Topband: CQ WW 160

[Jim Brown]

On 1/26/2025 12:15 PM, Roger Kennedy wrote:
> Still, I did manage to work everyone I could hear, a total 0f 42 NA
> stations. Best DX was Missouri - didn't hear anyone further west. (didn't
> bother calling CQ, as I didn't want to be plagued by EU stations!)

Roger,

I'm disappointed by this attitude, because I find it discourages 
contesters with smaller stations, which results in their giving up, 
which gives everyone fewer stations to work. With a good station and 
high power in Northern California, my multiplier possibilities are US/VE 
states and provinces, the Caribbean, South America, Oceania, and Asia. 
With a pretty serious operation, I worked 50 state/provinces and 9 DX. I 
might have picked up a 4-5 DX mults if I was an early riser to work AS/OC.

Those US/VE states/provinces are the direct equivalent of the UK working 
Europe -- the east coast is 2,500-2,800 miles from here. I missed VT and 
WV because the stations there didn't want to be bothered with NA 
stations, using directional antennas that favor EU and reject most of 
NA. And when the path to EU died, they went to bed, rather than listen 
for the rest of NA.

For contests to be successful, there must be a lot of stations to work. 
With an exchange as simple as this contest, how can it be a burden to 
work local stations?  If nothing else, it builds operating skills to 
work more stations more quickly! Often, I'll spend time in a contest 
just to give others another station to work.

73, Jim K9YC