[VHFcontesting] Re: ARRL VHF Contest

[Hoffman, Mark]

FOLKS!

We're going the wrong direction with this! ARRL-Bashing isn't going to fix a
damn thing! 

If you care, DO something about it. Don't just keep writing about how the
ARRL is secretly trying to put a fork into our contests. Fortunately, there
are those that DO actively stump on our behalf. Follow that lead instead. 

Join your local clubs (if you aren't already a member) and be active. Start
a net. Write articles for club newsletters (or start one if there isn't
one). Show off your new, cool transverter/amp/widget. Invite people over to
show what VHF+ operating is like. A show of excitement and enthusiasm does
MORE to get interest levels up than anything else. If you think what you do
is cool, someone else might catch on. Then, and only then, can this trend be
reversed.

AS for releasing logs in full, yes. That's wise. There IS valuable data to
be gotten from it. Though, there are only a few contests worth of data to
plow through. January 2002 was the start of the Web publishing of data - so
we've got a full calendar year (+ 1 shortly) of VHF contest data. Is that
enough to make any kind of case? I don't think so. Comparing January to June
isn't fair. I didn't operate last June. So I know one log is down. I was
part of a M/M last September, so my own log isn't there either. The only
contest we've got an apples-to-apples compare against will be January. So
let's start there.

As for moving the contest results out of QST as a harbinger of the ARRLs
intentions - hold on. It's more sinister than that! They're getting ready to
kill off November SS as well. And ARRL 160. Sure. They moved SECTION MANAGER
REPORTING to the web, so they MUST be ready to eliminate sections
altogether. No more WNY, EMA, WWA, etc. It'll all be states only.

C'mon.

I suspect the folks at the ARRL have seen our issues, and WILL do something
in terms of log analysis. They DO have the data in hand. They SHOULD do
this, to either squelch issues such as this or to validate our concerns. 

enough....

Mark, K2AXX
ABCD9EFGHIJP
FN12cs

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Marek [mailto:timm at cccomm.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2003 12:07 AM
> To: Duane Grotophorst; Jack Parker; Ralph Parker;
> vhfcontesting at contesting.com
> Cc: vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Re: ARRL VHF Contest
> 
> 
> How about this idea...
> 
> Get the league to release the ENTIRE log database file per 
> contest to those
> who participate so we can do our own analysis of activity.
> 
> Or better yet, since THEY already have that file, they could 
> do the analysis
> themselves and quit using log submissions as a excuse to 
> "make a case to
> quit sponsoring the VHF contests".
> 
> True, they havnt said that.... YET!  But they are sure acting 
> like they are
> planning to go that way!
> 
> What makes me think that is their goal?
> 
> Item One - They quit publishing contest data in the club newsletter,
> otherwise known as "QST".
> 
> Item Two - They complain log submissions are down without going to the
> trouble to see just how many unique callsigns appear in those 
> logs in an
> effort to verify the "true level of activity".
> 
> Item Three - They say things like "other than the number of 
> logs submitted
> they have No other way to judge activity in the VHF Contests" 
> - I dont buy
> this simplistic excuse!
> 
> Item Four - They wont release said log files for others to do 
> their work for
> them, let alone study things like 6m Es propagation, activity 
> levels per
> grid, per band, per call area, etc... Some real cool data 
> could be extracted
> if that file was made available!
> 
> That being said, the league does alot of cool things too, but 
> they also seem
> to have lost focus of where they started... A club of active 
> radio amateurs
> trying to have fun, improve the technical expertise of their 
> hobby, and
> provide a public service...
> 
> Not improve the bottom line of their bank balance.
> 
> 73s de Tim - K7XC - DM09ol... sk
>