[Moon-net] ARRL EME Rules?

[Leif Asbrink]

Hi All,

> > 1. strictly separate CW / digital

Judging from all the postings we have seen on moon-net it seems 
to me that a majority will suggest this idea to ARRL.

As I understand, the full separation between cw and digital to 
solve a problem today will create a much worse problem in the 
future - and I am afraid that the problems this separation would 
produce in the future will be a much more severe threat to CW 
as a mode on EME.

To me it seems that the idea that the separation between 
modes will increase CW activity is shortsigted. In the long
run I am convinced that the effect will be the opposite. If
this decision is taken it may well be the most important 
step taken towards killing CW as a mode for EME and I will
try to explain why I think so.

CW capable EME-ers do not live for ever. Some of us disappear 
every year. For CW to survive as a mode there has to be a
recruitment of new enthusiasts. In the past the main road into
EME was occasional contacts with the big guns that any
decent terrestrial station could do. Before JT65 a really big
antenna was very rewarding because of the possibillity to work
"horizonters" i.e. small stations without elevation who enjoy
working a big gun on EME to get a QSO in the EME contest (or
maybe even a couple of QSOs)

Once the complete separation between CW and digital has happened,
the reason for anyone to build a big EME antenna will have 
disappeared. At least on 144 MHz. For CW there is no need to 
have more than 8 yagis. This will be more than enough to work 
every station that cares to participate in the CW contest. 
I dare predict that the number of stations who want to give 
a QSO in CW to the big guns will be very small. Small stations 
will put their effort in the digital contest. To work them 
easily in wsjt 8 yagis will be enough and I find it highly 
unlikely that we will see anyone building monster antennas 
for 144 MHz in the future.

Knowledge in CW is no longer mandatory in many countries. 
Newcomers may enter digital EME but they will never experience 
the frustration hearing how a big gun works strong stations 
in a pileup on CW if there is never a mixed contest on EME.

On the other hand, in a mixed contest when every operator 
is allowed to choose the mode as he finds optimal from time 
to time, a monster antenna allows fast operation on cw in a 
pileup containing a dozen of stations. You may download this 
file: http://www.sm5bsz.com/frh_eme/frh1135.bz2 and listen 
with Linrad how well you can hear all the 144MHz cw stations 
on SM5FRHs monster antenna. It is pretty obvious that one 
could operate cw without one minute sequencing.

Now, imagine a big antenna like this in a mixed contest. 
Calling CQ in JT65 in the early hours would create a pileup 
of dozens of stations. It will be completely impossible to 
decode because even though JT65 signals are separated both 
in time and in frequency by small amounts so two or perhaps 
three signals that overlap can be decoded independently they 
do overlap and can not be separated if the number of signals 
grows. Asking the stations that reply on a CQ to spread out
will not work because there are many more CQ-callers and it 
would just become a complete mess. Those who have a monster 
antenna will have a big advantage in a mixed contest in that 
they can work a lot of stations in CW in the early phase. 
In this situation, small stations who hear the CW easily 
from the loudspeaker might be tempted to try CW rather
than to wait for the big gun to switch for WSJT (where it 
could be difficult to be heard in the pileup)

I think the whole problem lies in "assisted class". Fresh 
information from the Internet may make it much easier for 
medium stations to find each other thereby reducing the 
pileup pressure on the big and easy to find stations. As far
as I understand ARRL has clarified the rules so everyone 
knows skeds must not be arranged "in real time". Maybe it
would even be necessary to say that contacts with a station
who uploaded any information whatsoever about his own 
activities are not valid if the upload was during the contest
hours. Skeds should be arranged before the the 24 hour period
and comments should be uploaded after. 

Before wsjt I think most EME-ers were dreaming of a really big 
antenna. A few actually made one. Today I do not think digital 
operators find this dream natural. They might dream about a 
big 4-yagi array with X-polarisation, it is something that 
many really can have. It is even available commercially! 
Dreaming of 32 yagis rather than 16 to get 3 dB better signals 
would just not make sense in a separated future.

Today there are two pure CW contests, two pure digital contests 
and one mixed contest. Please think once more if you really 
believe the future will be better if we have three pure CW 
contests, three pure digital contests and no mixed contest. 
(Allowing those who wish to add digital and cw results one 
way or another to get a "mixed" scoring would be quite a 
different thing that would not provoke a healthy simultaneous 
presence of CW when new amateurs work in a contest.....)


73

 Leif / SM5BSZ