[VHFcontesting] A practical consideration

[stanka1ze@aol.com]

From: "Kenneth E. Harker" <kenharker at kenharker.com>
 Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] A practical consideration
 To: Radiosporting Fan <radiosporting at yahoo.com>
 Cc: vhfcontesting at contesting.com
 Message-ID: <20050816154351.GC58562 at kenharker.com>
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

 >>Historically, circle roving has been very controversial.
 In the January, 1993 contest, the first circle roving effort
 (team KA1ZE) was so controversial in effect that it led to
 the infamous rules change in rover scoring and nearly killed
 off the category. In the January, 1999 contest, the grid
 circling Team N3IQ's result was so controversial that N1ND
 felt compelled to include in his writeup that the score
 was achieved "within the rules." Team N6NB/R has been the
 first circle roving team to keep at it over multiple contests:

 Hello Gentlemen,

  I knew I would eventually see my call regarding the 1993 1st rover 
event. I would like to remind most of you (who have heard this before), 
that I invented grid circling to prove a point about how the contest 
encouraged this type of participation because of the way the contest 
score was calculated. I felt this was a flaw in the scoring method and 
did it to prove what ridiculous scores could be had using equipment 
that was not really capable of making long distance contacts. I did 
this for one contest and continued the rest of my contesting life like 
the 99.9% of you on this VHF Contesting reflector. From that experience 
I do not understand why anyone would want to do this contest after 
contest. Rapid fire contacts across a field did not give me the feeling 
I normally get after a successful contest. I think the bottom line is 
the participants who just grid circle will soon tire and will stop 
doing it. The problem for me would be the serious rover who competes 
against another serious rover who in addition to working the field also 
meets with a partner and does a grid circle. I see no value in the 16 
short range QSO's per band other than artificially inflating the final 
score of the dancing couple and in doing so would beat the 1st roving 
station.

  Stan, KA1ZE/3, FN01xt