[VHFcontesting] Updated - Rover activity and otherwise in June ARRL VHF

[James Duffey]

On Dec 4, 2009, at 12:08 PM, John Geiger wrote:

> What have other entry classes done?  Have they grown at the same rate, at a faster rate, or have they actually declined?
> 
> 73s John AA5JG

Here is a table of activity in all classes since 2001. The data is harder to extract from contests before 2001 as it is not collated on the ARRLweb site and is not always explicit in the QST write ups. 

Activity by class, June VHF QSO Party

Year   A    B    L   M  Q    R  RL  UR	All
2009  695  206  56  44  33  60  37   5	1168
2008  660  200  52  32  34  61  26   8	1073
2007  477  162  62  38  23  98	         860
2006  610  184  81  39  39  96	        1049
2005  468  166  47  38  31  92	         842
2004  412  155  43  37  28  91	         766
2003  445  157  55  38  31  92	         818
2002  319  157  49  36  27  84	         672
2001  253  243  62  33  25  59	         675 

I hope that the formatting has held up. Best viewed with monospaced font. 

I have commented on the Rover participation growing at a steady rate and being relatively steady while the total contest participation has varied widely. The multi category shows an even more steady participation during the time period, and I suppose for the same reason, with a large investment in equipment, setup time, travel to an operating site, and operators time; multis are more likely to participate year after year to get the most out of their investment and are more likely to submit a log given the investment made in the contest. The limited multi class has shown wider swings, but still is a pretty steady contributor to the contest. The single op low power shows the most variation in participationm more than a factor of 2, in the data above. I suppose that is to be expected, if the bands are open, there are a lot of logs submitted by these participants, but if 6M is not open, they probably go do something else for the weekend, or just work the locals and not submit a log.

The QRP Portable participation is steady, but numbers are small. These are a dedicated bunch. I will have to try that class some day.

The rise in participation in low power single ops in the last 2 years is interesting after a long period of lower but constant participation. I suppose more of those guys who are chasing FFMA are getting linears to help in the grid hunting and finding out that power does open a dead 6M band with a variety of scatter modes. 

Your interpretation may be different. 

The offer of my prepared presentations on beginning VHF operating and Roving are still open. Use these as a basis to stir up some interest in the local club. Give a VHF talk in May. - Duffey 
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM