[CQ-Contest] CQ WW High Rates

[Michael Adams]

When it comes to such an awesome display of skill, given the nature of demographics, geography, and propagation, I don't see how you can get to a level playing field when it comes to a rate-fest contest.

Yes, there are almost certainly ways to structure scoring rules such that the scoring is made more level and perhaps the potential for competitiveness would bring more operators into the mix, but I'm not certain such changes could overcome the fact that there are a LOT of operators in eastern North America and Europe, and there are a few places in the world where they all can hear you and they all really want to work you.

Maybe, if the contest were moved to be some kind of a Hamsphere meets Morserunner event... but personally, I think the lack of station-building and RF involved would kill the magic of such an event for me.   I might make an exception if I could have a Caribbean DXCC entity all to myself in that event.

A real-world, level-playing field event (aside from a limited-entrant event such as WRTC) isn't going to be a rate fest.  It's going to have more of a Stew Perry kind of feel.  And while that is fun....I don't think we'd be filling reflectors with traffic about jaw-dropping displays of high-rate SO2R videos recorded during such a contest.

-- 
Michael Adams | N1EN | mda at n1en.org

-----Original Message-----

It isn't about ME, Hans, it's about the thousands of contesters outside the favored geography, many of them my neighbors. It isn't even about winning, but rather simply about being in the contest or not. If you're in W6 in a DX contest, you're not in the contest, no matter how good your station or your skills.

We've observed that N6MJ is an incredible operator, but he's not "in the contest" from even the very best station in W6. To get in the game, he must travel at least 3,000 miles, and 5,000 miles is better.

73, Jim K9YC