Topband: The East Coast Advantage

[Julius Fazekas]

I would respectfully say such a broad characterization of East Coast stations is downright wrong.

I personally have called you and other West Coast stations mentioned repeatedly without so much as a dittydahdahditty in various contests. Does this mean you just didn't want to work me?? I think not, but have been wrong before.

As to Stew Perry being more fair and balanced, I'd be willing to debate that the West Coast has many more "DX" stations to work in the Eastern direction than we in the East have headed your way.

One could also argue that the CQ160 contests favor Europe more than any place else...

Too, with the many highly directional receiving antennas in use, one would expect signals off the back or side to be almost non-existent. I've called Jeff, VY2ZM, when he was 20 over here without a response either and I'm more than sure he would prefer logging someone than calling CQ over and over. Of course, folks do rotate antennas from time to time, even when the prevailing rate is in one expected direction.

I understand Herb's and even your comments on the issues with Top Band contests, but I don't see a simple answer to them. You have several things that are completely out of the control of the contest organizers: ham population in a given multiplier being a major one. Won't even get into propagation...

Of course, this is just one little pistol's perspective...

73,
Julius Fazekas
N2WN

Tennessee Contest Group
http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html
http://groups.google.com/group/tcg1?hl=en

Tennessee QSO Party
http://www.tnqp.org/

Elecraft K2/100 #4455
Elecraft K3/100 #366
Elecraft K3/100 #1875


--- On Wed, 10/28/09, Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:

> From: Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
> Subject: Re: Topband: The East Coast Advantage
> To: "topband at contesting.com" <topband at contesting.com>
> Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 11:34 AM
> On Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:22:35 -0500,
> Edward Swynar wrote:
> 
> >I heard solid European & African stations
> practically begging for N.A. QSOs,
> >with no takers...and this, at some 1.5 - 2 hours before
> local sunset!
> 
> >What a difference a 9 hour drive S/E on the continent
> can make on the
> >band...Hi Hi.
> 
> Imagine the FAR greater difference from W6/W7. In CQWW160
> and ARRL 160, it 
> makes a difference in scores of at least 4:1 for equivalent
> stations and 
> operators. And it's why many W6/W7 operators don't bother
> getting on the air 
> for these contests -- while we can HEAR east coast stations
> loud and clear 
> hours before our sunset, they don't hear us (or don't WANT
> to hear us) 
> because they're listening NE for Qs that yield a lot more
> points. I'd bet 
> that there are far more east coast Beverages aimed NE than
> are aimed W. 
> 
> Now that computing power makes it easy, it's long past time
> for contest rules 
> to be changed to level the geographical playing field. The
> Boring Amateur 
> Radio Club has shown one simple and effective way to do
> that with their Stew 
> Perry event. It's time for CQ and ARRL to follow their
> lead.  
> 
> I've won SCV for the three years I've lived here in CA, and
> been in the top 
> 10 or so W6/w7 scores for both ARRL and CQ contests, but
> ONLY because many 
> far better stations and operators are turned off by scoring
> rules that give 
> east coast stations a huge advantage. N6RO has a KILLER
> 160M station, and he 
> enjoys the band, but he only spends a few hours between
> watching hockey on 
> TV. K6XX doesn't get on at all!  Until these rules are
> changed, you won't 
> hear much of me in these contests. It's no fun calling S9
> east coast stations 
> who don't want to work you and continually CQ in your face.
> 
> 
> 73,
> 
> Jim Brown K9YC
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 160 meters is a serious band, it should be treated with
> respect. - TF4M
>