[SCCC] ARRL DX CW 15m SOHP W6YA

[Bill Haddon]

Hi Jim,

[I'm actually an NCCC region stn.  but was in So Cal for 2.5 years while
working for Quest Diagnostics/Nichols Institute in Ortega Canyon.  We're
now on a Mtn top in Lake County CA]

You wrote:
>Rare mults were hounded by many stations who were zero beat with
each other AND WITH the DX stations.  I saw several of these DX stations go
away in frustration.
​

On 15m Sunday afternoon:

  -- XP3A (Greenland) showed up around noon with a massive pileup. He gave
up in frustration after a few QSO's at maybe one per minute

 -- Later, there was 4W/N1YC.  one clever operator ..  he  went high in the
band where it wasn't crowded and worked a 1KHz split. . rate 180/hr and no
frustration ..  even my modest 150w got him on the 3rd call.​  And, these
being contesters, there was no on-frequency calling.

A few years ago I stopped using any kind of assistance, including spots,
SPC and the like.  My error rates dropped.

But these spotting and skimmer tools seem positive, in part because they
permit newer and less experienced hams to get into contesting.
In ARRL DX CW with my own low-power station I experienced a pileup of Eu
stations at a rate of 180/hr for about 20 minutes 21,107 Sunday morning.
With a modest station, I'd never have that experience w/o spots.  One small
frustration for S/P: .  probably stations sign their calls less frequently,
so there's more waiting.  ​

For experienced ops who put in lots of hours in Sweepstakes there's little
or no advantage to Assisted operation as shown by scores for Section
Records at ARRL.org.   Even in cases where the same station has used both
modes in alternate years the record scores usually favor B or A category,
or it's very close.  Maybe Dave, K6LL is an exception.

Jim, if you enjoy a contest where there's no spotting going on, consider
joining our half-hour Thursday night NCCC Sprints. .  ncccsprint.com ..
we're just concluding, this week, the 25th NS Ladder 8-week competition;
then we'll return to the less formal weekly NS run by N3ZZ.  Marko N5ZO has
joined us recently and seems to enjoy the activity.  We have a reflector
for the contest, nccc-blue, to which all are welcome.

http://www.kkn.net/mailman/listinfo/nccc-blue

​73  Bill N6ZFO  (Lake County)



On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 9:03 PM, Jim McCook <w6ya at cox.net> wrote:

> Call: W6YA
> Operator(s): W6YA
> Station: W6YA
>
> Class: SOSB/15 HP
> QTH: CA
> Operating Time (hrs): 25.5
>
> Summary:
>  Band  QSOs  Mults
> -------------------
>   160:
>    80:
>    40:
>    20:
>    15: 1076   112
>    10:
> -------------------
> Total: 1076   112  Total Score = 361,536
>
> Club: Southern California Contest Club
>
> Comments:
>
> Although we're seeing a big drop from the last cycle peak, 15 meters was
> very
> active and conditions were generally good.  15 was much better on Sunday.
> It
> was, as always, a pleasure to find so many old friends around the world
> that
> have been contesting for many decades.  It was a fun contest.
>
> There is a dark side, though.
>
> The negative effects of the skimmers and spotting networks were very
> obvious in
> this contest.  Rare mults were hounded by many stations who were zero beat
> with
> each other AND WITH the DX stations.  I saw several of these DX stations go
> away in frustration.  I still envision a REAL contest when all this
> hand-holding
> garbage would be shut down.  Support for skimmers and spotting networks is
> for
> people who want shortcuts and to avoid the real skill of hunting for mults
> themselves.
>
> Apparently the focus is on score, instead of the real accomplishment of
> doing
> it without having a "cheat sheet."
>
> Sorry, I'm very disappointed in what has happened to contesting for so
> many ops
> because of their use of technology at the expense of skill.
>
> 73, Jim
> W6YA
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