[UK-CONTEST] VHF Contests too long?

[Roger Gregory]

I think to be fair to all contesters, the use of any internet support 
has to be discouraged to make it fair to all contesters, remember most 
of the portable stations  do not have internet support and if you was  
to allow  it , think of  your mobile phone bill! Remember one of the 
main reasons of portable operation is to operate your station  with not 
"house" support, but to rely on generators, batteries or  even solar 
cells (not this summer!).
Reading between the lines of the VHFCC, certain stations was using the 
ON4KST system but and a very big but, it certainly is not available to 
all contesters so there is no parity across the board.
Where I live you are lucky to even get mobile signal in a town, as for 
the country side you must be joking!

73

Roger G4OCO

Ray James wrote:
>  
>   Richard G3CWI wrote:
>   An exchange of emails elsewhere led to someone suggesting that the VHF
> Contest (all of them) are too long. This related to the VHFCC where it
>  was suggested that 2.5 hrs was too long and the HFCC ones were more
>  realistic.  
> I found it hard to agree with that but having done the VHF Low Power
>  (2m) and the Backpackers Contests recently, I did think they might benefit
>  from a slightly shorter period.
> The six hours of the VHF Low Power remined me somewhat of the old RSGB
> 7MHz DX Contest - now that was really slow from 0000zzzzz to 0500zzzzz.
>    
>   **********************
>    
>   I wonder if the recent VHFCC decision to put the UK out on a limb in relation to Europe with the non use of DXC/ON4KST for 6/4/2/70 generated the email exchanges Richard has had.
>   The knock on effect is exactly what I told the VHFCC at the time....an exodus of operators in further reaches of the UK wishing to support these contests.
>   This in turn leads to fewer "multiplier opportunities" so what we get now from my experience is a mayhem of low scoring inter-G contacts taking place and everyone scrambling for the last bit of RF to be heard and then finding the contacts dry up.
>   Personally, the only band effected for me was 70cm as I only ever came on 2m to give points/multipliers away. The conclusion reached since the rule inception is substantial lack of stations on 70cm looking to the four corners of the UK for contacts because they're scared stiff of missing something medium range. 
>   VHFCC used a sledgehammer to crack a nut and deserve the wrath of operators who feel exactly as I do and have voted by also not supporting the contests effected.
>   The european operators think it's hilarious from the comments I've seen.
>   VHFCC brought in this change without producing the proof of DXC/ON4KST abuse.
>   Rather than penalise everyone...they should have penalised or disqualified whoever they found abusing their rules and not everyone.
>       
> As it is not effected, I'll be qrv this Tuesday for the 2.5 hours of 23cm/13cm UKAC and as usual expect to be kept pretty well occupied from start to finish. Being able to make a schedule is no guarantee of a contact. It is the experimental nature of trying to make the contact that is more important. Use 'em or lose 'em.
>    
>    
> 73 Ray GM4CXM 
>   IO75TW
>    
>
>        
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