Measuring Progress…
The processes to be measured are, individual performance and community performance. Lets examine each briefly to see what is tracked and of what value it might be.
Individual Stations
Stations will have different variables that they might be interested in tracking. The data tracked can be used for varied things such as Awards and Certificates, common tracked variables such as total unique calls worked or greates distances worked using meteor scatter. Consider this listing...
There are several awards available for Meteor Scatter operators. The ARRL VUCC award is perhaps the most sought after. Unfortunately Worked All States is propagation mode limited but working 500 counties is a remote possibility.
Not to be left out are the Awards and Certificates that Meteor Scatter operators can achieve operating VHF Contests. Outside of Meteor Scatter “only” contests, meteor scatter operators can moderately increase their scores whilecontesting during dead band conditions.
What I think is the largest bucket of data collected by meteor scatter operators are what I call “Persoanl Achievements”. Often times these data points are used to “blow-your-horn” and make comparison used amongst other operators. These data tracked items might be, number of initial contacts on each band used for meteor scatter or total number of states worked using meteor scatter. Some operators have combined their grids worked with other modes but might still total grids worked using just meteor scatter.
The Performance Data items tracked might include, best distance worked using meteor scatter and the shortest distance worked using only scatter. Other useful data points might include, completion rate for each band and the average completion times for each band. I personally track each of these parameters but exclude data points that exceed 1200 mile distance between stations. This is done in order to keep the data from becoming skewed because of attempted completions with stations outside the normal meteor scatter range. Of course one might also want to track all the Performance Data points for distances exceeding some mileage point.
The historical data one accumulates over time can be used to evaluate your station performance with different building blocks. i.e. antenna’s, preamps amplifiers … So the last measurement manipulations of data you might be doing is useful for personal research. Through data I collected I can tell you for meteor scatter a 9 element antenna is slighlty better than a long 18 element yagi. (Without the data, that would be hard to sell!)
Collecting data for meteor scatter use, remember the old saying, “Garbage In Equals Garbage Out”. There will be stations who collect data and those who don’t even bother to keep a log. Whatever decision you make, remember to have patience with the number crunchers, consider the burden vs. rewards of time spend collecting and storing data and if you do get into the detailed collection of data, remember it might take several hundred qso’s plotted or charted before you see any trends in the data.
Community Performance Indicators
Often times these Community Performance Indicators are referred to as “Standing Tables”. The Standing Tables for meteor scatter tell a story. For these Standing Tables to tell an accurate, well represented story numerous points are needed. If a table only has a few operators reporting information, you can bet it probably is skewed somewhat. However the more data entered causes a balancing effect so the data is far more representative of actual conditions.
Many operators fail to enter their data or fail to keep it updated. This also tells a story but one that would probably discourage any new prospect that is looking in to join for the purpose of learning what is possible. We encourage all meteor scatter operators to support the standings. Remember it isn’t a contest, even though those with the highest peaks are often times highlighted. Do not let your pride keep you from posting good honest data. Those who might abuse or exagerate the table by entering incorrect data extremes will find before long that their data doesn’t fit the norm.
Remember Standing Tables promote our propagation mode and attract new activity. This is a good thing! Thanks goodness there are those who take the time to provide the rest of us these useful tools so now it each persons responsibility to keep their records up to date. (At least quarterly update your numbers or more often if you wish)
Sites For Standing Tables...
Note the first three sites for six meter data are closely watched/managed to disallow any data points outside the range of realistic data...
Hey, get a spread sheet and start collecting useful data today!