[VHFcontesting] Fw: Re: Picking a Bone With Gene

[Nate Duehr]

On Tue, 5 May 2009 17:52:00 -0400, "Eugene Zimmerman"
<ezimmerm at erols.com> said:
> Nate
> 
> After reading your post indicating how much I must dislike digital weak
> signal modes and don't use them, I went back to reread what I had written
> in
> the May World Above 50 MHz.


I didn't say that Gene.  I said "if"... and I've already mentioned that
I over-reacted which started from me not carefully reading the article,
and then seeing an over-reaction from someone else -- who hasn't really
popped back up in this discussion anyway... don't know where he went. 
Oh well.  

I guess I'm just touchy about discussion in all these contests about
making sure there's bejillions of categories ("the 'everyone can win'
mentality) and also touchy about the lack of use of technology and what
sometimes APPEAR to be ACTIVE attacks on new tech in contesting...
across the board.

(Anyone followed the insanity on just about every contest list
everywhere about CW Skimmer?  Yeah... thought so.)

Part of that comes from having gotten too emotionally involved with the
annual great debates over the rover rules.  They completely ruined my
enjoyment of trying to build a good rover and a rover strategy.  Maybe
I'll go back to roving someday, but frankly it was more fun to hang out
with friends and claw our way into the top 10 in the multiop category
last year from W0KVA near Limon, CO.  When the whole point is to have
fun with the hobby... it's hard enough to field a rover and call that
"fun" some years, when personal time for ham radio is short.  The
endless debates and rules changes that seem to be at least being asked
for constantly -- even if reality is that they don't happen all tha fast
-- are a huge turn-off for roving.

Sorry if you felt I "attacked" too soon on this one, without knowing the
facts.  You're right.  Again, I apologize.  I'm just touchy about
anything that smells like another new category or exception to easy to
understand and follow rules.  The bigger the rulebook, the less fun I
have, I guess... because I STUDY the rules and make strategy from them! 
Changes eat up enormous amounts of time and effort in thinking about how
to make my scores better under the current rules...

Sitting down at an Unlimited Multiop and just working the dang contacts
with whatever tools we have on hand, is far far simpler -- and I feel
the contest really caters to that type of operation, in that it's just
GO GET IT DONE style contesting.  Roving today, you have to think about
how many bands you want to claim, whether or not you accidentally worked
some dude going the other way at a grid corner (or worse, if he's
caravaning with you, someone will whine and moan that you're 'grid
circling'), etc etc etc... where's the fun in having the rules playing
in your head while you're driving through the middle of nowhere?

Plop me in the chair at a multi-op and lets get some contacts made! 
(GRIN!)  It's more comfortable than my Jeep could ever be.  I have a
passion for roving but some years right now... just not that much when
the rules change... 

The IMPRESSION I had about the WSJT comments was that, "Oh boy -- here
it comes... any non-human-copyable modulation/format will now count for
less, and we'll have to write MORE spreadsheets than ever, to figure out
the best strategy for various band conditions."  That's why I
over-reacted.

Nate WY0X
--
  Nate Duehr
  nate at natetech.com