WRTC

[Nzharps at aol.com]

Hi again Jim,
   I think you may have made a little more of my original "poll" than was
intended. I merely was interested in finding out a simple answer to a very
simple question.  The respondents to my question had to decide the answers to
many other questions in order to answer.  They had to make an educated guess
based on experience, knowledge of the competitors, etc. who they thought
would do well.  In doing this analysis they might also help themselves and
whatever plans they had for IARU/WRTC.
   BTW..response to my original request has been UNDERWHELMING.  I was hoping
we could have some fun with this thread, but so far a relative few folks have
sent me a "list."  I'll continue to muddle ahead in case there are a few
others out there that want to register their opinions.  If the responses ever
reach a level worthy of being reported, I'll summarize.  
   
   73, Ron K8NZ

   Oh..on a related topic--I'm wrestling with the problem of whether I should
enter IARU for max score or get on full-time and hunt WRTC stns??  I don't
think you can do both and do either one justice.


>From rhealy at mdsroc.com (Rus Healy)  Thu Jun 13 16:26:20 1996
From: rhealy at mdsroc.com (Rus Healy) (Rus Healy)
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 11:26:20 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: TIC and RTS
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.960613110658.21114B-100000 at mdsroc.com>

> On Wed, 12 Jun 1996, Rich L. Boyd wrote:
> 
> > I've often thought of the disadvantage Dave Leeson mentions with a 
> > rotating tower -- that all the antennas are pointed the same direction 
> > when beaming different directions simultaneously might be a nice option 
> > to have many times.

This is true--but the beauty of a rotating tower is that you can install a
second rotator in the top and put more antennas on a mast in that rotator.
This gets you several advantages, except, of course, for the indicator
error on the upper rotator when the tower isn't pointed north. I like
K9GS's idea about how to correct for this. A simple microcontroller like
the 68HC705, using two of the chip's A/D inputs, would also make this a
no-brainer.

--73, Rus

-------------------
Rus Healy, NJ2L
MDS, Rochester, New York
nj2l at mdsroc.com

>From k5na at bga.com (Richard L. King)  Thu Jun 13 17:20:01 1996
From: k5na at bga.com (Richard L. King) (Richard L. King)
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 11:20:01 -0500
Subject: WRTC strategy and winners
Message-ID: <199606131620.LAA29060 at zoom.bga.com>

>Hi,
>
>	I have seen some intersting comments on what it might take to win 
>the WRTC.  There is one thing I hope will not be a factor.  Evidently, 
>last time around there were a number of packet spots put out which looked 
>something like this:
>
>"To All:  Hey guys, W1A on 14.2222 is K1XYZ and K0ABC! Let's all work them!"
>
>The identity of the operators was not intentionally given away by the 
>contestants, but due to simple voice recognition on the part of their 
>friends.  I don't know if it had a real effect on the final outcome, but 
>it's occurrence was mentioned in a least one publication I've seen.
>
>I would encourage all contesters on this group to avoid putting out any 
>spots like that, as it could give an unfair advantage to the U.S. ops.  
>I'm sure that the U.S. contestants would also agree with this request.  
>No one wants to win if there is a chance that their victory could be 
>tainted by something totally out of their control.
>
>73, Dave Clemons K1VUT

I also noticed a concentrated effort during the last WRTC to spot the "local
boys" on the PacketCuster. It would be nice if we avoid this practice this
time around to make the competition as fair as possibile for all participants.

73, Richard
K5NA at BGA.COM


>From tree at lady.blindchicken.com (Larry Tyree)  Thu Jun 13 17:55:48 1996
From: tree at lady.blindchicken.com (Larry Tyree) (Larry Tyree)
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 09:55:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: WRTC strategy and rotating towers
Message-ID: <199606131655.JAA19766 at lady.blindchicken.com>


WRTC thoughts - Well, the caliber of the ops invited to the WRTC are
such that most any of them might win.  It is just like trying to win
the SS, you need to be good, be in a good place and have a little luck.

In this case, there will be some differences between the stations.  The
big thing that can cause a problem is line noise.  I will bet most
of the stations will be in residential areas where the line noise
could be a problem.  I know N6TV has a big station, but is often
limited because of line noise.  

Other factors like the environment (air conditioned - dogs barking -
uncomfortable chairs - table too low and you can't get your knees
under it - table laid out so you can't get a keyboard in front of 
the radio - host who doesn't seem happy you are there - TVI problems -
allergic to cats) can have a big effect. 

Some people think there will be big pileups for us to work.  I am not 
so sure, but I hope there will be.  Conditions this time of the year
can be very poor during the daylight hours and it might be hard to 
keep the rate up.  

You would have to favor people who have operated this contest from
the west coast before.  N6TV and myself often show up in the CW only
category and are pretty familar with what to expect.  I still think
N6TV and K7SS should name themselves the "Odd Couple" team.  Between
them, these guys have a lot of talent (assuming Bob handles the key
and Danny gets the headset with the microphone hanging on it).  I am
just not sure Bob is ready for Danny smoking a cigar in the shack. :-)

Another factor is the scoring system.  There are pretty stiff penalties
for busted contacts.  There is a wide variance in most contests 
of logging accuracy from maybe 2 percent up to 10 percent.  Anyone in
the 5 to 10 percent range will have a hard time winning.  It will 
really pay to have a low error rate.  Advantage to those who understand
the callsigns out there so they don't log "impossible" calls like
KC7ZZY or KE7ABC.  Callsign recognition of active calls that are
going to be worked will also help.  Most of the calls will be domestic.

Multipliers will be important - if someone misses a band opening -
that will be hard to overcome.

Finally, computers can be a big problem.  I pity the team that gets 
stuck with a unreliable computer that causes them problems.  There
might be an advantage to local teams which can bring their own 
rigs/computers easily which lowers the risk of problems.  People 
coming from far away could bring their own, but transporting them
could be risky (as I found out when my TS-850S got crunched on the
way back from W5WMU).

I have always thought the neat thing about the WRTC is just getting
to meet all of these people.  I would probably rather we had three
person teams of random selection made just before the contest - with
the only requirement that they are from different countries.  That
would solve many of the problems discussed with packet - and give me
a chance to learn how people from far away places operate contests.
Maybe I would learn something.  My partner and I have operated elbow
to elbow before.  That probably is an advantage for us - but I will
miss the chance to make a couple of close new friends by operating 
with them.

73 Tree N6TR
tree at contesting.com

PS: The SprINT results are nearly done.  They will have been worth 
the wait.  

>From tree at lady.blindchicken.com (Larry Tyree)  Thu Jun 13 18:03:18 1996
From: tree at lady.blindchicken.com (Larry Tyree) (Larry Tyree)
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 10:03:18 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Packet counter-measures
Message-ID: <199606131703.KAA19794 at lady.blindchicken.com>


Here are some ideas on eliminating the packet "problem" during WRTC:

(Some are less serious than others).

1. Shut down all the clusters during the event.

2. Have stations creating many "bogus" spots to make it impossible to 
spot the real stations.

3. Use log analysis software to detect distribution of major contest club
members in different logs to see if there are significant differences
in some of the logs (what a neat idea).

4. Require the use of the sprint QSY rule (a personal favorite of mine).

5. Make random teams up just before the contest. Eliminate having two
members from the same club/country on the same team.

Tree N6TR
tree at contesting.com