[CQ-Contest] Trending contest activity

[Jimk8mr at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/5/2006 8:55:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
kr2q at optonline.net writes:

As for  VHF/UHF, as an HF contester, I tried it maybe 20 years ago...rather 
slow,  kinda boring unless you get really psyched by tiny openings which are 
"cool"  by some measure.  On a band like 2m, you have to be a CQ machine and 
hope  to snag the casual Sunday morning types who make "one pass across the band" 
 and turn the rig off.  Compared to HF, you sure do a lot of CQing with  
relatively very little return.  I just felt like I was rev'ing at 8,000  rpms but 
only moving at 5kph.  Im sure things may have changed  dramatically in the 
last quarter century.  LOL.de Doug  KR2Q




The difference between HF and VHF is sort of like the difference between  
drinking beer and sipping Scotch.  On VHF you have to savor every little  bit.  
 
Things haven't changed much in the last 20 years, except for six  meters from 
a favored location in a big opening, where things have improved.  There were 
big openings this year in the ARRL June VHF QSO Party and the CQ  WW VHF 
contest. People in the upper midwest in both contests were working  1000+ qsos on 
six meters.  
 
If you have only a band or two on VHF things are bound to be slow. With  more 
bands things get better. The more bands you have, the more possible  QSOs and 
multipliers you have.  Plus it helps the rate to move somebody  through 4 or 
more bands in a couple of minutes.
 
I urge everybody with any sort of VHF capable rig to do to be one of  those 
"casual Sunday morning types", and turn on the rig at least once during a  VHF 
contest weekend to help out the rest of us who need every qso we can  get.
 
 
73  -  Jim  K8MR