[VHFcontesting] Spotting exists in VHF Contests

[James Duffey]

I rove in the VHF contests. To me, it is clear that spotting occurs in VHF contests, at least on 6M and is useful. It is easy to see when you have been in a grid for a while, Es is in and the rate has dropped, but is still consistent. All of a sudden I will get 4 or 5 calls in a row. Often from the same grid square. I always attributed that to being spotted. I recall operating in DM86 in the June 2008 contest. Six was open with Es, but a station in Southern CO called. I worked him and we went up to 432. I called on 2M before returning to 6 and worked a couple more stations and moved them to 432.  Ten minutes or so later I returned to 6M, on the same frequency I had left and found a station calling me. I worked him, but the only reason I can figure out that he was calling me on that frequency was that I was spotted on that frequency. 

Being spotted is very useful to rovers, as we change grids, locations, and frequencies frequently and the casual op may not realize that we have changed locations and that they can work us again for an additional multiplier.

I suspect that spotting in VHF contests is one area in which the local over the air packet clusters outshine the web based ones though. - Duffey
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KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM