[RTTY] RTTY Sweeps

[Richard Ferch]

KI6DY said:


>And therein could lie the problem with a RTTY
>Sweepstakes if it were to follow the rules of the SSB
>and CW. Although RTTY contesting activity has grown, I
>don't think it has grown to the extent that would make
>the this format very exciting over 30 hours. Just not
>enough staions to work with the work a station once
>only rule. Perhaps shortening it to 12 hours would
>keep things hopping. A sweep, in my opinion, would be
>very very difficult.
>
>Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm all for more RTTY
>contests, but not a RTTY sweepstakes in the current
>Sweepstakes format without modification.

As further support for Bob's point, note that many of the contests that 
support all three modes vary their rules between CW/SSB and RTTY in 
recognition of the different size of the community: WAE (everyone works 
everyone instead of Europe-DX, and QTCs both ways instead of DX-to-Europe); 
CQ WW (states/provinces added as multipliers to make NA-to-NA QSOs more 
worthwhile); and NA Sprint (repeat QSOs with the same station allowed on 
the same band).

Much as I love both the SS and RTTY, I agree with Bob that an unmodified 
RTTY Sweepstakes would probably not work - after a few hours on Saturday 
everyone would have worked everyone else. In fact, even with the ability to 
work stations on multiple bands, I suspect that if the NAQP RTTY were run 
for 24 hours instead of 12, the second half would get pretty dull.

Don's rttycontesting web site lists 27 RTTY contests a year, and to his 
list we could add the September NCJ Sprint, the TARA Skirmish and the TARA 
Grid Dip, so there are actually at least 30. Four of these are clearly NA 
rather than DX contests (the four NCJ contests), and the ARRL Roundup might 
best be thought of as an NA contest with DX multipliers added to keep it 
from getting too slow. Do we really need more? Just asking...

73,
Rich VE3IAY 


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