[VHFcontesting] The impact of the digital modes on the January VHF Contest and some suggestions on dealing with those impacts

[Paul Bourque]

Marshall wrote:
> I like the idea of checking for
> SSB on the hour and the half hour.? It is easy to program a button on
> your rig that goes to 50.125MHz. Push the button for a quick check on
> SSB and if nothing is there, go back to FTx.? Announcing an SSB opening
> on the reflectors would help too.

True enough, but you just can’t “check” to see if you hear anyone.  Gotta
get in and call CQ if you don’t hear anyone.  I think it would be well
served if some of the contesting clubs would have their members agree to
check for SSB and even FM activity on a schedule.  That was where you’d
find some casual contacts back years ago.

> OH WELL, June is approaching and we will get another chance. Hopefully,
> we will get some killer Es and we can make contacts like crazy.

Here’s hoping that conditions are good in June!

73,
Paul N1SFE

On Wed, Mar 17, 2021 at 9:16 PM James Duffey <jamesduffey at comcast.net>
wrote:

> Marshall - You wrote "However, the total scores of everyone in the contest
> has gone DOWN due to the fact that FT8 takes so long to make a contact.”
>
> I suppose you used “everyone” for effect, but the facts don’t bear it out,
> at least for the January contest. Consider the K5QE Limited Multioperator
> scores since they switched from the Unlimited Multioperator category in
> 2014, separated into before the introduction of the WSJT-X modes and the
> three years after the introduction of WSJT-X:
>
> January VHF Contest scores
> Year            Total Score
> —Pre WSJT-x—
> 2014    75969
> 2015    94724
> 2016    69344
> 2017    61,766
> —With WSJT-X—
> 2018    79205
> 2019    76212
> 2020    94941
>
> September VHF Contest scores
>
> Year            Total Score
> —Pre WSJT-x—
> 2013    78740
> 2014    NA
> 2015    48320
> 2016    NA
> 2017    63570
> —With WSJT-X—
> 2018    43420
> 2019    60606
> 2020    47142
>
> June VHF Results
> Year            Total Score
> —Pre WSJT-x—
> 2013    383691
> 2014    483448
> 2015    273000
> 2016    629241
> 2017    409260
> —With WSJT-X—
> 2018    394272
> 2019    252170
> 2020    220640
>
>
> It doesn’t look like your total scores have gone down much since the
> introduction of WSJT-X. Now, I realize that there are a lot of factors that
> enter into your scores,
>
>
> > On Jan 31, 2021, at 3:04 PM, vhfcontesting-request at contesting.com wrote:
> >
> > ello everyone....Switching to FT4 sounds great, except that the "casual
> > contesters" are not there.? They seem to be welded to FT8 and will not
> > move.? I have often listened on 50.318 during the contests and I hear
> > nothing there.? That forces me back to .313 after a few minutes of lost
> > contest time.
> >
> > In June of 2010, the QE contest station made 1836 contacts on 6M using
> > SSB/CW.? Jay-W9RM was a major part of that.? I think that he sat in the
> > chair for hours and he is a very good operator. All that, and we came in
> > SECOND(!!!) on 6M in terms of contacts made.? Can anyone really imagine
> > that happening today?
> >
> > FT8 is very popular, especially among the casual operators. They are
> > making contacts that they know they could not make otherwise.? That is
> > why they are addicted to FT8 and will not use anything else.? However,
> > the total scores of everyone in the contest has gone DOWN due to the
> > fact that FT8 takes so long to make a contact.? Yes, FT4 would cut that
> > time in half, but even if everything was perfect, FT4 can make a contact
> > in 30 sec.? A really good operator can make 4-5 contacts in the same
> > time on SSB.
> >
> > So to summarize, participation is apparently up and scores are down.?
> > That seems contradictory, but it also seems to be true.
> >
> > How can we improve participation AND scores??? I don't know.? I really
> > don't like the idea of allowing two different contacts, one on FTx and
> > one on SSB/CW, with the same station.? I like the idea of checking for
> > SSB on the hour and the half hour.? It is easy to program a button on
> > your rig that goes to 50.125MHz. Push the button for a quick check on
> > SSB and if nothing is there, go back to FTx.? Announcing an SSB opening
> > on the reflectors would help too.
> >
> > OH WELL, June is approaching and we will get another chance. Hopefully,
> > we will get some killer Es and we can make contacts like crazy.
> >
> > 73 Marshall K5QE
>
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