[CQ-Contest] Leveling the playing field

[Kelly Taylor]

So, Fernando is upset he can’t compete with the Aruba-Bonaire-Curaçao crowd.

Hmmm. Welcome to the club!

He doesn’t like that the rules leave in place a natural propagational advantage, plus the added points of being in South America, which means he can’t beat them.

Maybe some people are unhappy they can’t beat Fernando? Hell, from here, we’d be happy to beat virtually any member of Team Hennepin! (That’s an MWA reference, reflecting the advantage Minneapolis has over Winnipeg, despite being at a disadvantage overall.)

Fernando: if you want to level the playing field, you have to do it for everybody, and that could put you at an even greater disadvantage than you are now. Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

Of course, the advice when anybody mentions the disadvantage of the Black Hole, where RF goes to die, is simple: MOVE! Can’t really argue that point. I’d have a lot more fun if I lived in Nova Scotia, but that ain’t going to happen so I’m just going to accept what I got.

So, with all that in mind, I propose (jokingly) the following handicapping system.

Black Hole? Add 10 per cent to your score for every degree more distant from the equator. Only applies to W0, VE4,5,6 and northwestern VE3. OK, maybe certain parts of K9, too. (Because the Black Hole covers part of Russia, too, but not nearly as southward-stretching as here, those degrees are counted from the Tropic of Cancer.) In all cases, must submit proof the Black Hole hovered over your station for at least half the contest hours.

Small station? Set K3LR as the benchmark. For every antenna element you have fewer than K3LR, add 1 per cent. For every element MORE than K3LR, subtract one per cent. So, if Tim has 200 elements and you have a C3SS, add (200-7=193%).

No Alphas? So, set the 9500 as the benchmark: for every watt less of input power to your tubes than the maximum dissipation of the Alpha, add 10 per cent. (For every watt more, subtract 10 per cent).

ABC? Subtract 25 per cent from you score. (The Spanish/Portuguese islands? Subtract 20 per cent.)

VK/ZL/southern Asia? Add one per cent to your score for every Q with greater than 8,000-km distance.

Short towers? Total up the HAAT of your towers. If that number is less than the total HAAT of W8JI, add one per cent for every foot of difference. (More? Subtract one per cent for every foot.) Mountain stations multiply this number by the inverse of their shack’s height ASL.

Are you in JA and the contest is still going on when you have to go to work? Add one per cent for every hour of active contest time you lose.

Fernando: did I miss anything?

;=)

73, kelly
ve4xt