Topband: November 30-December 2 -- ARRL 160 Meter Contest

[Herb Schoenbohm]

Fellow Topband DX-ers:


Again this weekend the ARRL presents the worst and most unfair 160 meter 
competition ever devised.  I must sound like a broken record on this 
problem but I have sent letters and e mail to members of the CAC to 
asked them to allow the US Territories to be what they are "DX" as it is 
impossible to even get listed for an effort that if I was treat like 
VP2V which I can see from my house, I would at least have a chance, in 
fact i would have come in first lace in the past few years as a DX 
station.  The CAC, the few who will write me back, say that any changes 
to rectify a totally unfair contest, is out of their hands and decided 
by a special secretive group inside the ARRL, who are not contesters at 
all. BTW for the purpose of this contest KP2 is counted the same as 
Navassa and Puerto Rico counts as Desecheo. Now how is that for a 
totally nonsensical approach.  Maybe you could demand Navassa credit on 
160 after working me, but I really doubt that the DX desk will be 
amused.  In the Pacific, Guam and Hawaii all count the same as KH8 and 
KH8S in the vast Pacific region thousands of miles apart.  None have 
even a chance to do well with the decks stacked against them.  So they 
just don't participate at all.

I had thought that in protest this year I would phase my Beverages on 
Europe and only listen to help out those who need the Virgin islands on 
160.  Yet out of my concern for showing good sportsmanship I will work 
anyone I can hear.  But there is a request I have in return:  If I work 
you and give you the rare VI section, please take a few minutes after 
the contest to send an E mail to your division Director and copy the 
members of the CAC about fixing this long lingering unfairness.  The E 
mail addresses are available on the ARRL website.  The message is simple 
DX must be counted as DX as the VI, PR and all the other U.S. 
Territories are in their other DX contests.

Also Gary, KD9SV has a great write up in QST but only is given two pages 
and can't mention the efforts of only a few east coast big guns.  No 
matter how hard I try there is no way a station outside of the 48 states 
can even get mentioned.  ARRL Field Day has a write up that is 13 pages 
long.  So one can think that 160 meters is still an after thought and 
those I try to reach out to at HQ really don't care.  Maybe i should get 
a bigger thrill out of working someone in SJV or SB or whatever but DX 
is DX and if the ARRL whats to have a 160 meter DX contest, this is not 
a good example of one.  It never has been.

Cheers, Good luck and I will reluctantly see you in the contest.


Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ