"Dee Flint" wrote in message
. ..


"Leveling the playing field" is only important to those who want to win (or
have a category that they can win) but haven't the resources to compete in an
"open" situation. Since I don't care about that, it doesn't matter to me. I
just like to pick up a few contacts, polish my skills, make sure my station is
working correctly and so on.



Level playing fields result in "average" operators at "average" stations,
regulated by rules which stifle competition, not enhance it. It is my opinion,
based on decades of participation and observation, that serious that serious
radiosport hobbiests are OPPOSED to "levelized playing fields" (other than broad
categories to separate the "bicycles" from the "motorcycles").

Within their category, serious competitors do everything possible to landform
the playing field to their personal advantage. They hone their receiving
skills, their operating habits, and their equipment performance. They study
propagation models and forecasts to optimize their band-change plan and their
time-off strategy. They analyze logs (theirs and others) of previous contests
to ferret out reasons for wins or losses (when should I "run" and when should I
"S&P"). They optimize their antenna farm to the next contest (a winning CQWW
antenna farm is probably a lousy Sweepstakes antenna farm and vice versa). They
develop new skills, like SOxR. They lurk at online "water coolers" like the
"CQ-CONTEST" email reflector. They optimize their operating layout for
streamlined ergonomics and to counter fatigue. They budget their equipment
purchases to increase the competitiveness of their station ("should I buy new
roofing filters, or build a 4-square for 40?"). Etc., etc., etc.

The ones who do all of this the best end up on the advantaged high ground of the
playing field, and the ones who don't do it well end up in the disadvantaged
valleys.

Kurt Vonnegut illustrates the folly of "level playing fields" in this short
story ---- http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/hb.html

73, de Hans, K0HB