[VHFcontesting] Digital Questions

[Bob K0NR - email list]

W9RM,

Here's how I have been parsing this... let's just assume you are correct 
that many people are lowering their VHF contest score by using digital 
modes too often or in situations where it is counter productive. Now why 
would someone do that in a VHF contest?

1. They are making a error in judgment and don't understand the tradeoffs.
2. They have other reasons for choosing the digital modes and don't care 
about the score impact.
Is there a third reason?

Reason #1 can be addressed with education and discussion. I'm not sure 
how you address Reason #2 because something else is driving the behavior 
beyond contest score.
There may be a "herd effect" at play here...a contester may choose to 
work digital because all of the other stations are operating digital.

73, Bob K0NR

On 18-Sep-17 8:28 AM, Keith Morehouse wrote:
> I'm very concerned about where the VHF bands (mostly 6M) are heading.  The
> wholesale adoption of JT65 & now FT8 WSJT modes has reduced SSB & CW
> activity on 6M to near zero.  What this means from a contesting
> perspective, something everybody reading this should have a stake in (this
> IS a CONTESTING mail list), is people are trading off high run-rate modes
> for much less efficient, albeit effective, digital modes.  This is not
> pushing the art of contesting forward.  This phenomenon is limited to VHF
> contests for the time being, as they are not mode-specific, but this
> appears to be the first time in contesting history where many people accept
> a step backwards in the ability to create score by using a much less
> efficient run mode.
>
> -W9RM
>
> Keith J Morehouse
> Managing Partner
> Calmesa Partners G.P.
> Olathe, CO
>
> On Mon, Sep 18, 2017 at 7:57 AM, Michael Clarson <wv2zow at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>   VHF and up contests differ from almost all other contests in that
>> there is only goal -- make the contact. Can't get through on SSB?
>> Switch to CW. Mixed mode contact -- allowed. Should that point value
>> be lowered? Of course not. The digital modes are just one more way to
>> complete a QSO. I do have one complaint in VHF contests -- they only
>> care about one thing -- grid squares.Gone are the prefix contest and
>> the longer exchange in the VHF Sweepstakes -- that will slow the
>> digital boys down a bit! --Mike, WV2ZOW
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-- 

--
Bob Witte K0NR
bob at k0nr.com