[VHFcontesting] New rules

[w8zn54 at verizon.net]

Well, it's about as official as it's going to get - a HUGE congrats to Marshall and the K5QE group for the all time claimed 2m grid total record of 130 grids!!!!! This surpassed a long standing record of 121 grids by W8VP from 1985. While some may not think this is a big deal, trust me it is monumental!!!! I've broken 100 grids on 2m 5 times during contests. Twice with my original call, WD8ISK and three times with K8GP. All 5 times were multiop efforts and twice I was the 2m operator with K8GP. At K8GP, we made 10 band VUCC three times and as the 2m op twice, I was the last one of the group to make the mark so I was sweating bullets!!!

Once again, congrats to K5QE and that's a mark that is going to be difficult to ever beat!!


Thanks to Curt, K9AKS for providing the historical info.

Terry Price
W8ZN - ex K8ISK/WD8ISK
1.8 MHZ - 47 GHz - FM18dv
Member of the K8GP Contest Group
FM19bb

On 06/25/15, Marshall-K5QE<k5qe at k5qe.com> wrote:

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 ofchat rooms etc. We were able to complete many QSO's well over 500 miles withstations simply because both of us pointed at each other. At thosedistances, just being off 10 degrees makes a huge difference but what italso points out to me is these 500 mi, non-digital, contacts can be madewithout having a huge station. One of the folks I worked on 2, 222 and 432was running in the low power class so he had a hundred watts or so but waseasy copy (539 to 559) on 2 and 222 and was weak but completely workable on432.I think the challenge is to integrate this type of operation into yournormal 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 makethings much more interesting!Also, congrats to the K5QE team for 130 grids on 2m. I may be wrong but Ithink that's an all time record!!! - if not, it still is one HELL of a goodeffort!!!!Terry Price - W8ZN