[VHFcontesting] My Proposal to the VUAC

[Duane - N9DG]

--- On Tue, 3/17/09, Dustin <ke5clr at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm very confused by the path this thread has taken. Are
> we talking 
> about calling CQ _/*vs.*/_ using spotting networks,
> reflectors etc.  
> Here I was thinking this was about calling CQ _/*along
> with*//**/_ using 
> spotting networks, reflectors etc.

To put it simply the proponents of prop loggers being allowed in VHF contest will contend that ops will do both, i.e. use the prop logger and call CQ. My contention is that will not be the case for a large percentage of the ops who get on during a VHF contest. I do believe that I have the evidence to support that by watching the behavior and activity between contests by paying attention to the VHF prop loggers. What you will see occur is this:

1. The band will be quiet until someone calls CQ or otherwise finds DX.
2. That person posts it to the logger.
3. Almost immediately there will be a bunch more activity.

The converse of this is that someone will call CQ and find some DX. They don't / can't post it. So no spike in band activity. So, the question then becomes who is more at "fault" for the lack of activity:

a) The one who works DX and doesn't post it?

or

b) The ones who didn't bother to "get on" and call CQ or search the bands for themselves?

My further contention is that an even greater dependence on logger pages will evolve if it becomes a central piece to VHF contesting. Is this what we really want VHF contesting to become?

I also believe that unlike HF the drop in "active working of the bands" by the more casual ops will hurt VHF contesting in general. On HF the dilution of the spot followers is more than made up for by the much larger base of participation.

Now keep in mind I do not see this being a problem with the serious or bigger gun ops. They in all likelihood will do both, doing everything that is contest legal is how they place well or win after all. It is the casual, and ops without access to prop loggers / assistance that I worry about. 

And as a side note I have observed over the years that in a typical upper Midwest January VHF contest that there are numerous "micro openings", or "enhancements" as I like to call them, most lasting 5 minutes or less, and good for another 100-200 miles of reach on an otherwise flat band. Would those depending prop logger assistance ever find them? The only effective way to catch them is to call CQ, rotate the antenna, and sweep the bands as much as you can. And if all ops were doing that then everyone would find more of them and each other.

Duane
N9DG