[VHFcontesting] comments from non-submitters?

[Richard Clem]

I don't quite qualify to respond to this thread, since I did submit a log in
the January VHF Sweepstakes.  My XYL and I did put in a fairly big effort, and
although it looks like we'll be taking last place in our section, we did
submit a log for a little recognition or something.

On the other hand, I still haven't gotten around to sending in my log for the
1974 Novice Roundup, so I'm not a real avid submitter.

The January VHF SS was really the first VHF contest I had participated in,
since I just got a new FT-817, and since I finally had something for VHF, I
wanted to give it a try.  Submitting the log didn't seem like a really big
deal, but we went ahead and did so since it wasn't too much bother.  Since
we've run into a lot of nice people from the local VHF club, we'll probably
pay our dues before the next contest, and submit a log for that one to help
them out with the club score.

For a casual contester, submitting an electronic log is not (or is not
perceived as) a very user-friendly proposition.  I did have to poke around the
'net for quite a while to figure out exactly what Cabrillo format was, and
then I just went ahead and did our logs manually using Notepad.  That seemed
to be the easiest way to do it (with a couple hundred QSO's).  I suspect most
newbies would not take the time to do so.  

What would make the process easier is some free software, not for *logging*,
but for typing in the information from our scribbled logbook, and putting it
in the proper format.

On the other hand, I don't really see the importance of getting a lot of logs
submitted.  It seems to me that the most critical issue is encourage a lot of
newbies (with rigs like FT-817's, FT-100's, etc.) to get on the air during
contests.

As a relative newbie, I don't think any of the changes in scoring would have
much impact on my decision to participate.  It was just a matter of having a
new rig, and wanting to try out a new feature (VHF) that I had never had the
opportunity to use in the past.  (We did a QRP rover operation, using
horizontal dipoles hooked to the FT-817, and a quarter-wave mag mount hooked
to a 2 meter HT.  The horizontal dipoles were made out of PVC pipe and steel
rod, and set me back a total of about $10.)  It was very minimalist, but we
made quite a few contacts and had a lot of fun.

I do not think that having an ABD category would really affect our
participation that much.  As newbies, we didn't really participate with the
idea of beating anyone--we just did it for fun.  

On the other hand, I have been looking at cheap and easy ways to increase our
score.  For example, I have my eyes open for a cheap 220 FM rig (probably just
an HT), to add a few multipliers.  Other possibilities are 1296 FM, or even
adding some laser capability (it looks like a laser pointer can be modulated
pretty easily).

My main point is that I don't think most of us VHF newbies are really too
concerned about the rules and using them to get a high score.  It's just a lot
of fun to have a lot of activity.  It was a lot of fun driving through a town
and generating a pileup as we worked stations a few miles away from us.  And
even though we only made a couple of QSO's of over a hundred miles, it was a
thrill to work a little DX with QRP and such a minimal antenna.

Anyway, I have discovered that VHF contests are fun, and I will be back!

73,
Rick W0IS