[VHFcontesting] Announcements in VHF contesting and other topics.....

[Marshall-K5QE]

Hello to everyone interested in this topic.....

George-K5TR has called me to task concerning some of my English. 
Specifically about my use of HFer and such terms.  He is absolutely 
right, I was sloppy....that seems to happen to me at 2AM.  I will try to 
be more careful....when I said HFer, I should have said HF Philosophy or 
HF Philosophy person.  In general, of course, HFer and HF Philosophy 
person are one and the same.....but not in every case as George has 
pointed out.

Unfortunately, this topic has split into several different ones. My 
original posts were strictly about allowing Announcements in the ARRL 
contests, similar to what is allowed in the CQ WW VHF contest.  Did 
anyone notice how quickly that split into a thread that wants 
Announcements for all modes, a thread that wants contesting to be like 
it was "in the thrilling days of yesteryear", and a couple of others.

I advocate for Announcements in the ARRL VHF contests for digital EME 
and digital MS precisely because 1)it will make those contests a lot 
more fun to operate AND 2)it is a reasonable goal that has a decent 
chance of being enacted.  Baby steps at first are much more likely to be 
accepted than trying to achieve the "whole enchilada" at once.  Let's 
get this done and prove that the whole world of VHF contesting does not 
dissolve into chaos......we know that it will not from the CQ WW results.

CONCERNING THOSE THAT WANT NO ASSISTANCE:

Years ago, when the various Internet resources started coming on line, 
the world of HF contesting essentially degenerated into a cesspool of 
lying, cheating, and stealing.  After every contest, there would be 
screams of FOUL by those claiming that station XXX used the spotting 
networks and so his score was higher.  There was no way to prove this, 
so things got really messy for a while. After much hullabaloo, the HF 
world finally created Assisted classes, which gave those that wanted to 
use the various Internet resources a place to play.  If my understanding 
is correct, things are pretty well settled out now.

In the VHF contesting world, we do NOT have any assisted classes, so we 
have the same tension that the HF world had years ago. However, there 
are a lot of people that do not want any new classes in VHF, because 
more classes would further fragment what activity we do have.  This is 
where the tension occurs.  Many VHF operators want Announcements but 
don't want to create a whole new pile of Assisted classes.

The Anti-Assistance folks seem to want to have contesting to be like it 
was in the 1970s....no Internet, no spotting(packet or otherwise), no 
nothing.  One sage called this "just a boy and his radio" type of 
operation.  IF you believe that this is the way that you want to 
operate, GO FOR IT!!!  Nothing is stopping you right now.  Light a 
candle, descend into your basement, and work everything that you can.  
If this is how you wish to measure your manhood(sorry gals), it's no 
skin off my nose.  Of course, hidden in the background, is the idea that 
you still want to have a better score.

This is Assistance vs Non-Assistance a philosophy issue(its almost a 
religious issue).  A few years ago, I was astounded to find out that 
there were people that wanted to run contests completely "in the blind" 
with no help at all.  I continue to be astounded by this point of view.  
Please read my first essay at http://www.k5qe.com/1stpost.html.  This 
essay was made several years ago.....so some of it is not timely today, 
but in general it lays out the philosophy issues well.  The current ARRL 
rules prohibit this, prohibit that, oh and you can't do this either. The 
effect is to artificially MINIMIZE the number of contacts that you make 
rather than MAXIMIZING them.  When I contest, I want to make very 
contact that is possible with my station and the given propagation 
conditions.  To me that is what contesting is all about--MAKING contacts.

CONCERNING THE DESIRE FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR ALL MODES AND CLASSES:

It is clear, at least to me, that if Announcements are allowed, they 
should be allowed to all classes.  The discrimination against the Single 
Ops must stop!  However, there are some problems with this idea.  Some 
are structural and some are political.

STRUCTURAL:
A)If every two bit VHF station announces every 5 min, the reflectors 
would be completely overwhelmed.  Some method needs to be found to solve 
this problem....maybe peer pressure would work, but I doubt it.
B)Posts concerning a massive opening in CN87 or FN54 are essentially 
useless to someone where I live.  It is extremely unlikely that I could 
work either of those locations from here...even on 6M.

There may be other objections, so if you have one, please forward it to 
the group for consideration.

Something will have to be done to ameliorate these problems.  I am open 
to suggestions.

POLITICAL:
I believe that getting Announcements through the ARRL for all modes and 
classes would be next to impossible.  The HF Philosophy folks would cry 
out that "the sky is falling" and would do everything possible to block 
it....since it does not sit well with their world view.   We need to 
show that Announcements for digital MS and digital EME work, make the 
contest a lot more fun, and don't harm anything.

SUMMARY:

Let's start working the Directors to get this limited idea written into 
the rules.  It is a good start and should be doable.



As usual, flames/diatribes/rants/etc go directly to the bit bucket.  
Thoughtful comments welcome.

73 Marshall K5QE