[CQ-Contest] DX Contest

[Thomas Hammond]

I'm changing the topic from "It's not the sunspots folks" to "DX Contest", since the discussion changed from propagation to what constitutes a "DX" contest.

If it's a DX contest that you desire, why not change the scoring system to be based on the Maidenhead 2 x 1 degree grid square system that's used in the VHF/UHF world? Logging software would have to be "enhanced" to perform a real-time calculation of the great circle (short path?) distance between stations. This way, DX is actually equal to distance, not some political border / boundary. Q's would be Q's, no matter where, but multipliers would be grid squares, with a weighting based on distance that encourages or rewards "real DX". This levels the playing field, doesn't it? Now San Diego can work Boston, for more "DX value" than say London working Paris. It's DX you're trying to encourage, right, not necessarily Q's?

This would remove the "advantage" that many are arguing Europeans have over other parts of the world, or that the East Coast has over the West Coast. In this contest, I could work people in my own city, my own state, my own call area, but my DX score wouldn't be very good.

For example:

Score = Q's x grid square / distance value, where grid square /distance value =


0-1000   miles, 1 pt
1001-5000 miles, 2 pt
5001-10000 miles, 3 pt
>10,001 miles, 4 pt

Yep, log checking would be more complex, too, but of course it would be automated. Anyone claiming a grid square is a greater distance that it actually is would have a busted Q.

This scoring system still rewards hams in high population-density areas, so the weighting would have to be non-linear. Essentially the contest would be less of a DXCC entity contest and more of true world-wide (work anybody) contest with a reward for longer-distance Q's.

Interested to hear the pros / cons of a DX contest structured this way. Pardon me if there is already a contest (I'm not aware of) that is already scored this way. I think the Stew Perry Top Band Challenge rewards DX Q's by distance, but that's a one-band contest.

73, Tom
K8BKM