Brazilian News [long]

Old Reflector
1

Hi fellows,

I have been working on the PY-ARM in the last few weeks, as noted in the Apr. SOTA News.
In this message, I ramble about the rules setting process. One thing that bothers me is that I am working alone. I do not like to take the rule making kind of decisions alone. So, in a sort, I am asking fellow SOTA hams for their opinions. So, this is to warn that this a long message.

I have compiled a list of a bit more than 140 summits. That list is some sort of official in nature, since it was published by IBGE, the national mapping agency. Altough that list is height based, I have few doubts that they’ll all qualify for the 150m rule.

I also defined 19 regions. I defined them by mountain range. As is usual, several ranges are used to define state borders. Since no summit can belong to more than one region, I found the range-based regions to be a good solution. Also, I was striving to keep the number of regions small. I first thought that it might lend itself to easier administration. I wanted to have far fewer regions than we have states (currently 27)

I was having issues with the seasonal bonus. At first I asked the MT to allow seasonal bonus per region, but now I think we can go per General Rules and have a seasonal bonus for each subdivision. I have not found my map of call prefixes, so I can work on the subdivisions.

I am not sure if the criteria I had established for the seasonal bonus do really apply.
Mountain season here is considered to run from mid-autumn to mid-spring, with winter being the driest month. Temperatures in mountains falls below freezing only during the nights. Summer is most problematic, with thunderstorms and heavy rain. Perhaps, summer should be the bonus season, instead of winter.

Regarding subdivisions, regions and seasonal bonus, there is another issue I just happened to notice. Several mountain ranges cross several subdivision boundaries. I am not sure if that is a desirable situation either.

2

In reply to PU2PIX:

I do not know too much about the geography of Brazil, but there must be people there who hike and climb mountains. From wiki I can find that the highest peak is the Pico da Neblina 3014 m at the border with Venezuela. Also Mantiqueira Mountains, the Espinhaço Mountains, and the Serra do Mar are mentioned. France and now Finland summit regions are divided by mountain areas, but other associations use (hopefully) stable political boundaries.

73, Jaakko OH7BF/F5VGL

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In reply to F5VGL:

Jaakko,

Thanks for the comment on Finald and France regarding divisions by mountain areas.

For me (I am geologist), talking in terms of mountain ranges makes more sense than arbitrary (and abstract) political boundaries.

One issue is that here there are at least 5 climate types. Winter has different meanings (both meteo and culturally speaking).

For instance, in the North region, winter is less rainy (mind that it rains over 3m/year there), while in south and southeast, frost is common during winter and occasionally a bit of snow in high places. Sub-freezing temperatures are common in winter, specially during night. In the north, temperatures varies between 30-36 Celsius year-round (lowest in winter, though).

For instance, the Serra da Mantiqueira sets the border between Minas Gerais and (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo) states. The Serra do Mar occurs from Santa Catarina up to Rio de Janeiro. State and prefix map are on http://hamstuff.blogspot.com

The idea I am struggling with is how to establish a seasonal bonus that is rooted in reality. One set of dates for the whole country is not the best way. France, for instance is the same area as Minas Gerais state (IIRC) São Paulo is 3 times bigger than Portugal.
So, I help you get a sense of the thing I am trying to do alone. I know I should get help, I tried.

Maybe when I have a first proposal for Region naming, etc, some volunteers will appear.

The hiking/climbing community is a small one, the ham is small also. So, the intersection must be just a few guys. I know it happens, there are several hams that like hilltopping, so, there shall be plenty of SOTA activations once the association is set.

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In reply to PU2PIX:

Yes, Brazil is a huge country. The winter bonus at present is clearly a ‘nordic rule’. For LA, OH and SM north of 60 degree the meaning is clear, but you are south from equator down to 35 degree. Perhaps a ‘rain season’ would be more appropriate for the associations at 0 degree?

73, Jaakko OH7BF/F5VGL

5

It is a “seasonal bonus” rather than a “winter bonus”. It is just that most if not all existing SOTA associations apply their seasonal bonus across the dates of the winter conditions.

I look forward to watching the development of Brazil in SOTA. It is indeed one enormous place, and there are bound to be discussions about different seasonal bonus per region, or maybe splitting PY into more than one association, like Germany or USA already does.

I worked Argentina on QRP CW recently from a G SOTA summit, so I look forward to the prospect of S2S with Brazil. Good luck.

Tom M1EYP

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In reply to M1EYP:

Funny thing is, Mountain season here begins during the fall and goes until september (end of winter)

I guess for most of Brazil, the rainy season presents most difficulties to activators.

I am not sure how to deal with it yet.

BTW, is there any unstated rule regarding frequency of ARM revisions?
I am starting to think of submitting an ARM without seasonal bonus, then, when enough people join SOTA Brasil, I would have more heads to think on it…