[AMRadio] Cw and contests

[Jay Bromley]

Hi Charlie,
Most contests using a cluster will put you in another category.  I don't
know anyone that has their whole DXCC list from the cluster unless they are
just starting out in that part of the hobby.  My posting below is from my
experience in DXing, but much the same could be said about contesting end of
the hobby.  
  
It took me 20 years to go for my first DXCC.  I was into rag-chewing and old
time radio only.  Most do it the other way around, they will make the Honor
Roll ( BTW, I am not a member ) and then go back to a novice style station.
Find that fun and go on to building up a nice AM station.  

What got me into to DXing was listening to some locals talking about an
upcoming Peter I expedition back in the mid-90s.  They seem to make a huge
deal out of it and the first night of the expedition is always the hardest.
I didn't know that at the time, but decided to give it a whirl just to see
if I could work them.  I still remember getting up at 3 a.m. on a work day
and being the last ham in the 5th area to work them that morning with
barefoot rig!  The next morning on a local simplex 2m frequency they were
all comparing notes of the lucky ones compared to the ones who hadn't work
them yet.  When I broke into group they were shocked to learn I had worked
them.  I wasn't fully hooked yet, but I was on my way.

To me this all boils down to the same thing every place I hang my hat in ham
radio, learning something new and while meeting some great folks along the
way.  That is the same reason I am into AM operation, although I haven't
been too active in the last decade or so.  This has also affected my whole
family along the way in ways none of us ever dreamed of.  If I had stayed on
the sidelines none of this would have happen.  Plus it is always great to
cross boundaries with a hobby as huge as ham radio!  I don't know how many
times I have express my AM interests to others that only see the mode from
the outside! 

Some are put off by DX clusters, the policeman, pileups in general and bad
operating techniques or lack thereof by others.  I still get a kick beating
out the bad ops with superior stations than I have!  Before the clusters
there was local spotting done on 2m simplex like my above example.  This
added to the comradely of DXing that is missed by the internet, but IMHO it
was still spotting.  It has been around for decades in one form or another.

Though it wouldn't matter to me, I don't think rules will ever be amended to
stop DX Clusters in DXing or Contesting.  You would have to stop all
spotting of any kind and that would never happen.  We live in a world that
stays in touch now.  You may have seen messages on various internet forums
like >>>>Sent by my whatever device<<<.  People now do a lot of texting,
they would go back to simplex 2m, search out web sites about DX or get
reports on current/future DX expeditions.  If you read the DX reports or
subscribe to a DX magazine they will tell you when and where these
expeditions are going to be at.  Really not much difference when you get
right down to it.  I don't know how many times I have sat on frequency
waiting for that once in a life time contact to come on the air and I am
never the only one waiting.  

IMHO, you will never make the Honor Roll just using DX Clusters.  It is just
another tool that can help you.  To make it to the top you must become the
hunter!  You know, one of those guys putting up the spots for others to
enjoy.  After 20 years of casual DXing I am stuck at 315 and may not ever
make to the top.  I sure wish I had tried DXing back when I first started in
ham radio!  That was 1972, but I have some other awards I am just as proud
of like 160m DXCC, 5BDXCC, and the DXCC Challenge.  

Last week pulled some cards for my first WAZ award.  Some think that just
because there is a DX cluster this is like spoon feeding DX and in some ways
I guess it is, but the pileups have never been larger on the rare ones
making it more of a challenge, not less.  Another technique one can use to
get DXCC or some of the other awards without using a cluster in a very short
time, is to work a contest.  I've seen some work several DXCC's in one
weekend, all without one single cluster spot!  

I worked North Korea (very rare one) and Monk Apollo only by being the
hunter.  Neither was on the cluster when I worked them!  It took me 7 years
to finally work Monk Apollo making that a very nice memory for me
considering what I have up now for an antenna.  After doing some reading
about him, I would love to meet him and seems like a very interesting
individual!!

The challenge of it all of it has made me a better op no matter the mode,
with or without the cluster.  I used most every mode making you a more
complete DXer and a better overall operator.  BTW, there is a great book
called the Complete DXer that is a great read that made DXing so much more
enjoyable to me.  I think they should be required reading for anyone DXing,
but then again it would equalize the playing field, hi.

I've only known one guy able to get on the Honor Roll in under 10 years, he
sure wasn't a net or cluster lizard, he was a hunter for sure!  For most of
us, it takes decades in operating to make HR because of family and work.
That what makes the award special and challenging.  

I've seen similar debates about simple wires vs. beams or QRP guys vs. the
guys with high power.  Rarely is the playing field fair for everyone, but it
shouldn't stop you from having fun!

In the end, it is really not about the awards, but the journey in getting
there.  All of which has bought some lifelong and very interesting friends
to my family.  

73 de w5jay/jay.. 

-----Original Message-----
From: amradio-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:amradio-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of CL in NC
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 12:41 PM
To: amradio at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [AMRadio] Cw and contests

In reference to the comments on computers, radios, and the internet in
contest use, to me the answer is simple.  Amend the contest rules such that
computers, and the internet are not allowed, or make a class of operation
for traditional ham communication, i.e., use the receiver, tune around, make
contacts.  I find the DXCC Honor Roll ( I am not a member) to be corrupted
with those whose entire country count was achieved by watching spotter
sites. At one time, there was a hunt club in the midwest, where a 'hunter'
was on a platform, a buffalo was released into a large ring, and the
'hunter' shot his buffalo.  That is about how hamming in contests seem to me
today, what exactly is the challenge?  Just my view, but then again, I'm now
just an old ham fogy, not in touch with the modern world, who's thinking is
outdated, and who should just go away. Technology has outpaced the hams need
for knowledge, which advances something simple as putting a connector  on a
coax into the realm of 'too technical'.


Charlie, W4MEC in NC