[VHFcontesting] about the grid circling group

[James Duffey]

Steve - I wouldn't read too much into the fact that N6TEB/r didn't  
submit a log in the June Contest. A study of submitted logs shows that  
1 in 3 to 1 in 7 of the participants in amateur radio contests  
actually submit logs. One would hope that this entry percentage is  
higher for rovers as they have a lot of time and effort invested in  
the contest, but I haven't seen any figures. Perhaps KX9X, W3ZZ, or  
W9GKA could comment on whether or not rovers are better at submitting  
logs than the general population of contest participants.

At any rate, I would not conclude that there are any nefarious motives  
in N6TEB not submitting a log. There are lots of legitimate reasons  
for people not submitting logs; insufficient time to prepare and  
submit a log, preferring operating in a contest to submitting a log,  
thinking the score is high enough to warrant an entry, protest against  
the way the contest is run, finding a generic problem with the logs  
and not wanting to fix it, no interest in the contest, but operating  
to accumulate grids, and computer problems, are all obvious reasons  
for not submitting a log without devious motivations.

I must confess I don't fully understand your and others concern about  
using what the rules allow to rack up the largest possible score. That  
is the purpose of contesting. If there are problems with the way  
people use the rules, then the rules need to be changed. I think that  
the last go around by the VUAC is a good, although not perfect solution.

Perhaps the 100 contacts with a single rover is too many. I thought  
that this was a good way to resolve the grid squaring problem. Perhaps  
10 contacts on each of 10 bands in each of 10 grids, which is 100  
contacts with a single rover, is unrealistic. I think it could be  
reached. But certainly half that number is achievable.  I think 20  
would be too low.

As a rover in a sparsely populated area, I am not competitive  
nationally. So many of these issues are moot to me. I realize that  
they are important to the credibility, health, and future of the  
class. I hardly ever meet a serious contester that doesn;t ask me what  
I think of hte rover controversies when they find out I rove.  I do  
have a lot of fun and put grids on the air that people around here  
would not otherwise work. I like to think that more people get on and  
stay on because new grids are coming up. I get satisfaction out of  
that. And if it is too cold in January for the Colorado rovers to get  
out and I win the division with an almost embarrassingly low score,  
that is a reward enough for my higher high scores in June and  
September that are not competitive.

There are a lot of issues wrapped up here and I will comment on those  
separately. - Duffey
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM