[UK-CONTEST] UK-Contest Digest, Vol 77, Issue 21

[Gavin Stirling]

Some really interesting comments so far with differing perspectives.

Simon (G4PCS) I agree with most of your points especially results are proportional to the effort put in. However I think you miss the point of the original post which was about the rules of the UKAC - United Kingdom Activity Contest - and that contest only.

Who is this contest trying to attract? Is it the big contest stations or is it the home stations and "light" portable stations and new entrants to contesting for a bit of fun on a weeknight? I would suggest it is the latter three purely because it's short and on a work day and designed to generate activity in the UK. Since it is a work day most people don't have the time to put up a super station. So it's either done from your average home station or the hardy go out portable but not with superstation equipment! 

The average home station has limits on it due to site, antennas etc and therefore its effective operating range is vastly reduced from those of the superstations. This isn't so much of a problem if you can easily reach into a population centre. For those in the extremities of the UK this is a problem and as MM0GPZ has admirably demonstrated it takes some effort and commitment to put a station together to reach into a population centre. Therefore those with super locations and superstations from home will always dominate in this particular contest. 

If there was a scoring system in place that favoured UK contacts over others and meant that those stations who currently dominate by being able to get in to UK centres of population and continental centres of population would have to rethink their strategy then at the very least it would redress the balance in a contest that is designed to generate **UK** activity. It may make no difference to the current standings but in the interests of fairness it would still be worth doing. 

David (G4ASR), yes I was a bit hasty with my comment as to why people enter contests! DX  and new squares would be good reasons to enter.



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Gavin Stirling

GM0WDD

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