[Moon] [Moon-Net] EME Contests

Wed Dec 2 22:13:23 CET 2020

 When the pool of operators is for instance only 100 and you worked all of them, there is no way to increase you score despite chat rooms or digital technology or anything else.    There is nothing more you can do, so I spent hours and hours just waiting for someone new to come on.

So let’s divide up the weekends so we can work more bands.

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> On Dec 2, 2020 at 2:16 PM,  <Peter Blair via Moon-net (mailto:moon-net at mailman.pe1itr.com)>  wrote:
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>  Interesting post Ben, Like you as a CW op I am happy to use the logger to announce my CQ frequency and to give a bit of help on stuff like doppler when needed. However you prompted me to take a look back at the history, not the in-out-in-out hokey-cokey of ARRL and "assisted operation", but how do the number of QSOs compare pre and post digital? Take 144MHz. From 1988 to 2000 there were only 3 years when the top station made less than 300 QSOs. By comparison the top station in 2019 with the benefit of digital and SDRs and chat rooms made a total (CW+digi) of 231 ( in 2018 214) For 432MHz from 1988 to 2000 the top station made over 120 QSOs, the peak year being 1994 with 180 QSOs. I chose 120 because in 2019 the top station made 121 For 1296MHz, comparisons are much more influenced by the big improvements in rx technology but even so, in 2000 the 100 QSO total was reached, last years top score was 125. There is no question but that digital has increased interest and bought  lots of new folk in to EME but it doesnt seem to have made much effect on the contest scores. To me its strange that with digtal, SDRs and chat rooms we seem unable to make more QSOs than in the contests than 30 years ago. I think my stats are correct but if there are errors please point them out (politely).... and now I must get back to my log entry 73 Peter G3LTF -----Original Message----- From: SM6CKU via Moon Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2020 2:36 PM To: moon at moonbounce.info ; moon-net at mailman.pe1itr.com Subject: [Moon] EME Contests I have been a HAM for 60 years, a professional radio operator for more than 20 years and I have been on EME since 1975, so I feel qualified to comment on EME contests. Before the digital modes became popular we were only on CW and/or SSB. It was easy and there were no chat rooms available, not even a SDR. You tried to work everyone heard and it was lot of fun. Now, with digital modes, chat rooms and SDR’s, it all changed. That’s why  I don’t compete today. CW/SSB should be one class and Digi-modes another one, regardless of bands. The important issue is about the chat rooms, should they be allowed or not? In my world you cannot call it a contest if some stations are using the chat room, others not. Bob, KA1GT, suggested that ARRL could change the contest to Activity Weekends, and that is fine with me, but there are already a lot of them. Otherwise I agree 100% with Bob. CW vs Digi-modes is no issue for me, I will be where the activity is. But if we want to continue with contests they should be separated! What about chat rooms in contests? I don’t think you can close them during a contest, so what to do? How many digi-QSO’s will be made without them? Don’t get me wrong, I use the logger all the time, not for completing a QSO but I often announce my presence. My challenge, with a reasonably “big” station on 23cm, is to work those who are new to EME and others with small antennas or low power, who just want to work me. On other microwave bands I probably belong to the other side…. I will be around whatever you may decide – but not competing 73 de Ben SM6CKU -- Detta e-postmeddelande har sökts igenom efter virus med antivirusprogram från Avast. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ Moon mailing list Moon at moonbounce.info /mailman/listinfo/moon Join eQSL.cc https://eqsl.cc/qslcard/Index.cfm _______________________________________________ Moon-Net posting and subscription instructions are at http://www.nlsa.com/nets/moon-net-help.html  
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