[VHFcontesting] A newbie's view (was: A suggestion for Limiting MultiOps [was: A suggestion for ERP-based Entry Classes])

Buck Calabro Buck.Calabro at commsoft.net
Tue Dec 16 14:13:12 EST 2003


As a new ham/contester/microwaver/rover, my comments are probably not worth much, but here are the views of a newcomer to the hobby.  The only reason I'm responding is that much of this debate has been about bringing new blood to VHF.  Here I am...

> There are many inhibiting factors to getting 
> on the microwaves - it's very expensive, it's 
> very technically challenging, it's very time 
> consuming, and you cannot work very many stations 
> in large parts of the country.  

To me, these things are challenges, and are partly what make microwaves so interesting.  

> Offering extra points for microwave QSOs in and 
> of itself is simply not going to be enough of an 
> incentive for most people to get on those bands.  
> Those who are getting on the microwaves are mostly 
> those who would be inclined to be on the microwaves 
> anyway.  

I got started in microwaves for two big reasons and one small one.  The small one is that my QHT stinks for HF work.  No room for a tower, and I am on a corner lot in the city with power lines on two sides.  That's one reason I am a rover...  The major reason I am interested in microwaves is that I got a jump start from one of the drivers behind one of the big east coast contest stations.  Without his help, patience and Elmering, I'd be a QRP tinkerer.  I say tinkerer because the third reason I am interested in microwaves is because so much of the gear is hand built/tweaked.  This appeals to me in a big way.  I contest because it's (mostly) fun.  Hearing and working K1TEO on my HT with a tape measure beam that I built was a thrill (as geeky as _that_ sounds.)  Working W3HHN with a borrowed 100mW transverter on 1296 on a home made dipole(!) makes me eager to build my own transverter and maybe even start tinkering with antennas...

> In fact, the pro-microwave contest rules might 
> even have the opposite effect - it might make 
> the task of climbing up to a competitive level 
> in the contest a task so daunting as to turn 
> away a lot of potential competitors.  

As a rover, W3IY is my ideal.  He probably doesn't know it, since he's about a zillion points above me, but that's OK, because I am just getting started.  Where I sit, I want to better my score each time I go out, not be number one (yet).  The fact that he scores so much better than I do isn't depressing: it's proof that high scores are possible!

That's a bit of a drift from the remark about the rules, so let me back up a bit.  I don't feel like I have any control over the rules.  Debates like this are interesting, but academic for me.  Because I am just starting out, it doesn't really matter what the rules are, as long as I can figure them out and abide by them.  What I'm getting at is that for a low-level operator like myself, rules changes don't affect my overall standing.  It just makes comparing this time out vs. last time out more difficult.  Rules changes don't encourage or discourage me from participating.  I participate because it's a thrill to talk to someone a hundred miles away on a tenth of a watt through a coffee can on home built gear!

> Ultimately, the only real way to get more 
> people on the microwaves is to make it 
> cheaper and technically easier to do with 
> less time and effort.

That sounds right to me, although without a cadre of people on the bands now, there won't be any demand for commercial gear.  We need a critical mass, I think, or we'll have the same situation as 222MHz; little or no commercial gear, and little use outside of contests.

> In VHF contesting, there are the same six 
> entry categories in every contest.
> Aside from different propagation, is 
> there any real difference between the January, 
> June, and September contests?

January in the Northeast US is radically different for a rover.  Many sites are literally unavailable or are too dangerous to attempt.  What I can and can't pack into the car is tempered by thoughts of how long I can stay outside the car, and how long it takes to set up and tear down.  After January, it's time to fix up the gear(!) and make enhancements for summer.  June is the shakedown cruise, where I try new gear out.  September is the Big One.  I realise that's a rover point of view, but I thought I'd put that into the mix, because not all of us have towers! :-)

73 de Buck, KC2HIZ FN32at/r

Ces gens-là n'auraient rien à dire
Si les autres n'avaient rien dit.
  --Abbé Charles Cotin


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