[UK-CONTEST] Re :- RSGB 21/28MHz Contest

[Nick Totterdell]

David - an avid contester yes, but if you would prefer a VHF contest to
21/28 then clearly you are not an avid DXer.

The 21/28 contest is the only remaining RSGB contest where a UK
competitor with a modest station has a reasonable expectation of working
lots of DX - without the commonwealth restriction of Beru. Working DX
from the UK in the big international contests is more difficult. Perhaps
the results this year could include a list of all the countries active,
like in Beru?

Obviously the DX aspect doesn't rock your boat or that of many of the
contest committee members.
 
The big disadvantage that the 21/28 contest has is that it is only much
fun for a few years in each sunspot cycle.

On that note, the introductory paragraph for HF contests on  the RSGB CC
website states:

"There is another important plus factor and that is the contribution
that contests make to the long term interests of the amateur service by
ensuring band occupancy, particularly on the higher frequencies during
the minimum sunspot years. "

When this contest is scrapped, as you condone, then that paragraph will
have to be amended because the committee will have nothing left that
meets the criterion. 

I don't understand all this energy and resources talk. There is some
work involved in adjudication and publishing results - but no more than
that for each of the individual weekly 80m contests. The energy expended
in operating continuously for 12 hours is probably more than the sum of
all energy expended in administering the contest.

Although you don't mention the complaint about low UK participation,
which is the driver behind the move to kill the contest,  I find this a
bit odd too. For many DX locations, the window of propagation to the UK
is very short and there are plenty enough UK stations to work.

Nick G4FAL