[CQ-Contest] New category: "Wires only"??

[Michael Coslo]

On Jan 26, 2006, at 10:10 PM, Tyler Stewart wrote:

> No.  All you have to do is say that all antennas must be confined  
> to an area
> with a 100ft or 30 meter radius.  There should also be a height  
> limitation
> of , say, 70 feet max for all antennas.  RX antennas unrestricted  
> except for
> the adhering to the 100 ft radius circle.  Those with more than one  
> antenna
> for a band that qualifies must choose 1 antenna to use per band and  
> cannot
> change.  Power limited to 100 watts output.
>

	Who's going to enforce this? One of the side effects of in-depth  
rules is that the more rules added, the more cheating happens,  
inadvertent as well as purposeful. And the more interpretation is  
needed.

	Does a loaded antenna's coils add to the length? How about my  
situation where I have trailing ends?  Is that 70 feet height  
restriction on average, or if any portion reaches 70 feet, it is  
illegal? How am I going to measure and document that my antenna is  
legal for the contest?


	What I think would be a *hoot*  would be a contest in which all the  
participants had to use a specific antenna for the contest. That type  
of antenna might change from year to year, but say one year it might  
be a G5RV, and the next it might be a monobander dipole, etc. There  
would be a maximum vertical length of coax allowed on the antenna -  
which would pretty  much control the height. The contesters would  
install and use the antennas during the contest, and there you have  
it. 100 watts max power.

	Not very practical, but I think it would be fun. And probably about  
as level a playing field as we can get.  I would wager though that  
the people who are winning the contests now would still win! 8^)

	- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -