[VHFcontesting] Yes -- Please Move the January Contest

[k7xc at charter.net]

When this subject first came up when the league changed their schedule 
the contest manager for ARRL said that the fact the NFL season has 
changed would never determine what weekend the Jan contest would 
occur... Even though they originally chose that date to be on the 
weekend between the playoffs and THE GAME!

Far be it for the League to do something that makes sense for the VHF 
community... If it was the ARRL DX contest that was affected by over 1/2 
its participants not seriously entering because of some other major 
event, they would shift the date a week one way or another.

Why doesn't the League ever show common sense on something like this?

73s de Tim - K7XC - DM09nm... sk
-----------------------------------------------


On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 6:02 AM, Paul Kiesel wrote:

> If we could get ARRL to change the date, I would vote for the 1st 
> weekend. I think there is less than a zero-point-one percent chance of 
> that occurring, though. I think they won't change the hours, either.
>
> I hate to say it, but it looks like this is going to boil down to 
> whether a person wants to contest in a VHF contest in January, period 
> - as opposed to whether the football games are a stronger draw for 
> attention.  I think there might be different levels of interest in the 
> various areas of the country. In the Pacific Northwest, we had a 
> fairly decent turnout for the January contest. Guys who participate in 
> the contest will watch a football game and then come back on the air 
> if they want to watch the game. Out here, I don't believe the football 
> games affect participation in the VHF contest that much - and I 
> suspect the same may be true in other areas of the country.
>
> Paul, K7CW
>
>
> ________________________________
>  From: Marshall-K5QE <k5qe at k5qe.com>
> To: Cc: vhfcontesting at contesting.com Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 
> 8:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Yes -- Please Move the January Contest
>  Hello Tom and everyone else interested in this topic.....
>
> After reading all the posts on this topic and some private posts to 
> me, the following two topics seem to be the most discussed. Most of 
> the posts seem to be circling around these two objectives:
> 1)Make every effort to insure that there is 6M Es during the Jan 
> contest and
> 2)Engineer the contest so that the various football games don't 
> interfere.
>
> How to accomplish these two objectives is the question.  As Tom has 
> pointed out, there is an HF contest every weekend.  However, IF we 
> moved the Jan VHF contest to the FIRST weekend in January, the contest 
> would fall in the Winter Es season.  The chance of good Es in the Jan 
> contest would be a great contest incentive....more contacts, more 
> grids.  What a deal!!  We then would be opposite the ARRL RTTY 
> contest.  I don't know how big that contest really is AND I don't know 
> how many VHF ops would be torn between the VHF contest and the RTTY 
> contest(I do know one).
>
> It seems to me that the RTTY contest is less competition than NAQP or 
> the CQ 160M contest.  I know that there are several VHF ops that are 
> quite nutty about 160M.  So, the RTTY contest looks to me like the 
> "lesser of evils".
>
> Someone will point out that there are football games on the first 
> weekend in Jan.  Assuming that is correct, is there any way to 
> engineer the contest to avoid the football games completely? Frankly, 
> I don't know.  After trying to understand the NFL's scheduling my head 
> is spinning and pounding at the same time.  It appears that the first 
> weekend in Jan is when the wild card games are played....one on Sat 
> and one on Sun.  So, this is doubly bad....two football games to try 
> to avoid.  However, the significance of these games is much less than 
> the later games, so maybe we would not see a huge effect from them.  
> Still, two games are twice as obnoxious as one game.
>
> I have been convinced that my previous idea of a longer contest with 
> breaks, but on the same weekend, is not overly bright.  I must have 
> been smoking the "funny weed" when I came up with that particular 
> idea.  I was trying to find a way to keep the football game from 
> hurting us.  Hopefully, some better idea(s) will surface.
>
> Herb has told us that the ARRL will not listen to anything we have to 
> say.  If I understand his points, they are A)that the VHF contest has 
> been held on the third weekend for decades and therefore cannot be 
> moved and B)we are not HFers so we don't have the numbers and hence 
> the Grand Poobahs in Newington are not interested in us.  
> Unfortunately, he is most probably correct. The ARRL is not noted for 
> careful coordination with its stakeholders.
>
> IF we are stuck with the third weekend date, then is there any way to 
> avoid the football game??  When does this football game begin??  Not 
> the pre-game blather, but the real game??  Let us assume that it 
> starts at 7PM EST(0000Z on Monday).  We could start the contest at 9AM 
> EST(=1400Z) and end it at 6PM on Sunday(=2300Z).  If I did my times 
> right(which I often don't), then that would be the same 33 hours of 
> contesting time.  The rovers would not have to be out two 
> nights....actually it would be good for the rovers to be able to get 
> in earlier on Sunday--especially in the January weather.  This idea 
> does not change the date of the contest, it just changes the start and 
> stop times to avoid the football game.
>
> Does any of this work??  Your ideas are most appreciated.....by me and 
> by the others interested in this topic.
>
> 73 Marshall K5QE
>
>
> On 1/28/2013 6:18 PM, Tom Haavisto wrote:
>> I am a relative newbie to VHF contesting, so no problem moving it as 
>> far as I am concerned.
>>
>> HOWEVER - take a look at the contest calender.
>>
>> First weekend - ARRL RTTY Roundup
>> Second weekend - ARRL NAQP CW
>> Third weekend - ARRL NAQP SSB
>> Fourth weekend - CQ 160 CW
>>
>> Keeping in it January means sharing with a major contest.  Making it 
>> the fourth weekend means sharing with the CQ 160 contest, and I think 
>> the hard core contesters have already shown where their loyalties 
>> lie.
>>
>> I don't follow professional sports - I prefer RADIO sport :-)
>>
>> Tom - VE3CX
>>
>>
>
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