[UK-CONTEST] Combined 4 & 6m contests

[Ken Eastty]

>
>
>  Ken,
>
>  The list of things you are suggesting will be a problem with this
>  idea are just the things that make it very attractive to me and, I
>  suspect, a lot of other 4m and 6m operators. 

 
I've been on 4m, on and
>  off, since I got my licence in 1965 and enjoy the parochial feel of
>  the band, however one contest becomes very much like the last and
>  personally I also enjoy the DX, the amazing signal strengths, the cut
>  and thrust and the random element that Es brings and now that we have
>  many more countries on the band, Es is going to be the main mode that
>  we have to communicate with them.
>
>  I think there is some advantage in a 24 hr, two day, event in that it
>  gives more of a chance of getting some good propagation.  Es is very
>  fickle and you can still have days, even during the peak period,
>  when there is virtually none.
>
>  So all I'm suggesting is that we have one contest a year when all of
>  Europe's low VHF, Es nuts can be on the same bands at the same time.
>  Operating more than one band adds to the fun, but you can still
>  operate one or the other as you like.  After all there are still 15
>  other 4m contest days in the calender, 14 of them outside the Es
>  season. 73 John G3UUT
>
> > P
> >
> > p.s. where's the VHF reflector?

>
John,

As I mentioned the figures show that in past years only 6% of  4 & 6m 
contest entrants have been active in contests on both
bands and I don't see how you are going to change that.
Given that the most popular route to getting on 4 is via a transverter 
even those who can manage (or can be bothered) to connect a transverter 
to an HF or VHF transceiver a number of pitfalls await unless the right 
choice of transceiver has been made in the first place.  Using a100W 
transceiver with  its power turned down to minimum is fine until a 
mistake is made & the transverter is driven with the full 100W, 
guaranteed to at least burn out the TX mixer!
Apparently few of the all band HF - 70cm boxes have a suitable low level 
o/p as the manufacturers don't see the need and the same probably 
applies to many of the HF & 6m radios. The other problem is that of 
IF's, using a transceiver with an IF in the 4m band (70.45 seems to be a 
favourite in some HF transceivers) is also likely to cause problems. 
This is not to say that there aren't plenty of simple & in some cases 
cheap solutions to getting on 4, one station worked the other day was 
using a low level O/P from an old FT101 to drive a valve TX transverter 
which derived its HT from the '101, I seem to remember doing that some 
30 yrs. ago. There must still be plenty of somewhat more modern 
transceivers around that have a low level transverter drive o/p's (TS 
430 and 850 to mention just two)
Finally as Andy 'TEP has already mentioned the two bands are are already 
catered for over the weekend of VHF NFD.

73....

Ken

G3LVP
p.s. where's the VHF reflector