[VHFcontesting] Distance Scoring.....

Sun Jan 4 19:36:50 EST 2015

Hi Marshall, Enjoyed having dinner with you at Seaside this fall
I have been doing limited rover, and will remain limited for a while. The
work involved it a rover station is complex and isn't a cheap with the gas
and lodging.
To add even 2 bands, 900 & 1296 just seems a big bunch of work for little
reward. Especially out here in the Northwest were the E's are few and the
mountains large.
I will be out there, smile on face....I just have a ball being a rover!
Also it helps greatly that my lovely Jennifer like to tag along.
You just cannot make everyone happy, I don't think distance scoring would
be the way to go.

Steve /  KE7IHG

On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 3:16 PM, Bill Olson <callbill at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Marshall and all, I thought for SURE you were mistaken and that a 2304
> contact in January was worth only FOUR times a 2M contact, not 8, but then
> I went and looked it up!! Wow... Guess I should be paying more attention!!
> Since I'm not trying to WIN anything up here, it doesn't discourage me, oh
> yeah and I'm also on 2304.. hee hee.. But, this is new right?? or is my
> memory REALLY starting to fail me??
>
> bill, k1DY
>
> > Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2015 15:05:51 -0600
> > From: k5qe at k5qe.com
> > To: VHFcontesting at contesting.com
> > Subject: [VHFcontesting] Distance Scoring.....
> >
> > Hello all.....The reason that the EU contests can be distance scored is
> > because they prohibit EME contacts in EU contests.
> >
> > I make a very good percentage of all my grids via EME....that is the
> > only way that I can even remotely be competitive as I don't live in the
> > highly populated NE.  Clearly, I do not believe that banning EME in VHF
> > contesting is the right thing to do.  I would just pull the plug on VHF
> > contesting if EME were banned.....I would have no chance at all.
> >
> > Now, where is the problem??  Well, once I entered the 2M Sprint when it
> > was distance scored.  Guys on the East Coast made over 150 contacts and
> > I only made 28.  However, the shortest of my contacts was 4500+ miles
> > and the longest was about 10,000 miles.  Clearly, EME overwhelms any
> > tropo efforts as long as the metric is distance.  ASIDE:  I never did
> > get the certificate for that.....maybe just punishment??
> >
> > Another thought.....a few meteor scatter contacts would completely out
> > distance a boatload of "local contacts".  This would mean that, even if
> > EME were disallowed, VHF contests would turn into a MS contests....and I
> > don't think that is what we really want.
> >
> > The problem with the current scoring formula is that is VHF contests are
> > actually "Microwave Contests".  The QSO points for microwave contacts
> > are ridiculously high, especially in the January contest.  In January,
> > one 2304 contact equals 8 2M contacts!!!  I know that the original idea
> > here was to encourage folks to go on up into the microwave bands....and
> > that is a reasonable policy goal.  However, the effect of this policy
> > has been to discourage the Rookies.....and these are exactly the folks
> > we are trying to attract.
> >
> > I don't know the answer to all this....there will always be "problems"
> > with scoring and rules.  In my opinion, the simplest rules are the best
> > rules.  I believe that the Ad-Hoc Committee is moving in the right
> > direction and hopefully, will be able to implement their ideas.  Someone
> > mentioned that a complete re-write of the VHF rules would be extremely
> > helpful....I agree with that completely.
> >
> > 73 Marshall K5QE
> >
> > On 1/4/2015 10:22 AM, Keith Morehouse wrote:
> > > Distance scoring has been tried in various VHF Springs. It shows....a
> > > benefit to the normal high-population areas of the US (surprise !),
> except
> > > maybe on 6...
> > >
> > > Jay W9RM
> > >
> > > Keith Morehouse
> > > via Droid Inc2
> > > On Jan 3, 2015 8:56 PM, "Dave Olean" <k1whs at metrocast.net> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Hi Herb,
> > >>     I worked you in my first VHF contest in 1962. It was the
> September VHF
> > >> QSO party. Actually my brother worked you. (We had to share our
> station, so
> > >> we took turns using different calls for each contest.) You had 327
> QSOs in
> > >> 25 sections. Arn K1WHT had 48 QSOs in 5 sections all on 144 MHz. We
> had
> > >> just gotten our licenses about a month earlier. I remember the rig.
> We had
> > >> a 6360 transmitter at about 8 watts on AM, and a war surplus receiver
> that
> > >> had a 24 volt dynamotor for the B+. The antenna was an 8 element
> Telrex
> > >> yagi at about 30 ft fed with RG-59 surplus coax that looked a tad
> green
> > >> inside.
> > >>     I would have to agree with you and K1DY. The last thing we need
> is more
> > >> categories. Beyond that, I am unsure of what should be done. I am
> really
> > >> torn as to the right direction to take. After 52 years, I still love
> the
> > >> idea of VHF contests, as they build activity. I think all the rule
> changes
> > >> over the years has possibly diminished activity rather than helped it.
> > >>     I would want to encourage activity in the more remote areas of the
> > >> country. Possibly distance scoring is a good idea. That coupled with
> > >> announcing rover locations and similar ideas could help those guys who
> > >> travel to the hinterlands.  I also think that entirely new contests
> might
> > >> be organized to build activity. Surely, what we have been doing the
> last
> > >> decade has not worked. Maybe a cumulative effort over many weekends
> for
> > >> shorter time periods each weekend might  be a possibility. That might
> > >> discourage big mountaintop efforts in favor of more streamlined
> > >> operations.  How about scoring stations in certain areas with a higher
> > >> point value? As an example, draw a circle 200 miles from the center of
> > >> major metro areas and assign a higher point value to those stations
> beyond
> > >> that circle. If I earned 1 point for a close in contact and 10 points
> for
> > >> working VE1SKY 350 miles away, you can bet I would be looking for
> VE1SKY.
> > >> Then imagine VE1SKY's score if he could work a pile of 10 point
> contacts.
> > >> He could be competitive. Scoring could be done by utilizing 6 digit
> grid
> > >> squares in software. That would encourage people to aim their
> antennas away
> > >> from the normal VHF activity centers. I am just throwing out crazy
> half
> > >> baked ideas. We need to shake things up.What we have now is broken.
> For my
> > >> part, I try to get on and have fun each time.
> > >>     I hope you don't quit VHF Herb. HF stinks in the summertime.
> > >>
> > >> 73
> > >> Dave K1WHS
> > >>
> > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herb Krumich via VHFcontesting" <
> > >> vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
> > >> To: "VHF Contesting Reflector" <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>
> > >> Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2015 10:46 PM
> > >> Subject: [VHFcontesting] My 2 cents
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>   As far as I am concerned, VHF contesting went down hill when the
> ARRL
> > >>> caved and started having limited multi.Once that was done, small
> units of
> > >>> stations, started leaving their microwave equipment at home.Little by
> > >>> little it started the microwave downfall. It was a very bad
> idea.There are
> > >>> far to many categories for so few stations availableI have depleted
> my very
> > >>> large contest station after working VHF contest's for nearly 50
> years.The
> > >>> only available bands I can now use are 144 and 432 which will mainly
> be
> > >>> used for EMEJust my 2 centsHerb K2LNSMy spring antenna work will be
> putting
> > >>> up a very large low band system
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-- 
KE7IHG