[VHFcontesting] Are EME/MS digital QSOes reducing rovers contributions?

[Mike H]

The issue KK6MC has raised in an important one and I'm glad we're having 
this discussion.  I believe there are three possible causes, in order of 
decreasing importance:

i) *Lack of awareness.*  In my opinion, the new rules are a boon to VHF 
contesting and I applaud the folks who lobbied the ARRL to make them 
happen.  But as others have pointed out, this is all new and we are 
still learning how to adapt and evolve.  It will take some time.  We 
should also acknowledge that there are some who disdain the new rules 
and will only operate in the traditional fashion (or not at all).  They 
are thus more likely to miss the rovers.

ii) *Contest score not a priority.*  We all know that weak signal VHF 
operators are always on the hunt for new grids to add to their VUCC 
totals.  The contests ramp up activity on the bands and present such 
opportunities.  Many stations get on for this reason only, with little 
interest in points or submitting a contest log. If a new grid appears on 
Pingjockey, a fixed station may decide a meteor scatter or EME attempt 
is more important than working a rover in an already confirmed grid.

iii) *Sub-optimal time and resource management.*  A station that elects 
to invest 30+ minutes in a 144 MHz meteor scatter run when there is a 
rover accessible in an unworked, nearby grid is not making the best use 
of time to maximize contest score.  While a 1200+ mile QSO on 2m MS is 
very satisfying, it is worth exactly the same as a simplex contact with 
an FM mobile station in an adjacent, unworked grid.  The latter, 
however, is much, much easier to accomplish.  The same operating 
paradigm applies to the summer VHF contests.  If a contester has spent 
the last 20 minutes running every available station in the Pacific 
Northwest on 50 MHz Es, it would be wise to start pointing the 6m beam 
in other directions.

I believe that most serious VHF contesters are aware of the importance 
of time management.  The activity I observed on Pingjockey in the 
September 2015 contest tends to support this.  The majority of postings 
and sked arrangements throughout the weekend were from stations west of 
the Mississippi River where participation is sparse and MS was pretty 
much the only game in town.  During the day, the east coast stations had 
plenty of conventional, regional activity to keep them occupied.  Only 
when that began to dry up in the evening did they start looking for 
skeds on Pingjockey.  If Duffey's observation is indeed representative 
of the situation here in the west, then we have some catching up to do.

Mike WB2FKO
DM65 New Mexico