[CQ-Contest] Contesting in the Sunlight [was: SO1R and SO2R]

[David Robbins K1TTT]

There are peers, and then there are peers.  When I enter vhf contests as a
m/s-limited I know I am up against full power stations with big amps and
good preamps and more bands than I have... but I enter that class anyway
because it lets me use packet and have fun the way I want to.  And believe
it or not, even though I may be outgunned by 10db or more, I can still get
certificates with 3 bands and 100w max.  

my point is, we all get to read the rules before the contest.  We all get to
look over the results for the last 20 years of most contests.  So we all
make a choice to enter a particular class and configure our station to make
the best of what we have.  Think of it like a sailing race, there is a class
for boats say 20-30' long and with 100-200sq-ft of sail, now do I want to
push the max of the hardware and go with 29.999' and 199.999' of sail, or do
I think I can sneak in there with a shorter easier to handle boat and have a
bit of fun with it.  

The only advantage the sailors have is that they get to see the other guy's
boat during the competition.  So I say, you don't understand why someone in
the same area beat you so badly??? Go ask him.  Get him to show you his
station, get him to show you how his so2r stuff works, maybe even ask him if
you can guest operate to see how it works in some contest he isn't
operating.  You may just learn something, and make a friend in the process.


David Robbins K1TTT
e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
web: http://www.k1ttt.net
AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://dxc.k1ttt.net
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:cq-contest-
> bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Radiosporting Fan
> Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 22:28
> To: 'CQ-Contest MailList'
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Contesting in the Sunlight [was: SO1R and SO2R]
> 
> > The real "differences" already have real categories
> > (ie power, geographic region, # of ops....).  The
> > rest are called "excuses" (ie SO2R, time in
> > chair, band limitations, tower only XX feet..).
> > Very easy to tell the difference.
> 
> Sort of, Blake.  But don't forget that High Power is
> quite a broad range (see ARRL Rules for HF
> contests)...
> 
> "2.1.3.3.High Power: More than 150-W PEP output (see
> rule 1.3)."
> 
> A station running 150-w is 10-dB less powerful than
> one running 1500-w.  That's quite a difference.  Are
> stations at opposite ends of this range *really*
> contesting peers?  The Rules say they are, but does
> physics agree?
> 
> I'm suggesting that physics "doesn't agree" and that
> by revealing actual RF output in results, one can more
> easily determine who their competitor actually is.
> 
> I'm curious to know just how SO2R is done, to help me
> to better understand how much of an impact it could
> have on a S/O's score (once they build skill to take
> advantage of it, of course).
> 
> Regards,
> Ev, W2EV
> 
> PS...During VHF contests, those that use RFSport's
> logger get both a realtime scoreboard, as well as
> color-coded ERP indications from other participating
> stations.  I can even limit my "competition dashboard"
> to show only stations who are +/-5-dB of my ERP.  It
> makes for a very interesting realtime competition.
> See http://www.RFSport.com for more info (and logger
> screenshots).
> 
> 
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