[VHFcontesting] VHF contest tips, tricks, and techniques

[Duane - N9DG via VHFcontesting]

Marshal,

I am curious if you have been able to tell how many, if any, of those who attended your class actually took the next step to get on the air and operate? If some have, then it will be interesting to see how many more times that they will get on in the future.

Contacts come from people getting on to begin with. No amount of strategy, or rules changes to allow one thing or another, or adding new lower barrier categories will actually improve things if a sufficient number of people simply don't get on to operate.

But yet efforts like yours, and the various rule tweaks to entice newcomers has consistently failed to change the trends for participation upward. It is almost as if no one has even tried anything at all. And I for one am at a total loss to comprehend why that should be, especially so when you consider that there are 10's of thousands more VHF/UHF SSB/CW capable radios already in the hands of a lot of people out there than there were 15+ years ago.

It sometimes seems like VHF weak signal contesting is just too hard for most people, and yet all of the things that now makes it easier and less expensive than ever before has also removed much of the thrill that VHF weak signal has always been for those who like challenges. It really does seem like VHF weak signal and VHF contesting are now stuck in a no win paradox.

Duane
N9DG

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On Wed, 7/23/14, Marshall-K5QE <k5qe at k5qe.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] VHF contest tips, tricks, and techniques
 To: vhfcontesting at contesting.com
 Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 7:59 PM
 
 Hello everyone....I taught a class on
 VHF Contesting at HamCom this year 
 in Dallas.  I told them that if you were ever
 hopelessly lost in the 
 wilderness, just get out your rig and start calling on 
 50.110MHz.....within 2 minutes several "Band Police" would
 show up and 
 tell you to get off the calling frequency.....and you would
 be saved.  
 SOS will not do it, but calling on one of the calling
 frequencies will......
 
 We really don't need the "Band Police"....what we need is
 more contacts.....
 
 73 Marshall K5QE