[Elecraft] Annoying contests

Mon Feb 20 10:15:35 EST 2012

All,

It seems to me we are beating a dead horse here.  Contests are here as 
part of our hobby, just as many other hobbies have 
contests/competitions.  I enjoy contests.  I like the challenge and, in 
some cases, have made improvements to my station as a result of contest 
operations.  For those of you who don't like contests, simply don't 
contest.  12m, 17m, 30m, and 60m are "no contest" bands.  Please feel 
free to use them and ragchew to your hearts' delight.  Ragchew on all 
the bands when the contest is for some mode other than that which you 
operate.  However, it strikes me as beyond the pale the course this 
thread has taken based on a few people's dislike of radio sport.

The beautiful thing about this hobby is that there is something for 
everyone.  I don't enjoy CW or QRP, but know many people who do.  While 
I prefer other operating modes, I still enjoy listening to, and learning 
from, CW QRPers' experiences.  I enjoy operating PSK31, but know of many 
people who don't.  That's fine, too.  I think it is time we all realized 
that this hobby is much, much larger than any one person or group and 
his/her/their interests.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but I feel 
it is time to draw this discussion to a close before Eric has to get out 
his Wouff Hong and start beating us all with it!

Just my two cents' worth.

73,

--Ian

Ian Kahn, KM4IK
Roswell, GA
km4ik.ian at gmail.com
K3 #281, P3 #688

On 2/20/2012 4:07 AM, Edward R. Cole wrote:
> Tony,
>
> Thanks for mention of EME.  There are many weak-signal VHF to mw hams
> that are discovering the K3 for its superb receiver performance!  I
> made that move starting in 2010 when I bought my K3/10 (#4043) and
> began to accumulate transverters for use on VHF and up.  This was
> considered the best performance approach for many years before the
> advent of dc-light transceivers.  1998 brought out the FT-847 turning
> a lot of heads and resulting in a lot of eme'rs obtaining one and
> selling off the transverters.  The pendulum is swinging back (a lot
> to do with new SDR's).
>
> We look forward to VHF contests as this increases activity and
> increases odds of working long distance.  EME contests are the
> highlight of the year.  Yes we use standard signal reports: OOO means
> I copied your call and heard my call.  RO means I copy your signal
> report.  RRR means I copied your RO, and 73 says all reports were
> copied by both stations and  the contact is valid.  Thus four
> separate reports are sent before EME is a valid contact.  Try that in
> an HF contest?
>
> Oh and the path loss is only 255 dB.  This is the kind of stuff that
> pushes performance and advance in technology (and quality).  This is
> WHY I purchased my K3.
>
> I avoid HF contests, but understand the attraction.  I do not work a
> lot of HF DX, but that was what got me interested in ham radio.  I do
> not operate on CW very much (but it was how I started out in 1958
> with a Novice license on 40m).  BTW it still is the main mode for EME
> though digital is gaining in popularity.
>
> So I appreciate the forces that improve our stations.  BTW operating
> with 14w on HF is fun!  I am working on my 300w HF amp and hope to
> have it running by next weekend (expect 14w/250w out from a pair of
> MRF422).  That's only 13 dB improvement (two s-units).
>
> Thanks, Elecraft, for pushing the limits!
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 31
> Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:26:12 -0600
> From: Tony Estep<esteptony at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Annoying contests
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> Yep, that is the key to progress in ham gear (and most other things
> too). Everybody, even the no-code ragchewer, could adopt Nate's
> attitude and demand great performance from their ham gear.
>
> And contests, chasing DX in a massive split pileup, working EME, and
> other on-the-edge stuff is the only way to really push the state of
> the art forward. Anyone can claim that their radio meets some vague
> esthetic standard of excellence, but full-throttle operating under
> competitive conditions sorts the pretenders from the contenders.
>
> ===snip
>
>
> 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45
> ======================================
> BP40IQ   500 KHz - 10-GHz   www.kl7uw.com
> EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-QRT, 1296-?, 3400-?
> DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa at gmail.com
> "Kits made by KL7UW" http://www.kl7uw.com/kits.htm
> ======================================
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