[CQ-Contest] Suggestion for the ARRL June VHF contest

[Ed Kucharski]

Jim,

I was not aware of the IARU HF Championship rules (I haven't op'd that before) but I did submit a proposal similar to the ARRL 10m Contest. See more below - its similar to what I just posted on the ARRL Contesting reflector - sorry for the additional bandwidth.

Similar to a few others, I have submitted a proposal to ARRL addressing VHF+ contest rules. I was happy to see the "Analog Only" subcategory but I don't feel it goes far enough to fully address the issues. Where I live in SC (EM94) I did not notice any significant increase in analog activity in the recent September contest - there was a lot of SSB activity in June on 6m probably due to the excellent sporadic -E conditions (in this area) but I did not notice a significant increase in 2m analog activity then.

The proposal I submitted is modeled off of the successful and popular ARRL 10m contest where the operating categories include Phone only, CW only and Mixed Mode (PH+CW).  I proposed the categories of "Legacy" (Analog = Phone and CW) Only, Digital Only and Mixed (Analog + Digital) categories in VHF+ contests (Jan,Jun and Sept). This is unique because it would allow 2 QSO's on the same band with the same station (an analog QSO and a digital QSO). I am not in favor of creating an additional category for CW only - Technician Class licensees (and other newer "no-code" licensees) who have privileges above 30MHz may not be able to participate in that category due to their lack of CW knowledge/proficiency/skill and may discourage an entire group of potential operators who don't do CW. My proposal also includes a restriction on cross-mode QSO's between analog and digital (NO restrictions, as usual, between phone and cw cross-mode QSO's). In my original proposal I suggested to keep scoring as it is now, however I'm starting to buy into an analog QSO being weighted more heavily than a digital QSO to further encourage analog participation. The ARRL 10m Contest does QSO point weighting so there is a precedent set for that concept. I may amend my original proposal with similar wordage and send it off again.

The recent suggestions of having 2 or 3 June contests (phone, cw, digital) seems (to me) as a time intensive proposition - many of us don't have 3 weekends in June (don't forget Field Day is also in June) to operate more VHF+ contests. I just don't see rovers, portable stations, multi-ops and many single-ops being able to dedicate that kind of time. And, what about September and January? Do we suggest 3 contest weekends then too or neglect those 2 other contests? I don't think those months can absorb 3 VHF+ contest weekends or be neglected from any new VHF+ rules.

73,
Ed K3DNE

>     On 10/26/2022 10:27 PM K8MR via CQ-Contest <cq-contest at contesting.com mailto:cq-contest at contesting.com > wrote:
> 
> 
>     A better parallel would be the IARU HF Championship. It has single mode, CW or SSB, and mixed mode categories.
>     Also, for VHF distinguish only  between "analog" or digital, i.e. keep SSB and CW together. Over the years I've had many QSOs where a guy can't copy me on SSB, but does when I switch to CW.  I've never heard of an FT8 to CW mixed mode QSO.
> 
>     73  -  Jim  K8MR
> 
> 
> 
> 
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: Mark, K5AM <k5am at zianet.com mailto:k5am at zianet.com >
>     To: cq-contest at contesting.com mailto:cq-contest at contesting.com
>     Sent: Wed, Oct 26, 2022 7:10 pm
>     Subject: [CQ-Contest] Suggestion for the ARRL June VHF contest
> 
> 
>     Suggestion for the ARRL June VHF contest
> 
>     Recently introduced digital modes have resulted in a
>     major change in the way contesters have operated in the
>     June VHF contest. A wide spectrum of opinions have been
>     expressed on the various e-mail lists. Many operators are
>     concerned for the long-term health of VHF contesting. To
>     what is considered by some to be a serious problem, there
>     is a feasible solution.
> 
>     On HF (for example, Sweepstakes and DX) ARRL has had
>     separate contests for CW, SSB, RTTY, and recently
>     Digital. However, VHF has been slighted, like a neglected
>     child, with ARRL providing only combined-mode contests.
>     This inexplicable situation is easily corrected.
> 
>     Suggestion for an ARRL June VHF contest series.
>     1. Three separate contests will be held, on the first
>     three weekends in June.
>     2. Each of the three contests will be conducted using a
>     single mode.
>     3. In 2023, the sequence of modes will be SSB, Digital, CW.
>     In subsequent years, the modes will be rotated.
> 
>     Notes.
>     1. The September and January VHF contests can be
>     considered later, after an experimental three contest
>     series in June 2023.
>     2. As with any proposed scheme, there are obvious pros
>     and cons; the challenge for operators is to balance
>     individual circumstances with VHF contesting in general,
>     and the long-term picture.
> 
>     73,
> 
>     Mark, K5AM
>     https://www.zianet.com/k5am/
> 
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