[VHFcontesting] Renewing Interest in VHF Contesting

Mike Clarson mclarson at rcc.com
Mon May 10 03:10:10 EDT 2004


Made 13 QSO's in the 6 meter sprint. Pitiful. Wouldn't have made 2 of those
if it weren't for the Mid Atlantic QSO Party. OK--The Swan 250c isn't the
hottest radio, the 5 element CushCraft is 35 years old, But there has to be
hundreds of 6 meter radios within QSO range.

Back in the 60's, I used to work 20 stations with a Twoer and a Big Wheel on
2 meters. So what happened?

I believe several things. Most importantly, years ago there was a group of
hams that were thought of as second class citizens. Not allowed to hold ARRL
office, most communications dept apointments not available. These losers
were Technician Class amateurs. Sure, we have technicians now, but back then
VHF without repeaters was hard. But for these hams, there was ONLY VHF.
Converters, beams, lots of transmitter stages, stability problems etc. And
UHF? Just a dream for many. Plus, a lot of that stuff really didn't work
that well, by today's standards. Many of today's VHF contesters are the
remains of these hardy souls. Its in their blood.

Next was free radios. Gonsets by the thousands given out to Hams by Civil
Defense organizations. The catch was that in order to keep them, they had to
be used. This meant putting up an antenna. This equipment comunicated with
equipment used by the weak signal guys. Good old AM. Today, public safety
communications has moved mostly to FM and repeaters, while the weak signal
gang is on SSB and CW. Then there is the sacred cow of keeping those
contesters off repeater and recognized simplex frequencies (and WARC bands,
but that is another issue).

VHF/UHF isn't percieved as fun or worth the effort. "Everyone" wants DXCC
and WAS, but grid squares? This past weekend was the first Mid Atlantic QSO
Party. This was just an idea several months ago, but it looks like it is a
successful contest. Try starting a new contest on VHF. BTW, unlike many
contests, the MAQP included VHF bands. How many of us participated? This was
an opportunity to combine VHF operating with the more traditional ham radio.

Perhaps the answer is that VHF activity in general needs to be promoted. Its
OK to just get on the air and randomly talk to a local for 20 minutes
without worrying about tying up a repeater. We also have the ability to take
some of the randomness out of operating. Perhaps a VHF activity spotting
net. (does such a thing exist now?) Listing stations and frequencies.   like
I could post "WV2ZOW 432.2 FN20vt N220deg E" when I am in the shack working
on something (or even chasing dX on 20). This would eliminate some of the
randomness.

Just thought I'd throw out some thoughts. --Mike, WV2ZOW




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