A very successful activation. Sorry I missed you, Adrian. We were still on the road as it got dark - A49 closed for a vehicle fire. We got a heavy shower around 1600 so thought you might have had an unpleasant time.
I use my standard 20/40/60 linked dipole and replace the 80m coils with rather larger ones in the 60/40 gap. It does mean that the aerial is no more of an inconvenience than normal but must be less efficient. All being well I will see if it is any better at producing contacts as dark falls on Saturday.
73,
Rod
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I have participated in as many Flavour Challenges as possible when COVID, Fires, quarantines and smoke are considered. Generally my SOTA activity has been diminished this year and the Flavours have given me the pleasure of lengthy preparation and planning together with the encouragement to learn to use capabilities of my equipment that previously I had ignored. Before the Flavours challenge I operated on 2M FM, 7, 10, and 20 CW. One of the most challenging portions of the Flavours is finding unique chasers - I’ve been reaching out to a number of clubs with requests for assistance - since most hams like to be helpful the assistance has been forthcoming. For example, when I used DSTAR most other hams had never considered the possibility of DV simplex contacts (they were DSTAR repeater users). I am looking forward to the final Flavour - to find the “unique” chasers it looks like a road trip may be needed. With the COVID restrictions there have been few long drives this year; but perhaps one final Flavourfull trip will be possible - one hopes! Perhaps we will have a solitary sunspot to open 12 and 10 and one never knows what magic might take place on 6.
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Yes, one more month to go for the Challenge Joe. There has been regular propagation for us in UK into EU and beyond on 12m and 10m at some time most days so maybe we will hit a purple patch between Tuesday 1st December and Monday 7th December.
The SFI is steady at present on 90 and settled with a few EU and DX stations being seen using FT8 just now as I write this on the 12m band:
10-Nov-2020 9 90 1 0 No Storms -> No Storms
10-Nov-2020 6 90 1 0 No Storms -> No Storms
10-Nov-2020 3 90 1 0 No Storms -> No Storms
10-Nov-2020 0 90 1 0 No Storms -> No Storms
9-Nov-2020 21 90 2 0 No Storms -> No Storms
73 Phil G4OBK
Many thanks for your chases this year. I understand how an RF noisy environment can inhibit participation. I look forward to our next contact.
I will likely try on 12 and 10 but my personal preference is for the magic on 6! I use my KX3 into a 6M roll-up J-Pole - from the high places this is a pretty good combination. My PacTenna 30’ push up pole does bend quite a bit under the weight. I may try combining the digital with the 12/10/6 - FT8 may be a good tool. But the magic on 6 has had me hooked. As a youngster in the 60’s using a HW29 I marveled at what magic might happen!!! 
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I, too, find the “magic band” fascinating. Unfortunately it doles out its magic sparingly to us in the northern hemisphere in the winter season, the December flavour is intended to give a balancing opportunity to those in the southern hemisphere. Of the three bands in the final flavour I think 12m remains the least used and I intend to concentrate on that one.
The question now is what happens in the future?
My view, someone should analyse the logs for 2020 vs 2019 for each of the challenge modes/bands. It will show if there are more/less/same QSOs during the challenge. And yes, I know there is one more challenge week to go but if there are 3x as many DV QSOs in 2020 now as 2019 it’s probably reasonable to assume the DV challenges had some impact. Especially as there have been plenty of COVID restrictions that have limited many people getting out over the last 9 months.
If there are to be more challenges then a few things I have picked up from the comments would need addressing:
For Mountain Goats only. I don’t understand that one at all.
Regular publicity about the next flavour on the reflector. (Sticky note for 1st week)
More repeats of the mode/band, there were people who didn’t see the effort worthwhile to get QRV on some band/mode for only 1 or 2 weeks of the year.
I have spent much of the lockdown period planning what I hope to do once restrictions are lifted and the WX improves in 2021. If any official challenge meets my own challenges then that will be good.
One thing which was mentioned that I think would be a massive boost would be to limit challenge entry to your best results in a week. So if you’re fortunate enough to be able to get out and activate every day of a challenge week, then only your highest scoring activation counts. As I am still a 9-5 Mon-Fri Wage Slave, I only have weekends to play, if I see someone activating 2/3 times every day then I have little urge to partake in the challenge as I can never equal the score of someone who can get out every day.
My challenge preferences for 2021: the “no 2021 challenge” challenge 
My 2 cents worth…my humble opinion…
FLAVORS tries to placate everyone, but it ends up not satisfying almost anyone.
The single band, long time frame challenges of the past were lots of fun…like the 12 Meter challenge. The long time frame gave activators a chance to “gear up” for the challenge and then gave them ample opportunity to operate the challenge from many summits. The Challenge mode was not restricted to a single mode, so everyone who got on a summit with 12 meters during the long time frame could get involved if they wanted to.
Restricting a challenge in time or modes limits the number of people who either can’t operate that mode, don’t like that particular mode, don’t have equipment for that mode, and are limited as to how much they can get out to Activate (think Covid -19).
So think Bigger, not smaller, and participation just may go up. Longer time frames on a less focused objective worked well in the past.
thanks
Pete
WA7JTM
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I made a start on this in post 61. It showed an increase in activity in all flavours except DV - actually I can’t quite believe that so I’ll be looking at it again in case it is due to late logging.
I think he was suggesting that the challenges are for jaded palettes!
I disagree, since the idea is to boost activity why discount activity? Anyway, what about chasers, they (we) enjoy the challenges, too!
It could be argued that whatever momentum the challenges have built up would be dissipated if there is no challenge.
How about a re-run of the 12m challenge? No messing about with one week per month, just full-time 12m. As sunspot cycle 25 is getting its act together this could be an opportunity to see the band develop and avoid the plethora of contests, and effective antennas are easy to make.
PS I see I crossed over with you, Pete, but great minds think alike!
As I understood the comment, it meant “The Challenge has been designed mainly for folk who are already MGs.”, not “The Challenge should only be for MGs.” Activators who’ve not yet made MG have plenty to get on with. For a Challenge to be useful to an activator it needs to offer a decent chance of more contacts than a standard activation.
Yep. During the 12 metre challenge, 12 metres was a good band to activate on because there were plenty of chasers active on it. Of course, conditions were better back then, too, but because the challenge lasted a while folk had time to work on their 12 metres gear. I built myself a 12 metres hexbeam to try to improve my chasing stats. Flavours hasn’t really pressed that button much. Where activity’s increased, it’s probably mostly done so because folk already had the kit but just weren’t using it for SOTA. (See numerous comments on simplex DV up-thread.)
Personally, I’d prefer to see the competitive element killed stone dead. If it’s intended to be a challenge, then an individual’s score should be a reward by itself. Nothing another individual achieves should be able to detract from it. Sure, some folk will score more than others, but if a number of Challenge goals could be set in advance, and anyone reaching those could claim a reward (certificate, or whatever) then there’d be some incentive for all to participate. As it is, why bother when someone else can rack up in a day the same number of points as it’s taken you all year to get, and there’s no chance you’ll get into the top N.
(I greatly enjoyed the 12 metre challenge right up to the point when I realised the certificates were only going to be available to a select few winners. At that point the whole idea went sour, and my participation in subsequent challenges has been entirely accidental.)
Yeah. Every other year is plenty often enough.
Might still be too frequent.
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It was great fun for those involved. But a full time challenge disenfranchised those without 12m gear or privileges. There are quite a few countries were not all licences grades have 12m access.
You’re right. It was designed that way to see if the concept worked and to try to gain some consensus. In my view when you ask what challenge would you like, a lot of the responses are really for a SOTA contest on a mode/band they enjoy and hope they would do well at. That’s just human nature.
How about a 15 m challenge? Get people off of 20 m. I have very little experience with 15 m, but it might work well for contacts across the Pacific.
I think a yearly challenge is a neat idea, because we have new participants every year.
wunder
I’d find a 12+17m challenge very atractive, where activators would have to make contacts on both bands from each activated summit to get the points and chasers would get points for any contact on any of these 2 bands and multiplier when they chase an activator on both bands during each single activation.
We could all enjoy without having contest traffic.
Just an idea.
73,
Guru
PD. Adding 30m to such challenge might help promoting the use of CW.
The MG is the big Activator target; by the time you have more than two of them there is no useful target to aim at except Uniques and they get increasingly expensive, time consuming and environmentally unfriendly. (At least for a Southerner in UK.) The Challenge introduces a fresh approach; the 160m coils took a lot of experimenting and the 17m vertical was a challenge in itself.
I would agree with the proposition that there were too many flavours; so I bought a C4FM car radio and left it in the car - and as for digital modes…
Yes, please - a Challenge for 2021 as long as it isn’t digital.
73,
Rod
Isn’t it just 4 pieces of wire 4.25m long on an 8m pole?
Not exactly how I put it but yes. It was my impression it was there largely to help keep interest up for those who have achieved MG and need new challenges.
With MG I already have a challenge (albeit one that will take me many years to achieve) so I don’t really need another challenge(s).
One thing that is clearly successful in drumming up participation and which I have enjoyed participating in, is the various local and international activity days. What about next year’s challenge being a worldwide SOTA day or weekend around one of the equinoxes (avoiding the big contest weekends) Make it a one-off to maximise participation and so it is easy to organise. Then promote the hell out of it. It could be pitched a number of ways, an S2S fest, a chance to try activating etc.
73
Mark ZL3AB
The only issue with anything that focuses on warc bands is that only the top level of license class in VK can then participate, which is not inclusive.
I think arguments about such a challenge encouraging people to upgrade are probably overstating the influence of SOTA challenges.
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I don’t have an 8m pole
I agree with Brian - 12m for 2021 and another flavours for 2022?. By having a year long challenge it might get around the lockdown issues - I’m hoping that travel becomes a bit more acceptable next year. I did want to try more of the challenges but a combination of Covid / Work / Family interviened - but it was useful in getting me thinking about different modes and bands and I think that for about three hours in January I was at the top of the leader table… So my vote would be to have challenges - there is no requirement to participate. Fingers crossed travel gets easier in 21. Paul