[Rover] June contest info please

[Les Rayburn]

Rick,

I would have to rate the contest as "fair" to "good" but nothing 
spectacular. 6 Meters continues to dominate this event aided by two 
factors:

1.) The inclusion of 6 Meters into most modern HF rig has meant an 
explosion of operators worldwide. Couple that with the frequency of 
e-skip propagation
(and some F2 recently) and you have a situation where the other bands 
lose their importance. This is especially true if you move away from the VHF
rich environment of the Northeast.
73,

*Les Rayburn, N1LF*
EM63nf
121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114
6M VUCC #1712
Grid Pirates #222
Life Member Central States VHF

WPC4LF Popular Communications Monitor ID



2.) The creation of the FFMA and return of F2 propagation has attracted 
a lot of HF DX operators and contest operators to the Magic Band. In 
general, this has
"raised the bar" in terms of operator skills, and made contests more 
exciting.

I predict that SO2R operating will continue to become a bigger factor in 
VHF contests. Voice keyers and panadapters used to be fairly rare in VHF 
contests, but
now are becoming common. This is the influence of more serious contesters.

Conditions on 2 Meters and above here in the Southeast were very poor. 
Some enhancement on Sunday morning, but otherwise terrible. 6 Meters on 
Saturday was
open to the Mid-West, and briefly to the West Coast. Sunday was much 
better, marked by very brief, intense openings. Double hop E's from the 
West Coast and
British Columbia would boom in at over S9, only to fade in 30 seconds, 
making the station inaudible. Brief conditions really require strong 
operators on both
ends to complete contacts.

A lot of fun overall, and a fitting tribute to Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ. I'd 
love to see the addition of allowing "Spotting" and other Internet based 
assistance. Outside the NE,
this really helps to improve the chances of making contacts on the high 
bands. I fear that the influx of HF operators onto the high bands will 
only strengthen the notion that
HF contests and VHF contests should have the same rules in this regard.

73,

Les Rayburn, N1LF
EM63nf
Maylene, AL



On 6/11/2012 9:04 AM, Rick wrote:
> I am compiling info for the QST write-up of the June contest and seeking
> info that would be of interest to readers---send me some of your
> tid-bits---unique propagation, what worked and what didn't, and anything
> else that makes for a fun read.    TNX,  Rick, K1DS
>
>
>
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