What is contesting?
Amateur Radio contesting is simply a predetermined period of time set aside by a contest sponsor during which Amateur Radio operators (hams) are challenged to make as many two-way contacts as possible. This "predetermined period of time" is called a "contest" because it is a competition amongst hams. The definition of "two-way contacts" is described in the rules for each contest. Rules vary from sponsor to sponsor; most can be found by searching on the internet.

The biggest U.S. sponsor of VHF+ contests each year is the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Details and rules for ARRL contests can be found on their web site - there are many other contest sponsors as well, for example the Spring Sprints, sponsored by the East Tennessee DX Association and the Fall Sprints, sponsored by the Southeast VHF Society. This is not an exhaustive list, but includes two radically different approaches to contesting. The ARRL VHF+ contests are generally scheduled for 33 continuous hours on specific weekends using all VHF+ bands available, while the spring and fall sprints are generally scheduled for four hours on various evenings using only one band per sprint.

VHF+ contacts and grid "squares"
Most, if not all, VHF+ contests define a "two-way contact" as a successful exchange of information between stations located in different maidenhead grid squares. A maidenhead grid square was defined as the area within a 1 degree latitude by 2 degrees longitude by European VHF managers at a meeting in Maidenhead, England in 1980. Grid "squares" are not really square anywhere in the Continental United States (CONUS). The 2 degree East-West "width" varies from approximately 124 miles in South Texas to about 91 miles at the Canadian border. The one degree North-South "height" is approximately 69 miles, so you can see a grid "square" is really a grid "rectangle", but they are still called "grid squares". Each grid is designated by a 4-digit indicator, two letters followed by two numbers. For example, San Antonio, TX is in grid EL09. A very nice map showing all grid squares for the USA is available in "pdf" format from ICOM.

Some contests, specifically designed for 902 MHZ and above (microwaves), define a two-way contact as being between different SUBgrids. Each 4-digit, 1 degree in latitude X 2 degrees in longitude, maidenhead grid division is divided into 24 X 24 = 576 6-digit subgrids, each 2.5 minutes "high" by 5 minutes "wide". The indicator for subgrids adds two letters to the 4-digit GRID designator. For example, the suburb of Leon Valley on the NW corner of San Antonio is in EL09ql. Full details of the maidenhead grid system and the subgrids can be found on the VHF South website.

Contesting
The 1981 ARRL Radio Amateur's Handbook devoted several column-inches to "contesting" on page 22-9. Quoting the 1981Handbook:

"Contesting is to Amateur Radio what the Olympic Games are to worldwide amateur athletic competition: a showcase to display talent and learned skills, as well as a stimulus for further achievement through competition. Increased operating skills and greater station efficiency are the predominant end results of Amateur Radio contesting, whether the operator is a serious contender or a casual participant."

To put this in perspective, I compared this statement with what my elmer told me "Back in the Day" (1961) when I was first licensed as a Technician Class ham. He had said contests were the means to polish one's operating techniques, test one's ham station, exercise its capabilities, and learn about propagation. "Propagation" is how radio signals travel from a transmitter to a receiver. On VHF+ it is normally limited to several hundred miles under the best of "normal" conditions. There are, however, occasional "band openings" which make contacts over thousands of miles possible. Band openings are quite exciting when they occur. In fact, learning about "normal" propagation and the various types of "special" propagation which make openings possible can be entertaining in its own right!

To summarize, then, we participate in contests for the competition, to improve our operator skills, to improve station capability and just for fun. It might be appropriate to say that it is the aspect of competition which drives us to make improvements in skill and station; fun, then, might be the natural result of performing at a higher level during competition! Whateverthecase, the natural result of all this improvement of one's capability and VHF+ station brings us to another excerpt from page 22-9 of the 1981 ARRL Radio Amateur's Handbook:

"The contest operator is also likely to have one of the better signals on the band – not necessarily the most elaborate station equipment, but a signal enhanced by the most efficient use of station components available. Contest operation encourages optimization of station and operator efficiency."

Amateur Radio frequency allocations
Our participation in VHF+ contests can also have benefit beyond those personal aspects described above; sometimes mentioned with respect to contesting is that when participants submit their logs to ARRL, information developed from analysis of logs gives our one, national-level Amateur Radio organization means to prove that we ARE using our frequency allocations. Our frequency assignments are under ongoing attack by commercial interests which see the possibility of making money by manufacturing and distributing devices which use radio energy in some way. This problem is not limited to cell phone interests; the "WiFi" computer craze is another example. the fact is that the frequencies allocated to Amateur Radio use are vulnerable.

Amateur Radio lost 220 – 222 MHz a few years ago when the FCC reallocated this two megahertz of bandwidth to a commercial enterprise (UPS - "Brown") which intended to place a communication system tailored to support of their company operations there. After all is said and done, the attempted commercial use never materialized; this bandwidth was ultimately not used and is now unused. We have not, however, been able to regain the authorization to use 220-222MHz; once lost, our frequencies are apparently gone forever, so protection of what we have is paramount. It is hoped that data gleaned from contest logs CAN be used to somehow mitigate the attacks and preserve the bands we now have!

Rover stations:
An aspect of VHF+ contesting which is unique to VHF+ is "rover" stations. As stated previously, VHF+ is normally limited in coverage, in contrast to the worldwide nature of HF (shortwave) propagation, and contacts are defined by relatively small geographical areas (maidenhead grid squares) rather than zones, countries or continents. Stations which can move amongst several of these grid squares, termed "rovers", can provide myriad contacts for both fixed stations and other rovers from grid squares which would otherwise have no VHF+ stations operating within them. This is in contrast to portable stations which is operate from a fixed location other than "home" but stay in one location for the entire contest. Rovers are, basically, mobile stations.

Rovers must cover as much ground as possible, dashing from one hilltop to another in a series of portable operations (shoot 'n' scoot mode - erecting antennas, operating, packing up, moving again), or dashing through as many individual grid squares as possible operating mobile-in-motion (run 'n' gun mode), all the while working to make and log contacts. Each mode of roving has its own operational challenges. These are created by terrain, the presence of trees and other RF-absorbing vegetation, weather, roads and road conditions, how many other hams are operational within normal propagation range, and the like. Both could be said to be excellent practice for emergency communications. Just ask the hams who took their mobile stations into the areas savaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Gulf coast during the 2005 hurricane season; they went specifically to augment, and in some cases temporarily replace, communication systems either damaged or destroyed by these two massive storms.

For rovers, there are challenges created by the custom nature of installing equipment in vehicles and the personal preferences involved in mobile operations. If one were to gather 500 (pick any number) rovers in one location, there would be no two exactly alike. The top of the rover heap is represented by a station which covers 10 or more bands (50MHz through 24GHz, for example), with power limited only by what the state of the art technology can manage for whatever power source is available (shoot 'n' scoot rovers can use generators at each portable location - mobile-in-motion stations use automotive electrical system components), and the biggest antennas practical for the roving mode employed (shoot 'n' scoot rovers erect towers with high-gain antennas at each portable location, while the run 'n' gun rover is constrained to less than optimal antennas by the parameters of roads, bridges, traffic, etc.). At the other end of the rover spectrum, an effective station might be as simple as a single multi-band, multi-mode radio plugged into the cigarette lighter connected to a couple of magnet-mount antennas slapped onto the roof of the car! It's VERY much a matter of "You pays yer money and you takes yer choice."

Who participates?
Another quote from page 22-9 of the 1981 ARRL Radio Amateur's Handbook partially addresses this question:

"The ARRL contest program is so diverse that it holds appeal for almost every operator – the beginning contester and the old hand, the newest Novice and oldest Extra-Classer, "Top Band" buff and microwave enthusiast."

In other words, ANY LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR can participate! The variation in size, shape and capability of stations participating in contests, however, is extraordinary. At the top of the pile is the multi-operator station with full legal limit output on all bands, separate tall towers with "large" antennas for each band, a separate operating position for each band, with top of the line radios at each position. At the other end of the spectrum is the ham with a single multi-band, multi-mode radio and one or more dipole antennas in the attic. Rover stations also exhibit a huge range, as noted above.

Each ham participates with different goals in mind. The "top of the pile" stations might be serious contenders going for top national or division scores, while the smaller stations described might be simply trying to make a higher score than the last contest they entered or, just as simply, enjoying the higher-than-normal activity levels present during contests. Some, knowing there are no VHF+ stations in a given maidenhead grid square get a kick out of traveling to said grid and providing contacts for other stations which would have otherwise not been able to make a contact with that grid! Just as the range of stations goes from all-inclusive to super-simple, based on the individual drive and resources of a given HAM, the range of reasons to contest is also very wide and wholly a matter of individual goals and perspectives. At the risk of being TOO general, it can be said that, like almost ANY aspect of Amateur Radio, everything boils down to a matter of personal preference and resources. Here, again, "You pays yer money and you takes yer choice!"

The role of population distribution
The map below, in which each dot represents 30,000 people, shows the population distribution as of 2003 in CONUS. By looking at this map, it should be clear that a Radio Amateur operator living in southern New England is surrounded by a much higher population density and, therefore, many more hams than a Radio Amateur living in central Nebraska. Obviously, there are far more hams in New England than in central Nebraska!



Additionally, one ham might live in a valley, while another lives on a mountaintop. Whereas the opening paragraph quoting the 1981 Radio Amateur's Handbook talked about Olympic competition, this can be misleading. The Olympics are as close to a level playing field as there is; the track is the same for all runners, the shotput weighs the same for all competitors, and the examples could go on and on. Amateur Radio competition is different: There is no such thing as a "level playing field" in Amateur Radio contesting. This could only be achieved if all hams had identical stations surrounded by the same population density. This is not possible. In September, 2000, ND2X/R activated 35 grids, an all-time record. The ND2X/R score was third in the nation, with the winner amassing almost three times the ND2X/R score while activating only 13 grids. Can you guess where the winner operated? Yes, it WAS in the northeast quadrant of CONUS. ND2X is not upset by not winning. ND2X is thrilled to have set a record for number of grids activated! Different strokes for different folks! ND2X/R paid his money and took his choice. You can, too! Come join the fun!