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Do you plan to enter the CQ WW DX Contest?
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Recently the RDXC committee reclassified P3F to high power from low power without publicly providing strong evidence that any infraction had occurred. They concluded was that the contestant was running HP on 80/40m but not full-time, just 10 minutes here and there without any convincing evidence. It appears they used the RBN as their source of information. Should the RXDC contest have to publicly provide convincing evidence before reclassifying a station from LP to HP?
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Do away with the high power category in domestic contests like Sprint, ARRL Sweepstakes and RAC contest?
Posted: Mar 31, 2004 (985 votes, 7 comments) by n5aw

Survey Results

Yes 45% (446)

No 43% (422)

don't care 12% (117)

Survey Comments

Don't make me puke

Yes, by all means lets change the rules that have been in place since the 30's, why not?!

Contesting at QRO, 100W, QRP are all different experiences and all have their place.

Want to change something that will be a positive thing? Add MOBILE class to SS for all the apartment-living guys. Now THAT would be very neat.
Posted by N4SL on March 26, 2004

Spare a thought for the rest of the world

There is no need to run a kilowatt in domestic contests, except of course to compete with the other kilowatt stations in the contest! Limiting power to 100W would still allow a good contest, with the best operators and most efficient stations triumphing, and would reduce QRM in the rest of the world by 10 dB...
Posted by ZS1AN on March 23, 2004

Hi/Lo

First off, for most of us, running low power in contests makes for a very different contest experience than running high power. In QRO mode we do a lot of running and handling high rate transactions. Other skills are called for with 100 watts, e.g., the ability to S&P quickly and efficiently, rx skills, etc. True QRP contesting is yet a third experience.

Secondly, if you do away with high power you overemphasize the role of antennas on outcome, which further penalizes the average Joe without towers and yagis.

Posted by W2CDO on March 18, 2004

High Power

Working stateside on the low bands (40 and down) from Alaska would be brutal with 100w and a dipole or vertical. I have a 3 element full size 40m Yagi and low power to the east of the rockies is very tough. You you want Alaska Mults..better keep the high power category.
73
Frank
Posted by kl7fh on March 15, 2004

100 watts for domestic contests

Hey guys we are talking about DOMESTIC contests here - NOT DX contests. If you can't be heard from VE3 with your R5 and dipoles something is wrong. NAQP has demonstrated it doesn't take more than 100 watts to have a good contest. We can show some good citizenship by limiting our power in these contests. After all the FCC rules say power should be the minimum required for reliable communications. While that's usually less than 100 watts at least this would be a step in the right direction.
Posted by n5aw on March 13, 2004

QRO? QRP?

Uh, maybe we need to limit ourselves to only below 3800 and 5 watts to mzke the pig farmers on 75 happy. How about limiting the power to 5 watts or less and keep the operations below 7175 to make the net boys happy on 40. Leave the QRP to the guys who want to run it.

I have operated most of the major contests with QRP, 100 W and 1500 at one time or another. If someone CHOOSES to run 100 W that's his business. Let's keep it as a choice, not a mandate.
Posted by k4xs on March 12, 2004

High Power

It doesn't matter to me whether someone runs 5 watts or a KW. I've competed at all power levels. Right now I'm in a new QTH and I don't have a tower and beam up (yet!). The high power category allows me to be heard using an R-5 and 80/40 shortened dipole. As conditions continue to worsen the ability to run 500 to 1000 watts becomes vital. It's no fun yelling CQ for hours on end.
Posted by VE3HG on March 2, 2004

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