[VHFcontesting] New rules

[Marshall-K5QE]

Hello Terry and others in the VHF contesting world....

This was the first ARRL contest where the ability to use the Internet 
and other sources was allowed.  No one knew what was going to work.  I 
certainly did not.  I had a K5QE chat page made by Dan-N5TM on his chat 
pages.  Only one or two guys used it, so that idea was a bust.

The CQ WW VHF contest has allowed stations using digital MS or digital 
EME to post Call, Frequency, and Sequence ONLY for several years now.  
 From our experiences there and now from the ARRL June contest, it is 
clear that using PingJockey and the EME-1 pages have been a  great success.

On 6M, it is clear that if Es is there, chat pages are not going to be 
very useful.  Stations are going to run on 6M as fast as they can.  I 
can't imagine someone carefully perusing chat pages when there are 
hundreds of stations right in front of their nose that need working.  
When 6M is "dead" that is when digital MS comes to the front.  In that 
arena, chat pages can be very helpful.  Using a chat page for MS means 
that you will make a lot more contacts.....and the whole affair does not 
seem so much like "random luck".

On 2M, there are times that a chat page will let you know that a station 
within range is on the air and looking.  A quick post will set up a 
sched and a contact can me made.....and contacts on other bands too.  2M 
MS is also a lot more productive when a chat page, such as PingJockey, 
is used.  For EME, the EME-1 chat page is an essential tool.  Yes, you 
can make contacts without it, but you will make a lot more if you can 
announce your presence to others.  I have proved this time and time again.

All in all, I think that the new rules have proved themselves.....and 
will continue to do so in the future.  We all need to learn how best to 
use them.....for the particular area that we live in and for the modes 
and bands that we use.  The rough edges will come off and everyone will 
make a lot more contacts.....which is, after all, the desired result.

Terry:  We are quite proud of the 130 grid count  on 2M.  Maybe it is a 
record and maybe not....no one seems to know.

NEXT is the CQ WW VHF contest....we will be there doing our best.  
Hopefully, 6M will be a lot better than it was in June.

73 Marshall K5QE


On 6/25/2015 1:13 PM, Terry wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I haven't seen much positive or negative about the new rules allowing use of
> chat rooms etc. We were able to complete many QSO's well over 500 miles with
> stations simply because both of us pointed at each other. At those
> distances, just being off 10 degrees makes a huge difference but what it
> also points out to me is these 500 mi, non-digital, contacts can be made
> without having a huge station. One of the folks I worked on 2, 222 and 432
> was running in the low power class so he had a hundred watts or so but was
> easy copy (539 to 559) on 2 and 222 and was weak but completely workable on
> 432.
>
> I think the challenge is to integrate this type of operation into your
> normal contesting routine so you don't spend too much time "chasing spots".
> It still pays to call CQ and make noise!!
>
> All and all, during the Sunday afternoon dull drums, I found it to make
> things much more interesting!
>
> Also, congrats to the K5QE team for 130 grids on 2m. I may be wrong but I
> think that's an all time record!!! - if not, it still is one HELL of a good
> effort!!!!
>
> Terry Price - W8ZN
>