[UK-CONTEST] Domineering VHF Contest Stations

[ANDY COOK]

David wrote :-
 
>>The few well sited VHF stations completely dominate vhf contesting.

>> And although I'm one of them it's the main reason why I consiously stopped entering vhf contests a few years ago.
>>I would often come 3rd or 4th place but even so it is still disheartening to know that the stations like - and no
>> disrespect to them - G4DEZ, G4PIQ (where is he now?), G0KPW, GD0EMG will win time after time. 

>> It must put off new entrants (and seasoned operators) to know that they have no chance whatsoever of winning.
>> Of course - many stations enter vhf contests just for the hell of it but there really is no incentive.  
  
>> I very much agree with having a league category based on the previous years performance. 
>> Afterall we have it in all types of sport and now that contesting is radiosport (sic!) why not do it for vhf contests. 

G4PIQ's still about - just been focused for the last 3/4 years on a young family and spending my limited radio time doing well in enough HF contests to qualify for WRTC 2010 ;-) I hope to be back on VHF in due course (but probably not this year).
 
Speaking entirely personally (not wearing a VHFCC hat)....
 
There's no doubt that location (at a very fine level) is a more critical factor at VHF than at HF - and that's just down to the laws of physics. Different stations at HF (especially in 80m domestic events) are much closer in performance that at VHF. This is in part due to the relative differences in ERP - but also location is MUCH more important at VHF. 
 
At VHF even superficially similar sites can be quite different. As an example of this, both my site, the last two G0KPW sites and the old G4SWX site are all within 50km of each other in essentially flat bits of East Anglia (no obstructions > 5m tall to the sea) and all within 5-15km of the coast. Yet because of the fine details of the terrain the KPW and SWX sites both have been from my estimate 10dB or so advantage (on average) than my site into Germany / OK. However - we are probably about quits into France. It's not always like that - ducts and scatter points move around, but that's an average view built up over many years. That's a big margin to make up - and is reflected in contest results when running similar equipment. Now - these are all decent sites. Anyone away from the flat lands with rising ground in a partcular direction is going to have a far harder time of it still. 
 
So - personally, I'd be quite happy with David's suggestion of a premier league for UK contests IF it will help others to feel they are competing on equal terms. Whether you would actually achieve that goal with a change like this is open to debate though since you could easily end up with returning (or new) well sited stations who haven't been classified in the permier league winning each year - is this the route for G4ASR to win ;-) - hey - I'd probably qualify for the basic league having been away for a few years! The entry criteria for the two categories would need very carefully thought through.
 
BTW - this isn't new. Many years ago I offered to have all my VHF single-op entries placed in the multi-operator section - not because I was doing anything which required that - but because I was concerned about the effect that one person constantly at the top of the table could have on the folks below them. In reality in a single band VHF contest - there is little difference in what a competent focussed single operator can achieve in a 24 hour contest to what a multi-operator team can achieve. 
 
The original post suggests that the 2m UKACs aren't being successful. I don't think that's quite fair with 100+ entrants per month. We should also recognise that the committee has made two important changes to try and reduce the effect of dominant scores and stations
 
1. The contribution to the overall club score is based on position in the table - not on score relative to the section leader
 
2. A restricted section have been introduced with a limit of 100W and 1 antenna. 
 
73,
 
Andy Cook, G4PIQ