[CQ-Contest] NCJ Call for Inputs - Contesting on a Budget (Reformatted)

[PaulKB8N at aol.com]

Topic for the upcoming NCJ issue:  Station Sharing, More Fun Per   Buck?   

There are many challenges that are changing the face of Ham Radio  contesting 
today.  Some are sociological challenges, such as the  urbanization of  
America, along with many covenants  and  restrictions, that have forced the 
most 
competitive of us to relocate to  the  country. Other challenges are related 
to the 
pace of life that we  lead, as our  hectic work schedules in our competitive 
marketplace have  eaten into our  precious free time.  Other  challenges are  
economic, many of us face finances that are stretched to the  point  that our 
ham 
radio dreams take a back burner to family expenses, not  to  mention college 
expenses for our kids. 

This all seems to a growing  vortex that may drive fundamental  changes in 
the 
way we operate contests.  If you’ve been following the  reflectors  lately, 
you
’ve probably heard a lot of talk about “leveling  the playing field”  and 
having categories for the 48 hour contests that  may include shorter  
operating 
periods, such as 24 or 36 hour entries. 

With your help, this upcoming NCJ  issue’s Contesting on a Budget  column 
will 
explore what I refer to “station  sharing”.  This is  something like  
multioping, except under separate callsigns.  For  example, the 30 hours of 
Sweepstakes  could be divided into two 12 (or  even 15) hour contests, each 
under a 
separate  callsign.  The  advantage is that new callsigns generate more 
activity, 
allow internal  competition on a truly level  playing field (from the same 
station),  and afford the overall contest a  faster-paced competition that 
demands  
less of our individual precious time and  resources.   

There are some very interesting  combinations and permutations of  this 
concept.  In CQWW, for example, a multi-multi  station could  host two 
competing 
teams under different callsigns, each operating  24  hours.  Fresh callsign, 
fresh  
blood, fresh contest, fun and  friendly competition! 

A crazy idea?  Not so, says Tom, K5RC, who has hosted a   station-sharing 
effort for Sweepstakes over the past three years.   According to Tom, this 
has 
breathed new  life into the contest scene  from his station, and has proven 
to be 
great  fun.  This has also  been a topic of  discussion recently within NCCC. 
 
They call it  HMO, Highly Motivated Operators. 

I see this concept as a possible  way of increasing activity and  perhaps a 
more productive use of resources, but  I’d like your  thoughts, please: 
Is this a viable concept from a  practical and  economic standpoint?   
Would you support rule changes in   major contests to facilitate this type of 
operation? 

Would you be more likely to  participate if you could operate a  portion of a 
contest either under your  callsign, or with a group under  a separate 
callsign? 

What contests might be the best  candidates for station sharing  competition? 
 

Any other thoughts and ideas are  appreciated.  

I’d appreciate your inputs by  Friday, the 20th.  Thanks   in advance! 
Paul, K5AF  




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