[CQ-Contest] Sumarizing the SS Thread

[Rick Lindquist, WW1ME]

John, I like your synopsis of this lengthy and sometimes overwrought
discussion, with a couple of caveats. 

>Or more focus in QST on the casual op, more detailed coverage of the
winners and top ten strategies in NCJ?

First, QST is highly unlikely to resume publishing line scores. Period. The
decision to drop these was largely editorial - to open up the magazine to
cover a broader spectrum of ham radio activities - and the Board of
Directors signed off on it. There is no "financial staff" per se at ARRL HQ
beyond a CFO and one administrative assistant, but I do not recall ad
revenues playing a role anyway. (Yes, there is a sales and marketing staff.)

Second, NCJ is not an adjunct publication of QST - ie, a place to funnel
editorial overflow, such as the contest line scores QST no longer includes.
The League publishes NCJ, and production takes place at ARRL HQ, but the
editorial intake and "staff" (ie, K4RO and I) are entirely separate, and the
magazine relies on a team of dedicated volunteers. NCJ publishes only the
line scores of events we sponsor (the NAQPs and Sprints), and, if you've
been reading our "Letters to the Editor," not all readers even want to see
those, preferring they only appear on the NCJ website (www.ncjweb.com),
which is entirely separate from the ARRL website.

I thoroughly enjoy the ARRL November Sweepstakes CW and have participated in
nearly every one since the mid-1970s, when the late Ernie Piche, N1SW,
inspired me after I'd gotten on to work a few stations from my extremely
modest setup. I've never considered SS Sundays boring, but, sure, things do
slow down - perhaps egregiously so only for those who demand high run rates
for every single hour to keep their adrenalin flowing. Those of us who
typically post middling scores often are still seeking new mults at that
point, though, and just start working harder. I did quit early last fall,
because conditions here in Down East Maine got too noisy on the low bands to
be enjoyable, but I still managed 540 contacts and logged all but two
sections (all wire antennas here and 100 W).

In 2001 I operated the SS CW from VY1JA in Yukon Territory, typically the
rarest of all SS multipliers. Sunday was plagued by aurora (the sky lit up
bright red on Monday evening), and my run rate became a trickle, then dried
up altogether. So I was forced to S&P among the stations I could actually
hear (mostly W7s). Some ops were stunned to have VY1JA calling THEM (one
sent "Yesssss" when I came back to his CQ). Talk about a slog! It was a
struggle for the rest of the contest, but fun nonetheless. Despite J's
negative prediction, I took the plaque for Canada that year (and still did
not work all sections!). I ran legal limit for Canada (750 W?) into one wire
antenna for all bands.

Some "serious contesters" tend to look down on SS, since it's not a
worldwide contest (the limited inventory of stations is one reason things
start slowing down on Sunday, I'm sure). I find the SS events challenging,
however, if for no other reason than the lengthy exchange, which requires
you to be far more alert than the routine "599 5" does. I would not want to
see any substantive changes in the SS rules, although I realize contest
rules can be dynamic, if only languidly so.

Being somewhat rare in Delaware (WW3DE) for a few years added to my SS
enthusiasm; Maine is not nearly as desirable.

My personal perspective only. No flames please. Thanks!

73, Rick, WW1ME, NCJ Managing Editor/ARRL Staff 1995-2007
 
-----Original Message-----
From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
jpescatore at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 6:21 AM
To: CQ-Contest at CONTESTING.COM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Sumarizing the SS Thread


Summary of what we have learned so far:

1. The once per band QSO rule is one of the things that makes SS unique, but
causes Sunday to be  a grind *for those who choose to operate full time.* 2.
There are new stations to work on Sunday (fresh meat) but not enough.
3. Club efforts to get more people on the air, through getting less serious
contesters to get on or to spend more BIC time, or to do SOMS opping, do get
more people on the air but not enough such that Sunday is exciting.

There are three classes of solutions:

1. Suck it up - Sunday is slower in all contests, the Sunday grind in SS is
a tradition and often seperates win from place or show.
2. Changes the rules - this makes it more fun for those who were likely
going to operate anyway and then complain after.
3. Change the incentives to operate on Sunday - this would make it more fun
for stations that were *not* going to be on.

(1) and (2) have been discussed quite a bit, (3) not so much.

Line scores in QST was mentioned, a pet windmill of mine to tilt at but the
QST editors and financial staff are hard to budge. Could we get equipment
manufactures to sponsor enough ads to get the line scores in the May
Sweepstakes results issue if we the contesting community lobbied them? Lots
of little guns just like to see their call in QST (look at the FD results)
and searching for it on the web is *not* same as getting QST in the mail and
opening it up to see your call. It is like the difference between Googling
your name and seeing your name on a check that comes in the mail...

Or more focus in QST on the casual op, more detailed coverage of the winners
and top ten strategies in NCJ? 

Club competition, a la PVRC vs. NCCC, gets more Sunday activity. How about
some equivalent to the GOTA station at FD to add points to club scores for
getting non-members on in SS?

The WPX has overlay categories that let casual ops see their score a bit
higher than in the standard categories - another way to encourage casual
ops. 

Personally, I think there are a lot of ways to increase the total of number
of calls that appear in SS to  make Sunday more fun vs. making SS look like
most other contests look.

John K3TN


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