[CQ-Contest] Be careful what you wish for

Wed Nov 8 23:16:52 EST 2017

It all seems like the post-SS blues i’ve Seen on this reflector since the
inception of the reflector.  SS is the oldest contest in ham radio, and
bellyaching about it, I believe, will do no good.  As Ward says, pick a
rare section and go there.  I’ve figured out how to do that without really
traveling, though it has its unique challenges.   Figuring out how to make
SS fun is just another challenge.   The club challenges are one good idea.
We could change the rules every year and there would always be complaints.
Maybe activity was down this year, but CW SS is still a pretty darn popular
contest, and has certainly passed the test of time.  Like an old Canadian
TV commercial says “Those who like it, like it a lot.”

My frustration Sunday was I went to S&P after running finally became
counter productive, and while I was tuning for stations, the PR and VI
stations were doing the same as me..... oh well, that’s what makes SS
strategy interesting.

As a thrill-seeking run op, I love the quality of CW ops in SS.  I can run
as fast as I want and pretty much everybody runs as a smooth machine.

IMHO, no reason to mess with this classic.  It is a beauty.

Onward and forward to SS SSB (a different distraction) and CQWW CW.

73,

Gerry, VE1RM/W1VE
Representing NT from VY1AAA at VY1JA

On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 9:32 PM Ed Sawyer <sawyered at earthlink.net> wrote:

> It sounds like the trade is a feeling of "even playing field" vs painfully
> slow conditions for the stronger stations.  2 an hour for the big guns
> while the smaller stations do 30 an hour and catch up.  The ones catching
> up don't want it to change and the ones enduring 2 an hour are saying "this
> is getting to be too slow to endure".
>
> Sounds to me like the solution is for the smaller pistols to get more of
> their friends to join in on SS.
>
> 73
>
> Ed  N1UR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chet Moore [mailto:Chetmoore at cox.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2017 1:29 PM
> To: sawyered at earthlink.net; 'Art Peters'; 'CQ-Contest'
> Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] Be careful what you wish for
>
> I dont know about the new hams in the last 7 years but my love for SS goes
> back to it being the only contest I could even compete in having only a
> vertical, wires and low power for my first 5 years in ham radio and living
> in an apartment.  my interest was not scientific, it was simply the best I
> could do at the time. I was outconus for most of that time, a conditional
> licensee, and usually the only ham at the locations where I happened to be.
> while i am a life member now, I was not a qst subscriber then. My first SS
> operation came from trying to have a rag chew with a ss participant who
> asked me if I was in the  ss contest. I didn't know what a contest was.  He
> explained the exchange,(all done on cw) told me what my exchange should be
> and except for some time in iraq and bahrain, I have never missed an ss
> since. I'm not advocating for any changes but if they are made "CHAMPIONS
> ADJUST !!"
>
> 73
>
> Chet  WA4KJR, WA4KJR/VO1,N6ZO, KL7AIZ, KG4ZO VQ9XX, ZD8W, KP4EAJ N6ZO/6y5
> N6ZO/HH9
>
>
> Chet N4FX
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> Ed Sawyer
> Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2017 9:53 AM
> To: 'Art Peters'; 'CQ-Contest'
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Be careful what you wish for
>
> Hello Art.  No offense intended.  I believe that people getting involved
> in SS in the past 10 years and considering it their favorite contest are a
> rarity indeed.  The submitted log numbers and complaints of dwindling
> Sunday activity by the regulars would not be what they are if there were
> noticeably more people like yourself.
>
> I am glad you enjoy SS.  I have no beef with it.  I am also not
> complaining about it.  Just offering a possible explanation to the
> complainers and suggesting that their complaint cannot be substantiated
> across other HF contest activity data or experiences.
>
> Ed  N1UR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Art Peters [mailto:k0acp at k0acp.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2017 8:58 AM
> To: sawyered at earthlink.net; CQ-Contest
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Be careful what you wish for
>
> Ed,
>
> I have to take exception to your comment, I may be able to see old-Timer
> from where I am, but have only been contesting with any sort of intensity
> for the last 7-years.  SS is one of, if not my favorite contest, partly due
> to my station configuration, and partially it is the intricacy of attaining
> all 83 sections, which while a lot of work, it is doable.  So I’d have to
> respectfully submit that the great thing about (Ham Radio / America) is
> that everyone is entitled to their opinion...
>
> 73 es God Bless,
>
> Art / K0ACP
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Nov 7, 2017, at 11:39 AM, Ed Sawyer <sawyered at earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > SS has been an old timers contest for as long as I have been
> > contesting -
> > 20+ years.  Virtually no one coming into contesting in the last 2
> > 20+ decades is
> > a gung ho SS competitor.  The SS group is growing old or dieing off.
> >
> >
> >
> > But don't compare that to most other contests.  CQ WW SSB was amazing.
> > Rate meter spending LONG times above 200 and 300 peaks observed
> > numerous times during the weekend.  3000 - 4600 Qs logged by the top
> > 10 US HP and 9000 Qs logged by 8P5A SOAB HP leader.  CQ WW CW has been
> > no exception in the past to be as much if not more volume of Qs than the
> SSB contest.
> >
> >
> >
> > SS has a problem - that is not debatable.  But SSB contesting and CW
> > contesting don't show signs of problems in most other contests.  In
> > fact - until this last year of greatly diminishing sunspots - have
> > been on a decade long growth trend globally.
> >
> >
> >
> > Its easy to fix the boredom of SS.  But its not easy to do it and keep
> > it the same old SS.  Choices need to be made.
> >
> >
> >
> > 73
> >
> >
> >
> > Ed  N1UR
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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>
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