[PaQSO] QSO Improvement Ideas

Thu, 7 Nov 2002 17:13:16 -0500

Jim,

Hmmm.... well, let's see:

(1)  One of the unique features of Pa QSO is the 8 hour overnight break.
Now, you might quibble about the timing (midnight to 8 am may make more
sense, for one thing, some of the time at least) but it is a nice feature.
I don't see any practical way to change that without disrupting things.
Yes, it's a shame some of us have conflicts -- work, weddings, birthdays,
family obligations, religious observances, etc. -- from time to time, but
them's the breaks and life ain't fair.  So, no, I don't care for changing
this.

(2)  Not enforceable.  What happens if a rover or portable is told to move,
either by a property owner or irate citizen, or the long arm of the law?
For most mobiles that are "serious" about the contest, this is a moot point
anyway.  Now there are some that are simply handing out QSO's while in
transit and not worrying about maintaining a log, especially if they're a
solo act (I'm thinking of N0VLR/M enroute home from the N3SH Clarion
operation this year for one).  Attempt to enforce a mandatory time period,
and someone (like Paul) who would have handed out a few Q's while motoring
down the interstate will simply leave the rig off, or at least not transmit,
because it'd be more hassle than it's worth.  No.

(3)  Absolutely not!  This has been a fun little addition, and since the
Special Event Bonus Station, as far as I know, does not directly compete
with everyone else due to it's unique status, what special advantage is
there to eliminate?

(4)  Now, this one's an excellent idea, and if a 2 M FM calling time or two
isn't "officially" set next year, let's get our collective heads together
and select an "unofficial" one!

(5)  No.  There aren't that many multi-multi's operating to make the SN that
big a problem.  One I would suggest instead is that a M/M station just use a
separate set of SN's on each band, and if they're capable of both a SSB & CW
signal simultaneously on a band, then separate SN's for each band/mode too.
Some M/M's just skip numbers -- station 1 starts at 1, station 2 at 1001,
etc.  So another thought would be that a M/M uses a 4 digit SN, the first
digit indicating the transmitter.  Should work fine unless someone works
over 1000 stations on a particular band... has anyone ever come close to
that yet?

(6)  Some guys park on a frequency and stay there for hours.  Some S&P all
night.  This is a given in every contest except some of the sprints that
require you to QSY after working someone.  I don't see any way to regulate
this.

Nice try, and glad you're thinking of somethings.  But most don't seem to be
problems, or at least problems that rule changes can or should attempt to
fix.

73, ron wn3vaw

'If tin whistles are made of tin, what do they make fog horns out of?'
-- from "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?"
Lonnie Donegan, SK, 4 November 2002

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 1:17 PM
Subject: [PaQSO] QSO Improvement Ideas

I just have a few comments on what I'd like to see for
what their worth:

1.EXTENDED OPERATING TIMES PERMITTED.  The days of a
M-F 8-5 job for 30 years are long gone.  Today you
pretty much need to be a slave to your job.  If the
contest ran continuously it would help people who work
odd shifts, were on-call, etc.  In the past when I was
in college I routinely got home around 12 AM.  I was
able to get into the ARRL contests for several hours
since they are nonstop.  Times have changed, it's time
we update ourselves.

2.MANDATORY STAYS FOR MOBILES/ROVERS.  I think that if
you go to operate a county you should have to stay
there for a minimum of 2 hours.  My group saw very
little mobile activity in the log.  This would help to
pass out the rare counties.  If you make 10 contacts
and go, what good does that do?  This has happened to
me numerous times.  I get the, "Oh, I was just there."
 Make mobiles spin the knob and throw a few calls out
to work people.  Better to work a handful of counties
well than do half a job on 20 counties, right?

Also, if you go mobile, please practice ethics.  It is
possible for you to make your 10 contacts by only
working the special event station and club members.
This goes against the spirit of amateur radio and is
called "captive roving."  It happens a lot on VHF.  A
guy is S9, but he won't work you, very frustrating.

3.ELIMINATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT STATION.  This
currently gives an unfair advantage to the group who
has it.  If they did not have it perhaps they wouldn't
do a multi, people seek it out which boosts the SES
score, and it is possible to work it all the way up to
light if you are close enough and get schedules(giving
locals an unfair advantage.)  If we must still have
it, it should be operated by NARC or an independent
group, and it should only be allowed in RARE counties.
 The county can change each time, perhaps.  This would
be fair.

4.A 2M FM ACTIVITY HOUR.  I think that we only need
activity hours for 160 and 2m, we can go overboard
with them.  I propose 2m FM at 4PM Sunday.  Several
stations can share a frequency or if it is light just
call CQ yourself.  This would be towards the end of
the test and help out a lot by coordinating operating
times.  Usage of the 146 area frequencies would be
best(146.49, 52, 55, 58, etc.)  There are others, but
these are the most common.

5.ELIMINATION OF THE SERIAL NUMBER.  This causes chaos
if you run multi-multi.  It would be easier to process
the logs and you could then network computers together
as happens in other contests.  The call and county is
an OK exchange.

6.PLEASE SPIN THE KNOB.  Many stations only call CQ.
That is fine, but every so often you should dial
around.  We missed a station we needed.  It was our
fault for not dialing around, but the other ops didn't
either to find us.

These are just a few ideas.  Feel free to bitterly
oppose them.  We have the best QSO Party in the
country, I just feel that these items would improve
it.  I've opened the floodgates here, let the comments
commence.  Thanks for reading.

Jim, N3PBH

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