[VHFcontesting] Why not ask?

[Mark Spencer]

Over the last five years or so that I have been moderately seriously engaging in VHF and up contesting I have yet to decide on a single approach to "running the bands" or not.     I usually don't "run the bands" unless the other station asks me to but if I know the other station has a good signal on other (usually higher) bands I may ask them to "run the bands."

Sometimes I will work several stations on 50 or 144 MHz, then I will announce I am going to a higher band and qsy.  A lot depends on my subjective assessment of the signal levels on the lower bands and what I expect the signal levels on the higher bands might be.   In practice I find the signals are often weaker on the higher bands than I am expecting them to be.  At this point my approach is probably more based on intuition than anything else (:

73

Mark S
VE7AFZ

mark at alignedsolutions.com
604 762 4099

> On Aug 5, 2019, at 11:56 AM, Sean Waite <waisean at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I try to remember to do this. Frankly...in the heat of the moment I forget
> many times. It's something I need to work on.
> 
> 73,
> Sean WA1TE
> 
> On Mon, Aug 5, 2019 at 2:45 PM Joe N2TEE via VHFcontesting <
> vhfcontesting at contesting.com> wrote:
> 
>> Band running dichotomy of following the stations elsewhere rather than
>> staying on one's current band can be a knotty choice.?? If the primary
>> station is exceptionally strong, I move up the band with them.?? Just
>> tail-end or throw your call ONCE between gaps in speech just so they
>> know you're there.?? If you are fortunate, both stations may hear you.??
>> Stay put on the new frequency and let the primary station finish running
>> with the other station.?? If you're lucky, the station may come back and
>> work the bands with you as well.?? This isn't much of a risk if the lower
>> band isn't all that hot to begin with.?? More points for the higher bands
>> drives this behavior.?? I can't eschew this behavior since it makes the
>> most sense for maximizing scores.
>> 
>> I am not a competitive player and support the cause of keeping the
>> VHF/UHF busy.?? So this heavily influences my comments above. Others may
>> feel differently when they have more skin in the game. Enjoy your time
>> behind the radio and have fun.
>> 
>> Joe N2TEE
>> 
>>> On 8/3/19 5:05 PM, Alex wrote:
>>> I'm a bit puzzled why folks don't ask if anyone else is on frequency
>>> before moving on to the next band? I find myself missing out of a
>>> bunch of contacts with folks I know I can easily work simply because
>>> people are in a such hurry to switch bands. Perhaps I misunderstood
>>> the rules of this 222 and up contest and you get a multiplier for the
>>> speed at which you run the bands with someone. After all, I'm a newbie
>>> at all of this. :)
>>> 
>>> 73,
>>> --Alex KR1ST (FN21FK)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> VHFcontesting mailing list
>>> VHFcontesting at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
>> _______________________________________________
>> VHFcontesting mailing list
>> VHFcontesting at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
> _______________________________________________
> VHFcontesting mailing list
> VHFcontesting at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
>