[VHFcontesting] September VHF Contest - N4NIV FN42

[Stephen Hewlett]

I did much better in this year's Sept. VHF Contest than last year's. This was partly due to adding 2M to the 6M only I had been using. And partly it was due to better band conditions on both 6M and 2M than the previous September which was a radio black hole in FN42gg. My station is very modest and I put it in the "pea shooter" category below the "little gun" category. However, I really enjoy VHF contesting using traditional contact methods, primarily SSB as my CW is rusty and not trustworthy at the moment.I spend a lot of time on the air during a VHF contest and try and make as many contacts as possible but realistically I know that I am never doing to win anything and I am fine with that. If time allows I will brush up on CW this fall before the January contest.
As to the ongoing debate over digital, I don't do digital and it is very unlikely that I ever will. My radios are old analog ones and not suitable to hooking up to a laptop. My radios have no menus, just buttons and dials on the front panel for control. Nor am I interested in watching my computer make contacts ... I'd rather be doing it myself. I've watched other hams doing digital in the past and it just didn't excite me.
When it comes to the digital debate/issue it seems to me that there are conflicting priorities and goals here; it is definitely not a case where a one-size-fits all solution is going to be found. On the one hand, digital modes allow contacts to be made that are not possible using traditional modes and therefore a station which is trying to pile up as many points as possible during a contest should do at least some digital, especially during very marginal band conditions. On the other hand, to my way of thinking, digital contest contacts largely take the human element out of the experience, which is not something I am willing to forego. Modern radios interfaced with computers reduce the importance of operating skills in contesting. A computer screen on either the radio or the computer shows where the activity is and a mouse click makes the contact ... anybody can do it without having much experience, assuming they have managed to plow through and assimilate the radio documentation and the digital mode software documentation (not something I'm up for).
73, Steve N4NIV

Stephen Hewlett
stevehewlett at verizon.net