Too many activities?

[kd1e]

Hey guys & gals.

I put this out for consideration, comment & discussion. The K1Y event has been a great success as it got a lot of us off the 'net and on the air.

BUT, the regular SKCC rag chew's have suffered, at least for me they have. My log is filling up but they're mostly 5-10 minute quickies rather than an SKN-style rag chews.

As we come up with more and more operating events, we're transitioning from a QRS / mechanical CW / rag chew organization (i.e.) into an event-of-the-month club. Is that what we want?

I certainly enjoy the events (I was one of the first to suggest / push for the sprint a year ago) but I don't want to see more events at the expense of the every-day SKCC QSO.

Wadya think?

[W2LJ]

I think we need to publicize the Monthly Operating Event more than we do. Last night after K1Y was over, there were posts on the Yahoo reflector about dead bands. Well, they were dead .... I tried working the QRP Barbershop event and only heard a couple of stations.

But my point is that if propagation was existent that they should not have been dead (and maybe wouldn't have been!) I think the Monthly Operating Event should continue to be our prime ragchew event. This was supposed to be a monthly SKN for leisurely ragchews and relaxed operating, if I understood correctly.

While the calendar announcement is fine for all us SKCC members, I think we need to publicize it more to the "outside world". I'd be happy to use my NAQCC/Flying Pigs announcement list and do that, if it's okay with all you guys.

If we maintain that and cultivate it; then I don't so have any problem with the more competitive events that we seem to be starting to have interest in generating.

Just a couple of cents - 73 de Larry W2LJ

[K4VD]

Do you think the anniversary event became competitive? It wasn't our goal. I wonder at what point that might have happened.

As for too many events, I don't think that is a problem yet. We really have only three monthly events and only one is competitive, the SKS. The monthly SKN is definitely a ragchew event while the High Speed Gathering is a ragchew with a challenge (for some). I'm certain that an event on the weekend would not cross the line.

I definitely agree we need to advertise better. Melinda is our PIO and I hope she will continue to publish our events. I'm certain she could use help in doing this. The few times I got involved with advertising SKCC events I was quickly overwhelmed. I think our newsletter might be general interest enough to get out to a large audience.

I would like to see more achievement awards. Centurion, band endorsements and WAS are good but I would like to see a step beyond Centurion. Recently I offhandedly mentioned Tribune (taken from the Roman reference).

SKCC is not about events and contests, it is about getting on the air with a straight key. Some people need a little incentive to make things more exciting. I'm OK with catering to that crowd as I often feel I'm one of them.