Topband: 160 Meter Contests

[binghamstehekin at starband.net]

Greetings everyone

Regarding the following ==>>

"Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:23:08 -0600
From: "Ford Peterson" <ford at cmgate.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: 2004 ARRL 160M Contest
To: "Tom Rauch" <w8ji at contesting.com>, <topband at contesting.com>
Message-ID: <002e01c4d701$42e50160$6400a8c0 at Office2>
Content-Type: text/plain;        charset="iso-8859-1"

Tom wrote:

> I certainly agree with this Mark! The ARRL 160 is more of a
> domestic sweepstakes contest.
>
> 73, Tom W8JI

For 75% of NA, your description is appropriate.  Your comment is
interpreted as
having a virtual disdain for one of the most popular contests in NA (SS). 
As in any
contest with multipliers, bagging 'new ones' can greatly increase your
score.  From
the rules:

5.1.1. Two points for QSOs with amateurs in an ARRL/RAC Section.
5.1.2. W/VE stations count five points for DX QSOs.

5.2. Multipliers: ARRL/RAC Sections (maximum of 80) and DXCC countries (W/VE
participants only).

Several observations:

Besides the WP, CO, ZF tier stations, the vast majority of NA cannot work
through
the +40 over signal levels to work EU, AU, AF, OC, and SA.  Frankly, most
'off
continent' DX never get past the first tier of coastal states--even in the
clear.  A
spectacular opening could change the equation dramatically, but how often
does this
occur?

Mark-ON4WW mentions:
"Year after year it is a pain to try and get attention of the NA stations.
And those are the only ones, WE can work during this contest.
Imho the remedy to this, would be to increase the points attributed to a US
station working a DX station, significantly. "

Talk about "Pain," try to work a DX from TN or KS or WI or MN, (much less
WY, UT,
AZ, WA, OR, and CA) when the DX is being pummeled by 50 HP stations on the
right
coast!  The opening to EU from the West coast is very narrow in time--if
an opening
even happens.

The notion of opening up DX-to-DX QSOs for score tally would
simultaneously cause EU
(for example) stations to focus their directional arrays on stations off
NA.  This
would become a CQWW contest with NA to NA points.  Placing too much
emphasis on DX
would likely create a situation where so many stations would be calling
the DX, very
few QSOs would result.  With effectively only 100 KHz to play with, a
couple of
dozen DX stations running split is really not an option (as has been
suggested in
previous threads) as the QRM would drop the QSO throughput for the whole NA
continent."

SNIP SNIP

How about USA stations trying to work DX operating in different parts of
the band. If the East-coast and West-coast DX-searchers operated in
separate windows EU could search in the appropriate place. Contacts made
in the wrong window count as negative points toward USA scores...

73 Dick
w7wkr CN98pi