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

[Marshall-K5QE]

On 3/19/2021 7:43 PM, Marshall-K5QE wrote:
> Hello Mr. Duffey(no call)....Maybe we should just ask other top 
> operators how they feel about this.  To me, it FEELS like we are 
> making a lot less 6M contacts than before.  Maybe we are getting a few 
> more mults, but maybe not too.  The slow rate of FT8 makes it FEEL 
> like we are wallowing in mud.  It is almost impossible to get any rate 
> with FT8.  Will FT8 bring in some contacts that otherwise would not be 
> made??  Of course it will.
>
> Because there is almost never any Es in January, FT8 is well suited 
> for slugging it out on 6M.  To me, January is always a slugging 
> match.  Rate in January is almost non-existent.  So, you have to keep 
> your butt in the chair and pound it out.  At this, FT8 works well.
>
> The June contest is where slow rates are a killer.  As I posted 
> previously, we made 1836 contacts on 6M in 2010(and unfortunately, 
> came in second to K5TR).  Will we ever see this kind of rate again??  
> With the casual ops welded to FT8 and the resulting slow rates, I 
> don't see it.
>
> What is the feeling of other ops?  Are you making more or less QSOs on 
> 6M with FT8?
>
> I proposed checking for SSB/CW on the hour and half hour.  What do 
> others think about that??  IF you find a bit of SSB/CW, then you will 
> surely make more contacts and more mults as long as the Es lasts.  If 
> the band dies out, then you can go back to FT8.
>
> I hope that we have some big time propagation this June. Hopefully, 
> everyone will get a piece of it....
>
> 73 Marshall K5QE
>
>
> On 3/18/2021 12:57 AM, James Duffey wrote:
>> Marshall - You wrote "However,the total scores of everyone in the 
>> contest has gone DOWN due to thefact 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
>> YearTotal Score
>> —Pre WSJT-x—
>> 201475969
>> 201594724
>> 201669344
>> 201761,766
>> —With WSJT-X—
>> 201879205
>> 201976212
>> 202094941
>>
>> September VHF Contest scores
>>
>> YearTotal Score
>> —Pre WSJT-x—
>> 201378740
>> 2014NA
>> 201548320
>> 2016NA
>> 201763570
>> —With WSJT-X—
>> 201843420
>> 201960606
>> 202047142
>>
>> June VHF Results
>> YearTotal Score
>> —Pre WSJT-x—
>> 2013383691
>> 2014483448
>> 2015273000
>> 2016629241
>> 2017409260
>> —With WSJT-X—
>> 2018394272
>> 2019252170
>> 2020220640
>>
>>
>> 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 
>>> <mailto:vhfcontesting-request at contesting.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello 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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