[VHFcontesting] Limited Roving - Worth the Effort?

[k4gun at comcast.net]

Interesting.  Its good to see that others experience a lot of the same things I have.  Being new at this, I sometimes wonder if its just me.  I'm going to ramble on a bit myself and share some things I've been picking up.  

1.  "Rare" grids are rare because nobody lives there.  Simple enough, right?  But if nobody lives there, why should a home station bother turning that way?  Sure, if you publicize your route, they'll aim your way ever now and then, but chances are, they'll be calling at the same time you are or will call just after you QSY's with another station.  The other possibility is that you're just beaming the wrong way at the wrong time.  The chances of meeting on the band, even when they are looking for you just isn't that great.  Because of that, they give up and aim to where there are more stations to work.

2.  I should have done a LOT of calling on 6 meters this June.  I did a lot of S&P and caught a lot of grids, but for some reason, I didn't select a frequency and just call for any length of time.  Looking back, I realize that this was a mistake.  I kept going back to 2 meters after I had worked all the 6 meter stations I could hear.  I think I really limited my score due to this.

3.  I shut off my APRS on Sunday afternoon.  It was obvious that the multi-ops were not using it to track me and all it did was cause noise at certain places on the band.  If there was evidence that people actually used it, I would leave it on.  I agree that single ops being able to use this would change roving for the better.  

4.  The limited and traditional rover categories should be limited to no more than 10 or 20 contacts with any single other rover.  Its flat out ridiculous to allow a limited rover to have 100 contacts with another rover.  The predictable result is that one headed out with a grid circling pack in CA and I'm sure his score will be astronomical.  I haven't done the math, but if he went with 3 other rovers into the 15 grids they ventured into, I'm sure he could win the category without ever attempting to contact an outside person.  This issue needs addressed.

5.  My future roves are not going to concentrate on rarish grids.  As you illustrate, it isn't worth the time and effort.  My future efforts will be to concentrate on higher ground, closer to population centers.  I want to be in the beam path of the base stations that are looking for contacts.  In my case, that means leaving FM26 and 27 and instead, heading towards New York and New Jersey.  I want to be between the Washington DC stations and the New England stations as much as possible.  

6.  I think we rovers need to develop some protocols for frequency use.  I don't know how successful this will be, but if we could all agree on looking for rovers at some pre-determined section of the band, I think we would all be better off.  I know some guys have their listening frequency and that's great for them.  They could still have that and it would still  be useful.  If however, we could keep the big guns off... say 144.220 to 144.240 and reserve it for rover calling, I think we could improve things.  

7.  Big gun stations have a hard time coordinating with their own ops.  It was truly amazing.  I would work a multi-op station on 2 meters and follow them to 222 or 432 and could not hear them at all.  I'm pretty sure what was happening was that the other ops didn't aim their beam to the same heading as the 144 guy.  Either that or the 144 beamwidth was so wide and the 432 stack so narrow that they missed me.  It was very frustrating.  This never happened with a single op station.  I would work up the bands with good signal reports on each.  I assume this is because all the antennas are on the same mast and therefore, all pointing directly at me.  

This is a good discussion.  I've learned a LOT from my fellow rovers who have come before me.  I learned a few lessons the hard way as well.  I'll be following this closely.

Steve
K4GUN/R


-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Shupienis, Joseph" <jshupienis at ccac.edu> 

> 
> WARNING! LONG-WINDED RANTING FOLLOWS! WARNING! 
> 
> Rovers expend a lot of resources to put "relatively rare" grids on the air for 
> everyone to enjoy. The enjoyment we get is to work as many stations as we can 
> from those rare-ish grids. It's a bit of a let-down to use up $60 of gas to go 
> to a nice mountaintop in a much-wanted grid, only to make a grand total of 11 
> Qs, even though I can hear lots of stations working the big boys. Then, after 
> working only the big signals, it seems the multitude turn their beams away, 
> never to be heard again until I reach the next grid and the cycle of frustration 
> begins anew. 
> 
> Of course I can work the big guns with ease, but it seems that no one else 
> besides them bothers to look for weak signals in the "weak signal" part of the 
> band. Sometimes it seems that the only signals that get people's attention are 
> those directly on the calling frequencies that jump out of the speaker, run up, 
> and slap the operator in the face! And after they have worked all 10 of those in 
> the first hour or so, it seems a lot of ops turn off their radios for the rest 
> of the contest to go watch some ballgame on TV and drink beer. No matter which 
> grid I start in, it is always the most productive. So I guess I should start at 
> the most wanted grid, huh? 
> 
> I can call CQ on 144.210 or .180 for hours with nary an answer, and then someone 
> 200 miles away stumbles across me and honestly (I hope) informs me that I'm S7 
> or 10 over S9 on his S-meter. Then they profusely thank me for the grid 
> multiplier from FN11 or FN01, or wherever I am, and we walk up the bands. Then 
> it's back to my "run" frequency for more fruitless CQing (if someone else who's 
> S9+30 hasn't jumped on it the second I went to 432 -- and that same someone 
> "can't hear" me when I try to work him!) 
> 
> I don't get it. 
> 
> If I can easily hear another station who is running the same power level I am, 
> why can't they seem hear me? I've had to resort to strictly S&P, and can usually 
> work everyone I can hear, and can work them again on the other bands. So I know 
> I can be heard. It's just getting kind of frustrating to realize that maybe a 
> lot of people don't know I exist, or just don't want to bother looking for me. 
> 
> But then if they accidentally find me, they profusely thank me for the new 
> multipliers I give them and ask where I'm going next. 
> 
> And then, of course, at the next grids I'll never hear from them again, unless 
> it's their half-hour ragchew with one of their buddies. Why is it that they are 
> both S9 plus on my receiver, but when they say their fond farewells and 73s and 
> 88s and get back to contesting, neither one can hear me call them, and then turn 
> their beams away and tune off frequency? 
> 
> I don't get it. 
> 
> Then I see rover scores from other rovers who claimed to work the same grids I 
> work from. I have yet to hear a single one of them on the air. And their scores 
> are usually 50-100 times my pathetic numbers. They must have rates of 100-200 
> QPH... somehow... 
> 
> I don't get it. 
> 
> I would like to add 222 to my lineup. I've tried to save up for it, but so far 
> I've wasted all the money on $4.00/gallon gas to make, what? 1,000 points? 
> 
> There are many good contesters out there. I have worked every one I can hear, 
> and handed out as many multipliers as I can to every station that is willing to 
> make the effort to work me. It just seems that lately, more stations are 
> "getting away" and must be looking for easier stations to work than my weak 
> rover signals (and weak bank account) allow. 
> 
> Oh wait -- I think I'm starting to get it now... Nobody told them I'm there or 
> that they might have to listen carefully to dig out my piddly, weak, little 
> signal... 
> 
> - RANTING COMPLETE - 
> 
> Thanks for listening, I feel better getting that off my chest. 
> 
> See you on 6 and 2 in the CQ WW VHF test! 
> 
> 73 de Joe W3BC 
> 
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