[UK-CONTEST] Increasing VHF contest participation by newbies

[Paul pasquet]

Good Morning Ray

 I agree totally with your view on this,of
course the problem is that Im not sure if it can be applied to 144Mhz
and above,but its a good idea.

On HF 10watts and a simple
antenna can enable you to work great distances especially if you use
cw,and with the choice of bands available this can be done at almost
any time of the day.

The same of course cannot be said for 144Mhz and up.

Doubtless
this will start the "I worked 9A with 10watts" brigade to reply,but as
those of us who are regularly active on 144Mhz know, that that sort of
QSO is not the norm.

The truth is that if you have 10watts to a
5ele,then 144Mhz ssb can be a very difficult place,and contacts can be hard
to come by,especially if you live a distance away from the main centres
of  activity.

Its pretty obvious thats why most of the newer
licencees end up on the local repeater just to get a QSO,and end up
comparing 2m with cb.

Of course if they want to progress then
they have that option,but if they do they normally end up blissfully
unaware of the fun that 144Mhz and up can bring,and just end up on HF.

There
are of course some who discover that HF is a pretty boring place when
you can work the world with a couple of hundred watts and a decent
antenna,and require a bit more of a challenge than shouting with half
of Europe at some guys sitting on a load of planks in the South China
Sea.

 At that point they are welcomed into the fraterity of real dxers,those who reside on 144Mhz ssb ;-)


Paul G4RRA



 http:/mysite.freeserve.com/4rra



> Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:58:07 +0000
> From: gm4cxm at yahoo.co.uk
> To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [UK-CONTEST] Increasing VHF contest participation by newbies
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> I note the Austrian "beginners licence" has just benefited by an increase in permitted power level to 100w on 144MHz.
> I believe this would also be an area of interest in the UK for 2m and above.
> With 10w or 50w on HF, the world is your oyster with relative ease. 
> The same limitations on 144MHz and above does not inhibit operation on weak signal modes for contesting and DX'ing but doesn't actually make it easy.
> I know it can be done because I've done it myself but the current restrictions lend themselves more to the FM mode use which is typified by what has occurred since the inception of the foundation and intermediate licence. A good way to entice more interest is not to give them the full 400w capability but certainly give them a more level playing field in part of the spectrum that definitely needs their participation.
> 
> 73 Ray GM4CXM
> IO75TW GS
> 
> 
> 
>       
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