[Elecraft] OT: Band congestion

[Julius Fazekas n2wn]

Ron,

It's interesting that this debate seems to be perpetual in nature. I've read
complaints in magazines back into the 1950s about contesting and spectrum
usage.

I think your first line aptly describes the situation, the few versus the
many. Although, I would postulate the one should include the sunspot count
in that observation. Keep in mind that some of the larger contests are
reporting 10s of thousands of unique calls participating in an event.
Needless to say, if say 20 is the only open band for a DX contest EVERYONE
will be there. CQ WW DX is probably the best example of just how insane that
can get.

At this juncture in the solar cycle, everyone needs to keep in mind that
80/40/20 bear the bulk of Ham activity. One can throw 60/30/17 into the mix,
by agreement contesting is NOT allowed on those bands.

I would also suggest that the VAST majority of contesters are aware of other
activities on the air concurrently. The vast MAJORITY will QSY, or send QRL?
or move. Too, this assumes they are even hearing the stations being QRMed.

As to the "bad eggs", what can one say? Look at how long it takes for the
FCC to revoke malicious operator's licenses... When was the last time you
saw an OO card or report? The contest community does try to police it's own,
but it is a Sisyphean task. Too, how do you enforce any ruling?

This debate will continue as long as Ham Radio exists and folks feel they
have exclusive rights to specific times and frequencies and modes. Emergency
communications trumps everything. Short of that, or the the regulating
authorities around the world assigning specific HR frequencies to each
individual, the majority will continue to rule in any given situation. 

73,
Julius
n2wn


Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> Sandy said:
> We CW "casual QSO" people do have trouble with RTTY people all over the
> place.
> 
> Huh?  CW is allowed on all HF frequencies (except 60).  If RY (or
> contesting or whatever) is "in the way," just move up the band.
> 
> de Doug KR2Q
> 
> ------------------------
> 
> Easily said, but hard in practice when the relatively few non-contest
> stations are scattered in tiny pockets over hundreds of KHz of
> wall-to-wall
> contesting that is constantly moving about in waves without regard to the
> common frequencies within the bands used daily by nets and other
> activities.
> 
> 
> Of course we need room for contesters. Contesting is popular, but it's
> only
> one Ham activity. 
> 
> It's not practical for contesters to make sure they never QRM someone else
> when they transmit. It's also not practical to try to use the Ham bands
> for
> normal QSOs and nets, leaving plenty of spectrum around us, when
> contesters
> are roaming the same frequencies, frequently using specialized,
> state-of-the-art equipment. 
> 
> Contesting itself is being threatened by its own popularity. The more it
> gets in the way of other activities the closer we are to more rules
> limiting
> contest activity. Such rules could be demanded by courts representing Hams
> who object to being denied their normal use of the bands, or by government
> agencies who consider trained Amateur Radio volunteers and our frequency
> allocations one of their important resources. 
> 
> The Elecraft reflector isn't the place to explore the options, but it is
> an
> issue I hope we handle ourselves through our national Amateur Radio
> organizations rather than waiting for someone else to do it for us. 
> 
> Ron AC7AC
> 
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