[VHFcontesting] Late Summer Contest Season

[Les Rayburn]

I share Zack's concerns, though I think finding the answer will not be easy. 
For two years in a row a mixture of work and personal issues have forced me 
to miss nearly all of the UHF and September
Contests events. The Sprints follow so closely on their heels that it can be 
overwhelming to even a serious VHF operator.

The Sprints seem to have the most potential for easy changes. I'd love to 
see them moved into starting in October.

73,





Les Rayburn, N1LF
EM63nf
121 Mayfair Park
Maylene, AL 35114

6M VUCC #1712
Grid Bandit #222
Life Member Central States VHF Society



-----Original Message----- 
From: Todd Sprinkmann
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 12:15 PM
To: Zack Widup ; VHF REFLECTOR
Subject: Re: [VHF] Fall 2 Meter Sprint ON Tonight

   Zack, I bet you're worn out.  I publicly thank you and many
others, especially the rovers, for getting on so often the 8 years
I've been operating.

   Something needs to be done, to spread out the late-summer
barrage of contests on 50 MHz and up.

   From early August until the 3rd weekend in September, the
already-limited pool of V/U/SHF ops try to choose between the
Aug UHF, two weekends of 10 gig and the Sept. V/UHF.
Then yes, toss in the Fall Sprints right afterwards.

   This dilutes the amount of potential contestants in each of
these worthwhile contests.  Or stretches them too thin..

   These days, I'm afraid to look at ARRL logs received for
10 gig vs. the UHF 'test.  I know that in the Upper Midwest
and Great Lakes, 10 GHz is improving, while the Aug UHF
and Sept. VHF QSO Party is down.
    Even with great weather, and the third consecutive year of
strong local promotion, the 2011 ARRL UHF and Sept. V/U
contests here in WI were the slowest I've experienced in my
8 seasons.   When you combine that with the fact that the
ARRL June contest is soaring in popularity, there's a real
disconnect that has to be explored.
    I'll try to remain optimistic that bands other than 6m and
10 GHz will experience increased usage in the contests.
    I hope I can come back here in 2013 and say that the
recent Aug. and Sept. ARRL V/U contest declines were a
short-term fluctuation and not a trend.

    73,
    Todd  KC9BQA    EN63ao    40 N of Milwaukee
    www.kc9bqa.com   For Frequent VHF/UHF Updates
    www.wivuch.com   WI  VHF/UHF County Hunters Award

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zack Widup" <w9sz.zack at gmail.com>
To: "VHF REFLECTOR" <vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu>
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: [VHF] Fall 2 Meter Sprint ON Tonight


>I don't know how this got scheduled the day after the 10 GHz contest. I'm
> pretty worn-out from that yet. Don't know if I can make it or not.
>
> I don't know how all the Rovers do it. I spent the weekend roving in 10 
> GHz
> and I'm pretty exhausted. I did set up everything outside the car at each
> stop, though. Maybe that's what did it.
>
> 73, Zack W9SZ
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 9:36 AM, Todd Sprinkmann 
> <sprinkies at excel.net>wrote:
>
>>  Friendly reminder that the 2m Fall Sprints are ON tonight.  See
>> www.svhfs.org or www.kc9bqa.com for more details.
>>  I've made several updates to kc9bqa.com this morning.  One concerns a
>> rare grid activation that's happening right now.  EN85/86 is on, courtesy 
>> of
>> KB8U.  Details are at kc9bqa.com.
>>  The Hepburn Tropo forecast maps hint at better-than-average conditions
>> later today and tonight.  This makes tonight well worth getting on the 
>> air
>> for.
>>   Spread the word in your area, and help get more signals on tonight.
>>   Thanks, 73,
>>   Todd   KC9BQA   EN63ao    40 N of Milwaukee
>>   www.kc9bqa.com   For Frequent VHF/UHF Updates
>>   www.wivuch.com    WI  VHF/UHF County Hunters Award
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