[CQ-Contest] Re: 24 or 48 hours

[llindblom at juno.com]

Just my 2 cents on the 24/48 hour issue.  At age 58+ I can still do 24 hours in the chair if I have to but the recovery period is several days long.  Also a stoke of 6+ years ago combined with CLL doesn't help my stamina.  On top of that as I've learned over the past years, radio contesting is fun but there are other things to enjoy in life. The more time you spend in the radio chair the less time you have with your kids, spouse, friends, etc.  

As I've gotten older my #1 priority is no longer seeing how many hours I can stay awake in front of the rig.  With age came the wisdom of knowing what the truly important things are in this life and on that list radio contesting is #2. Yes, offer some time limited contest categories and maybe that will up my participation.  

73 W0ETC   

Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 02:47:14 +0000
From: WI8W <rtty at comcast.net>
To: Contest Reflector <CQ-Contest at Contesting.COM>
Subject: [CQ-Contest] 24 or 48 hours
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I, for one am feeling the effects of getting older.  Although I have not 
quite hit 50 yet, I am finding that my max time in the seat is about 
10-12 hours and then I need at least 6-8 hours off to recover.  I can 
then hit it for another 10-12 hours.

This is a far cry from when in my 20's I could pound out 48 hours 
straight with no problem.

personally I like the NAQP contests and contests that run 30 or more 
hours with a 24-36 hour max op time.  At least I can get some rest in 
the middle.


73