Topband: ARRL LOTW and More

[Joe Subich, W4TV]

 > Some may say this is poor sportsmanship....but I have tried to get
 > someone to recognize that changes are important to bring out a better
 > contest product.  I understand those in their ivy covered office
 > buildings and who call the shots, really don't care to even entertain
 > change for the better.

ARRL 160 Meter contest is essentially a 160 Sweepstakes that allows
W/VE stations to work DX.  If you don't like the format of the contest,
don't work it ... after all, there were no VE8, VY1, etc. stations on
and haven't been for many years.  Change is not necessary and would
only hurt a well established product - particularly a change that you
advocate that would only benefit a handful of stations who already
benefit immensely in other contests.

There are those who don't like CQ's format, those who don't like the
new ARRL 10 Meter format with Mexican States (why Mexico and not
Brazil or Argentina, or Chile, or Venezuela?) - the choice is to not
participate and certainly demand changes that will benefit only *ONE*
or at most a handful of stations.  If you go giving one or two sections
a special scoring advantage, why limit it to KP2/KP4?  Certainly the
scoring disadvantage is just as great in the case of NFL vs. C6 or SFL
vs. CO.  Once you start making special accommodations where does it
stop - GA, SC, NC AL MS?

Every set of contest rules gives some an advantage - it's far easier
for VY2, VE1, VE9, W1 to work all the 5 point DX than others - and
gives some a disadvantage - who wants to be W6/W7 for ARRL 160 -
that's the breaks.  Other contests have advantages for another set
of operators.  You don't screw up a contest with 40 years of history
because one or two individuals don't like the format - there will
always be boundary cases EA9 vs. ZB, IG9/IG9 vs. 9H, 9Y vs. J3,
HP vs, HK ... the list can go on and on.

No matter what the rules are, *someone* will complain.

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV


On 12/18/2012 7:14 PM, Herb Schoenbohm wrote:
> On 12/18/2012 7:11 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
>> You have bitched for years that DX
>> thought the could not work you - I can find the references in the
>> archives going back almost to be beginning of this list) but it
>> would mean that you got to count each QSO with the rest of us on
>> the mainland as 5 points instead of 2 points.  Now you want to be
>> able to work DX but count all your QSOs as five points instead
>> of two?
> I may have "bitched" but who wouldn't after being told and scolded by DX
> stations "no DX no DX QRZ W/VE only"  Many I guess were as confused as i
> was in calling them in the first place.  Again I only want this contest
> to show an element of fairness.  I guess if I do as you suggested then
> next time stations will not only miss KP4 which did not show this time
> but also KP2.  So about working ARRL sections and as some insist that it
> is only a 160 meter version of Sweepstakes, then let it be so and like
> in the much highly enshrined SS not permit *any* DX.  Working DX on 160,
> not some archaic sections is what I am interest in.  If participants
> were tuned into working DX you would not find the band covered by 100's
> of incessant CQ machines every few hertz trying to hold on to there spot
> and not working much of anything.  I think next time I will do what I
> wanted to do this time, just work DX and have my phased Beverages on
> Europe and Africa selected.
> Some may say this is poor sportsmanship....but I have tried to get
> someone to recognize that changes are important to bring out a better
> contest product.  I understand those in their ivy covered office
> buildings and who call the shots, really don't care to even entertain
> change for the better.
>
>
> Herb, KV4FZ
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground
> whatsoever for supposing it is true. - Bertrand Russell
>