Topband: Stew Beef

[Guy Olinger K2AV]

On Sun, Jan 3, 2016 at 1:54 PM, Michael St. Angelo <mstangelo at comcast.net
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mstangelo at comcast.net');>> wrote:

The Stew Perry contest is one of the better ones but I agree with Larry and
> Joe.  Contests  tend to take over the band and interferes with other form
> of
> operation such as DX'ing, QRP and probably Digital operators.
>

Does sound concerned, nice, fair, decent, honorable, etc. But...

We already have the winter Stew and a warm-up Stew. Have had winter Stew
for a long, long time. Those are there and established. Of the two, the
winter Stew is the one that is clearly in the hopefully quiet DX season. If
your main purpose in the contest is to pick a date to get out of other
people's way, discontinue the winter Stew. That will get most out of other
people's way. Huh? Oh yeah, that really sounds weird.  :>)

So we would be complaining about the two Stews in March and June? WHO is
there in March and June to be interfered with? In the northern hemisphere
the Summer Stew by itself probably accounts for more CW activity in one
night than for any other reason for all June, July and August nights
combined.

There ARE openings during the summer months, but almost NOBODY is listening
in the Northern Hemisphere. The only other competition is the few minutes
of 160 at the end of the quickie mid-week CW contests as they all dash to
160 at the very end for a few more Q's and mults. They'll be happy to get
five six seven Q's in four five six states in three minutes, and poof,
they're gone. Are you really sure you heard them? Better freeze the P3
screen for proof. Otherwise you might be hallucinating. Was that a
light-switch band opening?

In March some stations are rolling up the radials for the planting season,
some already did in February. What will we be interfering with in late
March? In this era QRN and tornados barely end by January, and start anew
in February, so those of delicate ears that cannot stand to hear anything
except sweet DX will have departed for quieter bands.

IF the four seasons approach to Stew Perry runs for a while, AND the
non-winter scores actually count in a year's end annual summary score, we
will see folks in the non-winter runs for something other than practice or
run-up to the perceived real Stew Perry in December. Maybe DXing to down
under will increase if more of us actually show up on 160 in the months of
long southern nights.

As to the timing, IMHO we should keep to the seasonal Solstices and
Equinoxes. Easy way to remember four Stews.

73, and a great new year to all

Guy K2AV


-- 
Sent via Gmail Mobile on my iPhone