[CQ-Contest] D4B QRT

[ku8e@bellsouth.net]

Al,

   I think I am not alone is saying all of us are sorry to hear the D4B contesting station station is going QRT.  
It is understandable that you want better quality from CQ after you have invested a good amount of $$$ and time building a quality contest station.
I have have vented my opinion about how the CQWW contests are run several times on this reflector. The standard CQ response of " CQWW 
is a contest run by a bunch of volunteers" can get old. While I will still operate their contest I will not be going out of my way in the near future
to spend any $$ for a DX trip for CQWW, unless there are some changes in their antiquated rules and badly administered awards program.  I have chosen
to focus my DXpedition efforts on ARRL DX , which the ARRL has a great awards program, compared the CQ's. I sure wish they would sponsor a worldwide
DX contest in addition to the ARRL DX....


   The problem with CQ is they are really a publishing company that happens to sponsor some contests. They have chosen to use volunteers to administer
 their contests because that doesn't cost them anything. Their number one priority is selling CQ Magazine and their other publications.There is nothing wrong
with all this because after all they are a business trying to make a profit. Plus, their contests have great activity so why should they change anything. You are
really not going to see any changes unless activity in CQ sponsored contests drop or the quality of their product gets so bad that it effects the sales of their magazine.

I am not defending them because I think they have a bad product (CQWW Contest not the magaizine) right now. Maybe bring in some paid help would help the situation ...who knows ??  The good thing is their problems are fixable if they decided to address them....

  

73, Jeff  KU8E