'm no nostalgia buff!)  Sometimes, work and family forces me to
miss part of the contest.  That's just the way it goes.  We all have such
priorities.  It doesn't mean that I still can't enjoy the contest during the 
time I have available.  I know that I have other options with area multi-singles
or multi-multis.  I have also gone single band.  The bottom line is there
seem to be plenty of options for people with limited time.  Otherwise,
we might eventually end up with meaningful categories like the 10 meter, 
single-band, single-op, assisted, low power, attic dipole, 24 hour category.

Gerry W1GD