[VHFcontesting] Where would you send someone new to VHF contesting?

[Jim Worsham]

They would also have to go to this URL:

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules-all.html

And then this URL:

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules-vhf.html

The rules for the specific contests contain just the bare minimum of
information as you discovered.

73
Jim, W4KXY 

-----Original Message-----
From: vhfcontesting-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:vhfcontesting-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Nate Duehr
Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 5:45 PM
To: VHFcontesting at contesting.com
Subject: [VHFcontesting] Where would you send someone new to VHF contesting?

So assuming there's a bunch (or a few) new folks around who want to join in
the contest fun this season...

I figured I'd take a look at the official contest website to see what kind
of information I could point them to so they could understand what is going
on, what they need to do, how the scoring works, etc.

Does anyone else find that if you sent someone to this URL:

http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/june-vhf.html

That they would likely end up confused or with zero-clue in how to
participate?

The rules don't link to any definitions or anything useful about the
contest.

If you'd never been active in a VHF contest would you know what a
Limited-Multioperator station was and what it did if one hit you over the
head?  Where's the definition?  Couldn't it just be hyperlinked to every
copy of that term?  Same with a lot of other "contesting" terms that simply
aren't defined at all, there.

There's a lot not explained there, and some of the missing information (to
me anyway) seems pretty key to new people even being able to participate.
If you didn't have someone to "show you the ropes", could you figure it out?

It'd be hard to participate if you didn't already know someone involved in
the contest who could explain those things to you, since they're not
explained in the contest rules on that page, the general rules, or linked
from either page.

Try to imagine yourself an utter newbie to ham radio, with NO knowledge of
contesting of ANY kind, trying to figure out how to participate -- then try
to find out how to do it on the website.

It'd be "do-able" but it's not very "friendly".  What's a log?  How can I
keep one?  Someone on the air mentioned this thing called a "dupe-sheet"?
What's that?  What is the difference between a Limited Multi-operator
station and a regular one?  If I only have a three-band radio, what category
makes the most sense for me to enter in?  What's the general protocol of an
exchange?

All things that are definitely not "rules" but that have had articles
written about them, etc... but when people go looking for how to get
involved, they're going to "find" the rules first on the website.  There
  should be links to follow "for more information on how to participate" 
from the rules area of the site, I think.

Just my opinion... if I sent anyone to the website, my opinion is that
they'd still be utterly clueless as to how to actually participate after
reading it.

Nate WY0X
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