[VHFcontesting] New rules?

[Keith Morehouse]

The address <vhf-input at arrl.org> bounces as 'unknown'

W9RM

Keith Morehouse
-via DROID2Global
On Nov 12, 2014 3:05 PM, "Bruce Herrick" <bdh at teleport.com> wrote:

> ARRL Seeks Input on Initial VHF+ Contest Rule Changes
>
>
>
> Dear fellow Amateurs,
>
>
>
> The Programs & Services Committee of the ARRL Board recognizes the need to
> review and update various aspects of the League's contest program for our
> VHF and higher bands.  To this end, it recently formed an Ad Hoc
> Subcommittee on VHF and Above Revitalization.  You can help us by providing
> additional insights and ideas for our consideration.
>
>
>
> Background
>
>
>
> Contest participation benefits both individual Amateurs and the Amateur
> Radio Service as a whole.  Individual operators gain overall operating
> experience, increase their knowledge of band characteristics; test the
> results of changes in equipment, antennas and locations; and have incentive
> to add bands and modes to their station complement, all in the context of
> enjoyable yet challenging activities.  The Amateur Radio Service increases
> its pool of skilled operators and can show more intense usage of the
> frequencies allocated to us, some of which may be under threat from
> ever-expanding commercial and consumer services seeking to expand their
> share of spectrum.  Increased activity also signals higher potential demand
> for new product to manufacturers of Amateur Radio equipment.
>
>
>
> The ARRL VHF - UHF - Microwave contest program was created to help foster
> the foregoing benefits and, accordingly, seeks to:
>
>
>
> 1) Increase the level and breadth of participation in ARRL VHF and up
> contests; and
>
>
>
> 2) Encourage the utilization of our less-used Amateur Radio bands.
>
>
>
> Initial Recommendation
>
>
>
> While most issues will require additional time and input from the user
> community, the members of the Subcommittee were in agreement on
> recommending
> one set of changes that applies across all ARRL VHF+ contests, including
> microwave and EME.  We recommend:
>
>
>
> 1) Removal of the current prohibition on the use of Amateur and non-Amateur
> forms of assistance for all operator categories, with such use having no
> impact on entry category;
>
>
>
> 2)  Removal of the current prohibition on self-spotting for all operator
> categories; and
>
>
>
> 3) Allowing single operators to transmit on more than one band at a time.
>
>
>
> Rationale
>
>
>
> Unlike most HF contests, operating skill and knowledge of propagation may
> not be enough to find stations to work.  You can't just point your antenna
> to Europe or Asia at the right time and find a ready supply of potential
> contacts.  The less predictable nature of VHF+ propagation and the
> necessarily higher-gain, narrow-beamwidth antennas used make finding
> someone
> to work largely a matter of chance.  Indeed, most microwave contacts would
> never occur at all without the use of real-time coordination.  We have
> stories of rovers who invest time and fuel to activate a remote location
> only to have no one find them or work them.  This discourages such remote
> activations.  A great number of non-contesters monitoring a repeater or
> APRS
> network have no idea there is a distant or rare station out there to try to
> work.
>
>
>
> The League's current prohibitive stance on assistance (other than for the
> 10
> GHz & Up Contest) and self-spotting is the most often heard complaint about
> our VHF contest program, and the members of the Subcommittee believe that
> removing those prohibitions will foster greater participation and result in
> more contacts and a more positive experience for participants without
> impacting the existing challenge of actually completing contacts.
>
>
>
> Similarly, the present restriction of single-operator stations to one
> transmitted signal at a time precludes such activities as calling CQ on one
> band while soliciting or completing contacts using digital modes on
> another.
> Such restriction constrains the number of potential contacts among
> participants while yielding no apparent benefit.
>
>
>
> Specific Proposed Rule Changes
>
>
>
> The General Rules for All ARRL Contests Above 50 MHz shall be amended as
> follows:
>
>
>
> Old 1.7. Retransmitting either or both stations, or use of repeater
> frequencies, is not permitted.
>
> New 1.7. Retransmitting either or both stations or use of repeater
> frequencies for purposes of completing a contact is not permitted.
>
>
>
> Old 1.7.1. This prohibits use of all repeater frequencies.
>
> New: Delete 1.7.1. (Rule 1.7 covers this issue adequately.)
>
>
>
> Old 1.7.2. Contest entrants may not transmit on repeaters or repeater
> frequencies for the purpose of soliciting contacts.
>
> New: Delete Rule 1.7.2
>
>
>
> Add 1.16. All entrants, regardless of category, are permitted to use
> spotting assistance or nets, including DX-alerting nets, internet chat
> rooms, packet, reverse beacon networks and repeaters to identify stations
> available for contacts and to announce (self-spot) their availability for
> contacts.  Announcements shall be limited to callsign, location, band or
> frequency, mode and - if applicable - transmitting sequence.  Such
> assistance may not be used to facilitate the completion of any contact.
> This means such assistance may not be used to convey receipt or non-receipt
> of any required element of a contact or to request a repeat of any required
> element of a contact.
>
>
>
> Old 2.1. Single Operator: One person performs all transmitting, receiving,
> spotting, and logging functions as well as equipment and antenna
> adjustments.  Only one transmitted signal is permitted at any given time.
> Use of spotting assistance or nets (operating arrangements involving other
> individuals, DX-alerting nets, internet chat rooms, packet, etc.) is not
> permitted.
>
>
>
> New 2.1. Single Operator: One person performs all transmitting, receiving,
> spotting, and logging functions as well as equipment and antenna
> adjustments.  Only one transmitted signal per band is permitted at any
> given
> time.  Non-contact-producing activities such as APRS beaconing and repeater
> announcements are not considered transmitted signals for the purpose of
> applying this rule.
>
>
>
> Old 2.5.7. Rovers are permitted to use APRS. Rovers using APRS transmit
> only
> their call sign and position.  Any multi-op station may access rover APRS
> data directly or via the Internet.
>
> New 2.5.7. Rovers are permitted to use APRS to transmit their call sign and
> position.  Any station may access rover APRS data directly or via the
> Internet.
>
>
>
> Old 2.8. Multioperator (includes Single Operator stations that use spotting
> assistance):
>
> New 2.8. Multioperator:
>
>
>
> Contest-specific rules for all VHF, UHF, microwave and EME contests shall
> be
> amended to give effect to the above general rules.
>
>
>
> What We Need From You
>
>
>
> You can help us by considering the potential impact of each proposal and
> sharing any specific observations about it.  We're not tallying "votes";
> rather, we want to be sure we have considered all foreseeable results of
> the
> proposed changes.     Collective input from user groups will be
> particularly
> helpful and faster to compile than multiple copies of the same position
> from
> individual group members.
>
>
>
> Further, this is not about changing "who wins" but about whether the
> overall
> objectives stated above will be better attained as a result of each
> proposed
> change.  Overlying any enacted changes is the recognized need to increase
> outreach beyond the already-active VHF+ contesting community.  Your
> suggestions in this regard will also be welcomed.
>
>
>
> Please submit your comments to  <mailto:vhf-input at arrl.org>
> vhf-input at arrl.org  prior to December 15th, 2014.  Only comments received
> through this channel will be assured of reaching all the members of the
> Subcommittee.
>
>
>
> Thank you for helping us with this process.
>
>
>
> 73,
>
>
>
> Kermit Carlson W9XA, Chair
>
> Ad Hoc Subcommittee on VHF and Above Revitalization
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>