On Jul 8, 2020, at 12:35, Bruce Draper <bruceaa5b@...> wrote:



Nice job, Duffey. I especially liked the historical info.

When you said "Having different QSO points for the higher bands has, in the long run, helped to get people on these bands," I thought for sure you'd follow it with something like "so maybe another change to the point structure could be used to encourage more activity on CW and phone." Saving that for another time? ;-)

For those of you VHFers who might want to take a peek at the HF contesting world occasionally, here's a link to the writeup that K5TA (also a NMVHFS member) and I did for last year's ARRL November Phone Sweepstakes: 
https://contests.arrl.org/ContestResults/2019/SS-Phone-2019-FinalFullResults.pdf

73,

   Bruce AA5B

On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 12:03 PM James Duffey <JamesDuffey@...> wrote:

Jay, thanks for the kind words. I have contemplated doing a subset of this article with the activity data for the Contest Update e-mail newsletter or National Contesting Journal.  I think I would need to beef it up with data from the other contests though and that is going to take some more effort. 

When the results writeup was done in print, there was a  page limit, which limited how much stuff could be in print and it is likely that at least most of the data related to the activity trends would have to have been left out and would end up on the web anyway. 

Anyway, I am looking into how the data can get a wider distribution.

James Duffey KK6MC

Cedar Crest NM

On Jul 8, 2020, at 09:39, Jay Baack <whereisjay@...> wrote:



I know I sent you a direct message Duffey, but I too agree that this was an excellent write up.  It is a travesty that this information is NOT included in the print version of QST.  A wealth of information and a lot of great data showing positive activity trends and band/mode utilization.  Great summaries like this NEED to be out in the public eye to generate more activity for all of us to benefit from.

Well done my man.   Coffee or drink of choice on me at Yuma 2021!  (Fingers crossed).

 - Jay N1AV

On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 8:26 AM James Duffey <JamesDuffey@...> wrote:

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the comments and they are well received here. Some times when I get bogged down writing these things I get discouraged and comments like yours make it all worthwhile.

I wanted to write a bit on how the use of FT8 has changed the contest, but I realized that I could not do that without writing about the history of the contest and how it has changed over the years. So, that was how that all came about.

When I first started roving I spent a long time studying various VHF propagation modes, particularly with regards to contesting. That led me to Joe’s article on using scatter to make more contacts at greater distances in the VHF contests. That article, though quantitative, still contains information that is useful today. Anyway, looking at past contest results as part of that I found the picture of 16 year old Joe and how he and his brother really changed VHF contesting. I filed that away for future use and that time finally came. It all fits together nicely, puts WSJT into perspective, and I think most importantly, it shows that it is not a recent development, but is obviously a result of Joe’s early experience in contesting.

With the quarantine at ARRL HQ, finding a copy of the picture suitable for the article turned out to be an effort for the editors.

Again, thanks for the kind words. - Duffey

James Duffey KK6MC
Cedar Crest NM

> On Jul 8, 2020, at 09:02, Mike H <mph@...> wrote:
>
> The historical reference to Joe Taylor and his brother along with VHF contests of the past was excellent!
>
> Mike WB2FKO
>
>> On 7/8/20 9:19 AM, James Duffey wrote:
>> Thanks Jonesy.
>>
>> James Duffey KK6MC
>> Cedar Crest NM
>>
>>>> On Jul 8, 2020, at 06:46, Jonesy W3DHJ via groups.io <mailserver=jonz.net@groups.io> wrote:
>>>
>>> Duffey,
>>>
>>> That was one hell of a write-up you did for the 2020 ARRL JAN VHF!
>>> I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort that you put
>>> into that!
>>>
>>> I thank you.  I'm sure we all thank you.
>>> Good on you, mate!
>>>
>>> 73
>>> Jonesy
>>> --
>>>  Marvin L Jones     | W3DHJ      | W3DHJ  | https://W3DHJ.net/
>>>   Pueblo, Colorado  |  @         | Jonesy |     __ linux FreeBSD
>>>    38.238N 104.547W |   jonz.net | DM78rf | 73  SK
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>

On Jul 8, 2020, at 09:39, Jay Baack <whereisjay@...> wrote:



I know I sent you a direct message Duffey, but I too agree that this was an excellent write up.  It is a travesty that this information is NOT included in the print version of QST.  A wealth of information and a lot of great data showing positive activity trends and band/mode utilization.  Great summaries like this NEED to be out in the public eye to generate more activity for all of us to benefit from.

Well done my man.   Coffee or drink of choice on me at Yuma 2021!  (Fingers crossed).

 - Jay N1AV

On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 8:26 AM James Duffey <JamesDuffey@...> wrote:

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the comments and they are well received here. Some times when I get bogged down writing these things I get discouraged and comments like yours make it all worthwhile.

I wanted to write a bit on how the use of FT8 has changed the contest, but I realized that I could not do that without writing about the history of the contest and how it has changed over the years. So, that was how that all came about.

When I first started roving I spent a long time studying various VHF propagation modes, particularly with regards to contesting. That led me to Joe’s article on using scatter to make more contacts at greater distances in the VHF contests. That article, though quantitative, still contains information that is useful today. Anyway, looking at past contest results as part of that I found the picture of 16 year old Joe and how he and his brother really changed VHF contesting. I filed that away for future use and that time finally came. It all fits together nicely, puts WSJT into perspective, and I think most importantly, it shows that it is not a recent development, but is obviously a result of Joe’s early experience in contesting.

With the quarantine at ARRL HQ, finding a copy of the picture suitable for the article turned out to be an effort for the editors.

Again, thanks for the kind words. - Duffey

James Duffey KK6MC
Cedar Crest NM

> On Jul 8, 2020, at 09:02, Mike H <mph@...> wrote:
>
> The historical reference to Joe Taylor and his brother along with VHF contests of the past was excellent!
>
> Mike WB2FKO
>
>> On 7/8/20 9:19 AM, James Duffey wrote:
>> Thanks Jonesy.
>>
>> James Duffey KK6MC
>> Cedar Crest NM
>>
>>>> On Jul 8, 2020, at 06:46, Jonesy W3DHJ via groups.io <mailserver=jonz.net@groups.io> wrote:
>>>
>>> Duffey,
>>>
>>> That was one hell of a write-up you did for the 2020 ARRL JAN VHF!
>>> I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort that you put
>>> into that!
>>>
>>> I thank you.  I'm sure we all thank you.
>>> Good on you, mate!
>>>
>>> 73
>>> Jonesy
>>> --
>>>  Marvin L Jones     | W3DHJ      | W3DHJ  | https://W3DHJ.net/
>>>   Pueblo, Colorado  |  @         | Jonesy |     __ linux FreeBSD
>>>    38.238N 104.547W |   jonz.net | DM78rf | 73  SK
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>

On Jul 8, 2020, at 09:02, Mike H <mph@...> wrote:

The historical reference to Joe Taylor and his brother along with VHF contests of the past was excellent!

Mike WB2FKO

On 7/8/20 9:19 AM, James Duffey wrote:
Thanks Jonesy.

James Duffey KK6MC
Cedar Crest NM

On Jul 8, 2020, at 06:46, Jonesy W3DHJ via groups.io <mailserver@...> wrote:

Duffey,

That was one hell of a write-up you did for the 2020 ARRL JAN VHF!
I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort that you put
into that!

I thank you. I'm sure we all thank you.
Good on you, mate!

73
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | W3DHJ | W3DHJ | https://W3DHJ.net/
Pueblo, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | __ linux FreeBSD
38.238N 104.547W | jonz.net | DM78rf | 73 SK

Thanks Jonesy.

James Duffey KK6MC
Cedar Crest NM

On Jul 8, 2020, at 06:46, Jonesy W3DHJ via groups.io <mailserver@...> wrote:

Duffey,

That was one hell of a write-up you did for the 2020 ARRL JAN VHF!
I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort that you put
into that!

I thank you. I'm sure we all thank you.
Good on you, mate!

73
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | W3DHJ | W3DHJ | https://W3DHJ.net/
Pueblo, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | __ linux FreeBSD
38.238N 104.547W | jonz.net | DM78rf | 73 SK

On Jul 8, 2020, at 06:46, Jonesy W3DHJ via groups.io <mailserver@...> wrote:

Duffey,

That was one hell of a write-up you did for the 2020 ARRL JAN VHF!
I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort that you put
into that!

I thank you. I'm sure we all thank you.
Good on you, mate!

73
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | W3DHJ | W3DHJ | https://W3DHJ.net/
Pueblo, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | __ linux FreeBSD
38.238N 104.547W | jonz.net | DM78rf | 73 SK

On Jun 16, 2020, at 10:03 AM, Mike WB2FKO <mph@...> wrote:

Greetings from EL89.

The permanent home station is still many months from completion, so my plan for the June contest was to participate in the K5QE multi-op in EM31. Current travel conditions made this a risky proposition, so I opted to stay home and setup a 6M5X 6m beam on a 15 ft mast in front of the house (see photo). It is supported by a drive-up mount that I saved from my rovering days. The primary objective was to assess how the new QTH would work for VHF amateur radio, ie. noise, activity, propagation, etc.

Noise seems to be non-existent compared to our old Albuquerque QTH. No birdies were detected in any direction on 6m and I was able to confidently operate without the noise blanker. Pancake-flat Florida has no mountains, allowing for low take-off angles. I added 10 new 6m DXCC in about 3 days with this modest, rover-like setup and yes -- all with FT8. The downside, of course, is the weather. I was QRT from the contest at various points for lightning and water getting into a cable connection. It rains a lot here.

The contest kept me very busy. There was a pipeline of propagation up into the FM and FN grids for almost the entire weekend. It's no secret that there is a lot of VHF activity in the New England area, but a contest reveals just how much. It felt like I was playing whack-a-mole as new stations kept popping up.

It was also nice to have lots of activity in adjacent grids. When Es propagation faded, folks from around Florida and south Georgia were busy working each other on FT8. The N4SVC contest station is just north of me in EM80. They did not bother me much, except during Sunday morning meteor scatter. I have a hunch it was a new operator because the sequences were set for 30 seconds instead of the established 15 seconds on 50.260. This QRM killed half the receive window, but I was able to sneak-in 5 MSK144 QSOs when their antenna was pointed sufficiently away from me and/or the op was on bathroom break. On-the-job-training is probably not a good idea during a contest with a powerful station.

I used FT8, FT4, SSB, and even some cw to make 323 QSOs with 129 multipliers. I eventually learned the limitations of my small station with FT8, not attempting signals weaker than -8 dB. I simply wasn't being heard. The majority of contacts were made using FT4 when 6m was wide-open, probably close to 150 QSOs. Excellent propagation, chaos, and the slow slog on 50.313 eventually pushed digital ops to 50.318 and there was plenty of activity there. It was efficient and orderly with almost everybody displaying excellent contest etiquette. I used the color highlighting in the FT4 activity window to great advantage as I quickly spotted and worked new multipliers, also answering the random callers. My last two mults came quite literally in the final 60 seconds of the contest when the band was open to the midwest.

EL89 is not a particularly rare grid, although it appeared to be in some demand as I got small pileups calling me on ssb. Several thanked me for the new multiplier. Besides me, there were at least two other EL89 stations active on 6m during the contest. The grids in central and south Florida have far more activity.

New Mexico stations worked: AA5B and WS5N. Heard but not worked (to the best of my recollection): KC7QY, K5TA, W3IH, and AA5PR/R in DM73.

73 Mike WB2FKO



<WB2FKO_EL89.jpg>

On Jun 19, 2020, at 17:58, John Klem <klemjf@...> wrote:

Thank you all for the info and good advice.  Seems worth a try next time I'm out but not too far from civilization.

John AA5PR

On Jun 18, 2020, at 9:03 PM, Bill <bill4070@...> wrote:

Good question John,

I would say “AA5PR CQ simplex” and then say your location, not your gridsquare.

You’ll have a chance to explain the exchange once someone calls. Some folks are put off by contesters and will not answer. Sometimes helps if you slow down to ragchew pace.

GL Bill W7QQ

On Jun 18, 2020, at 6:13 PM, John Klem <klemjf@...> wrote:

Are there points to be had on FM simplex during the contests?

If so, what's the etiquette for getting them? I suspect that calling "CQ contest" on 146.52 might not fly....

John AA5PR

On Jun 18, 2020, at 6:13 PM, John Klem <klemjf@...> wrote:

Are there points to be had on FM simplex during the contests?

If so, what's the etiquette for getting them? I suspect that calling "CQ contest" on 146.52 might not fly....

John AA5PR