[VHFcontesting] getting rid of 6 meters

Wed Jun 18 17:34:21 EDT 2008

My TS2000 works fine on 6 meters.  My problem is that 6 meter "skip" just reminds me too much of the old "CB" days of the 60's.  Any cheap radio and a dipole and you are in if the band opens.  Less operator and station skills needed for successful fun.

David

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Anthony Rick 
  To: David 
  Cc: vhfcontesting at contesting.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 5:26 PM
  Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] getting rid of 6 meters

  I don't think that will fix anything.  Won't it be an even greater waste of time "listening [to] nothing on the other bands" if the contest no longer covered those other bands (LOL)?

  Seriously though,  its pretty easy to get 6m capability.  You can pick up an FT-620B or Swan 250 for $150.  Better yet, I see ten-tec transverters listed for under $100 if you already have HF.  My strategy is to have a dedicated transceiver for both 6m and 2m--that makes it even more difficult trying to listen for nothing 0since you'll always come accross something.

  Maybe you didn't try 2m SSB?

  Anthony

  On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 4:06 PM, David <ke4yyd at gtcom.net> wrote:

    This was my worst contest ever.   Everybody must have been on 6 meters.

    I believe that the June contest should be 6 meters only, then I won't have
    to waste my time listening for nothing on the other bands.

    David
    KE4YYD

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Zack Widup" <w9sz at prairienet.org>
    To: <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
    Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 5:00 PM
    Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] getting rid of 6 meters

    >
    > When I'm sitting on a hilltop with 10 or more bands, I love to work
    > people up the bands.  But it can be a trade-off for a big-gun station who
    > is running on 6m. Does he quit to work me up the bands for probably more
    > points than he's going to get by staying on 6m for the same amount of
    > time, but possibly losing his run frequency which could net him more
    > points in the long run?
    >
    > It's a tricky situation.  I usually just ask him to meet me on 2m after 6
    > dies so we can work up the bands later. And if 6 dies a few minutes later,
    > I am probably going to find him on the other bands pretty easily.
    >
    > Being in the hands of fickle propagation has always been one of the fun
    > adventures of VHF!
    >
    > 73, Zack W9SZ
    >
    > On Wed, 18 Jun 2008, Joshua M. Arritt wrote:
    >
    >> Not sure what you really GAIN by removing 6 meters from the pool of
    >> bands in the contest as a whole.  I can't imagine that a contester would
    >> complain about a band being too crowded... in addition to the digital
    >> modes, CW is another way to escape the elbow bumping you'll run into on
    >> SSB above 50.120...  CW filters are wonderfully effective in this
    >> instance, which is something HF contesters can attest to.  Perhaps an
    >> SSB filter too?
    >>
    >> There was a comment that once 6 opens, all other bands are pointless...
    >> I strongly disagree!  This is where SO2R (or SOxR, where x=number of
    >> bands) skills can make or break your points tally and your sanity.
    >> Also, 6 meter Es openings can coincide with tropo on other bands, as
    >> mentioned on this distribution a few days ago.
    >>
    >> There's a balance of discipline and strategy that must be struck to keep
    >> 6 meters from being your only band in the contest, if that's a real
    >> problem for you.  You need discipline to know when and how to pay
    >> attention to those other bands and get the needed grids and Qs there,
    >> and strategy to know when to kick your discipline in high gear.  This is
    >> one of the unique challenges of VHF/UHF contesting that you don't get to
    >> experience much of on HF.  HF is, relatively speaking, very predictable
    >> -- the band(s) will open up SOMEWHERE to produce more Qs....  not the
    >> case always on V/U contesting.  The Magic Band opens and closes all over
    >> the place quickly, conditions change very rapidly.  So if you're in the
    >> points game, you're ahead to dedicate a radio to 6 meters to monitor
    >> conditions and quickly pounce on the mults as they fade in and out, and
    >> use your multi-band super box or even some cheap eBay FT-290RII (or
    >> equivalent -- 100% ham radio = 90% antenna, 9% operator, 1% radio) to
    >> cover 2 meters ++ (or as mentioned above, dedicate a radio to each
    >> band!).
    >>
    >> Of course, the ultimate in discipline would be to voluntarily forgo 6
    >> meters during a June event -- replace the hole in your rover's op table
    >> with a 5.7GHz rig, or something like that.  This is for those of us
    >> (myself included) who aren't competitive players necessarily, but really
    >> just enjoy an opportunity to run to a hilltop, break out the radios and
    >> hear the normally dismal bands come to life!  It's these types of events
    >> that thus re-affirm our investment and commitment to life above 50MHz,
    >> in spite of those HF-only guys' looks of confusion when we talk about
    >> great openings 500 miles away.
    >>
    >> Let's examine for a moment the reason 6 is in the pool...   as a VHF
    >> band.  It's crowded because Es works very well on that band.  Sometimes,
    >> Es works very well on 2 meters...  if we get a massive Es cloud that
    >> enhances 2 meters all contest long, do we start calls to exclude it from
    >> the pool?  I wouldn't think so.  Maybe if 10 meters were remarkably
    >> dull, we could include it in the contest???   Equally unlikely.
    >>
    >> So it's my humble editorial thesis that the 6 meter band is that 900lb
    >> gorilla of VHF contesting.  And we already have a contest in August that
    >> takes care of the 6 meter problem.  When that time comes around, I'll
    >> see YOU on 222!
    >>
    >>
    >> 73,
    >>
    >>    - Josh Arritt / KF4YLM
    >>      EM97ui
    >>
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