[CQ-Contest] NCJ Article RE: Sweepstakes Change Suggestions

[RT Clay]

I haven't received my NCJ yet, but increasing the proportion of daylight hours will further increase the advantage of western or  Carribean (or VY2) stations because of the skip zones on the high bands. Most eastern "tribander" stations actually make most of their Sweepstakes contacts with low 40m or 80m dipoles. I think such a change would make it even less popular to eastern stations.

Tor
N4OGW

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On Tue, 3/13/18, Ken Widelitz <kwidelitz at gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: [CQ-Contest] NCJ Article RE: Sweepstakes Change Suggestions
 To: cq-contest at contesting.com
 Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 5:48 PM
 
 The March/April 2018 NCJ has an article by
 Al, K0AD and Bill, W0OR
 suggesting changes to Sweepstakes.
 
  
 
 Al suggests moving the start time up 4
 hours. This makes a lot of sense to
 me. More daylight hours so guys with a
 tribander will  make more contacts.
 Also, perhaps more importantly, East
 Coast SSers won't have to stay up late
 Sunday night suffering the doldrums and
 more will probably operate later on
 Sunday.
 
  
 
 Bill suggests shortening the contest to
 18 hours. I like that idea but would
 suggest shortening it to 20 hours. Bill
 also suggests a forced off time in
 the middle which doesn't appeal to me
 personally. His last suggestion is to
 allow duplicate QSOs on 10 and 160
 meters. I don't like that at all as it
 makes guys without good 160m antennas
 uncompetitive. As to 10 meters in down
 sunspot cycle years, it will only help
 where there is the occasional
 spotlight propagation and give an
 unfair advantage there.
 
  
 
 Moving up the start time and decreasing
 overall operating time should have a
 positive effect on this contest. Of
 course, getting the NCCC, PVRC and YCCC
 to have a yearly major focus on winning
 the overall gavel is what will help
 the most. A few years ago when they did
 that there were no doldrums Sunday.
 
  
 
 Let the flames begin, and apologies in
 advance to our international list
 members who don't give a hoot about
 SS.
 
  
 
 73, Ken, K6LA / VY2TT
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
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