[CQ-Contest] Single Op Unassisted - Propagation Assistance?

[K3BU at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/16/04 8:29:39 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
george.skoubis at verizon.net writes:

This proves those of us with XYL's should multiply our score by 1.3125
to compensate when there is a 48 hour contest.

And you not counting in-laws :-)
Had one situation, back in VE3BMV days, when in-laws from NYC were coming up 
during CQ WW. Had agreement and "permission" to go full bore. I did, 
everything was going soooo smoooth, beating the record until Sunday morning, fiery wife 
comes down, like "how long are you going to ignore my parents ????" Sparks 
started to fly, had to make the choice: do I stay married to XYL (and her family 
:-) or "stupid" radio. Sanity prevailed, still married and still contesting 
(occasionally).

But then when our son was born and during WPX (thanks for off times) I had to 
go get them from the hospital on Sunday morning, they would let me finish the 
contest. 
You never know, you win some, you lose some, main thing is to have fun and 
enjoy whatever it brings.

On propagation assistance? If you can take time off to check the web for 
numbers, so what? If you are single op and do it yourself, more power to you. Good 
contester needs to know before the contest more-less what to expect from the 
propagation, rest of it is what bands bring.

Anyway, looking at the SOP and SOPA, looks like assisted most of the time lag 
behing unassisted ops. If it was susch a big benefit, they should be at least 
20% ahead.
It is in the antennas, operator and eqipment, packet is just another crutch 
for handicaped.

Yuri K3BU.us