[CQ-Contest] Would You Still Contest?

[al_lorona at agilent.com]

Another marvelous SS CW has come and the usual post-contest flurry of messages has begun, so here's my (completely serious) contribution:

If for whatever reasons the only station you had available to you was a QRP transceiver and a low dipole, would you still operate in the SS?

I imagine-- but could be way off-- that once one has the taste of victory in one's mouth from a superstation with all of the accoutrements, that falling back to a spartan little pistol operation with llittle hope of doing any damage is probably too little to capture one's interest.

In other words, you'd sit out the SS rather than subject yourself to the challenge of Q power and cloud warmer.

Or maybe not? Is the thrill of the competition alone enough for the big guns, or does there have to be some chance of doing substantial damage with a large signal?

If your answer is, "No, thanks," what does that say about the antenna-limited hams who, year after year, either voluntarily or by necessity enter in the Q category?


Al W6LX