KØHB wrote:
"John" wrote


How about an incentive for the big scorers to work the newcomers? More points
per QSO if the check is less than 5 years old?


I really LIKE that one! The contest sponsor would need to validate it however,
or operators would adopt an artificially low number just to generate a run.


More points if the serial number is also below a certain threshhold?


I'm not sure that one is workable ..... everyone starts out with serial #1,
and the object is to rapidly increment that number so this would be a
disincentive to do well, even to the newcomer (unless I don't understand what
you propose).
Probably not clearly stated and hard to implement. I was thinking of
someone with a small number for the time since contest started. That
is, some way to encourage working those who might just be making
occasional contacts.



Also, can the contest logs be used to get credit toward ARRL awards
like WAS the way it used to be for DXCC? Given the cost of QSLs and the return
rate, that could also be an incentive for some newcomers.


In effect this is already in place. I uploaded my log to LoTW 10 minutes after
the close of SS PH and already had close to 50 QSL's waiting for me. Right
now LoTW supports just DXCC, but WAS and WAZ are next (soon) to be implemented.

LOTW goes part way but I think the old DXCC method was even simpler
although it took longer. Once the contest results were published you
could just claim credit for a station worked in the contest. However as
I recall the number you could claim per DXCC submission was limited
unlike LOTW. It sure helped me back in the days when I was chasing DXCC
QSLs.


BTW - How did you do?


Not as well as I'd hoped. 773/79 on CW and 1043/80 on Phone weekend.

Phone weekend was especially frustrating, because conditions seemed so good.
Don't know what I did wrong, but just couldn't ratchet it up to the right level.
First few hours were OK (not great) with rates in the 70's, but then struggled
with long bands until about midnight. Couple good hours on 40 after midnight,
but not enough stations left to recover from the slow evening hours. Had a
pretty good Sunday afternoon on 40 starting about 2000Z, but I think I was
paying too much attention to my "half radio" (Drake R4C) looking for missing
mults. Ended up about 400 Q's off my target.

May be time to look at a new radio. I know I'm missing a lot of weak stations
on my run freqs, especially on 40M/80M. The Icom 775 attenuator doesn't seem to
be any good on those bands, and consequently the front end folds up with a lot
of strong adjacent RF. When N0AT, KT0R, NN7L, K0AD (all within a couple miles)
stroke up on 80M you could power an amp by rectifying the RF off my antenna
field!

73, de Hans, K0HB


Still a good score. I had troubles with the 40M vertical on Saturday
night. SWR had gone up so high I couldn't use the amp. FIxed it next
morning. AS far as I can tell the guy mowing the nextdoor lawn must
have run into the posts holding up the coax and broke the ground
connection. Still managed to make some contacts with it.
Made my goal here of 80 in 80. Last one was VE2; that one always seems
to be the hard one here.
John