[Elecraft] Annoying contests

[KQ8M]

In answer to your suggestion, there already are areas. 3.600-3.650,
7.100-7.125, 14.100-14.150, 21.100-21.150, 28.100-28.150. During even the
biggest contests those areas are usually free of contesters.

There are maybe 10 weekends out of 52 that major contests take place. And
they always take place the same weekend of the year, year after year. That
leaves 42 weekends for non contest activities. Sure there are other smaller
non major contests but they do not take up the whole band but just a small
portion of it. Also there are no contests during the week.

I am at a loss at those that hate contests as to why their will has to be
imposed upon all. Your sched on 14.050 does not have to be etched in stone.
Unless you are using a really antique radio, there are things on the radio
called knobs and dials. Usually the biggest one will tune your radio to
other frequencies. Plan ahead. Oh Jack, I see there is a major contest next
weekend. How about we meet on 30/17/12 meters? Or another day. Or, heaven
forbid, we miss one.

In the case of the ECN net, it is just a check in, my temp is and we got 20
inches of snow. That can also be done on a WARC band.

Emergency communications in the case of major storm or earthquake or
whatever is always taken into account by the contest community. If a set
area in the band is set aside for the big one when it hits California, if it
is a contest weekend, it WILL be avoided by the contest community. It has
happened in the past and will happen again in the future.

Out of all of the possible things to do in amateur radio my likes are DXing
and Contesting. That doesn't mean I am going to knock SSTV guys or Satellite
guys or moon bounce guys. That is what they enjoy and more power to them.

Okay off my soap box.

73's
Tim Herrick, KQ8M
North Coast Contesters
kq8m at kq8m.com

K3 Serial #5934


-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Erik Basilier
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 1:50 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Annoying contests

Contests can be great fun (when one has time for them).

However, if I want a regular qso, I usually find even the high end of the cw
bands to be too crowded in the case of major contests.

I have to argue against letting contests take over the entire non-WARC
bands, for one reason only: Emergency communications.

Although 30m is often good for low power operation, that is not always the
case, and not every portable rig covers it.

Quite often in portable operation only a single band works well enough that
you can make a contact with low power and a mediocre antenna; that band is
very often not a WARC band.

Here is an idea: Carve out a section of each non-WARC band, for a given
contest, where contest operation is not allowed. It would have to be a
section where most licensees are allowed to operate, in most countries. If
the contest organizer receives multiple reports saying that a contest
participant operated in the non-contest window, that participant would be
penalized.

There could be multiple windows carved out in a given contest, to satisfy
different license classes and countries. The contests would be more crowded?
Yes, but the non-contest windows could be small, and crowding in contests
seems to drive great improvements in equipment to compensate. 

WARC bands deserve more use, and it would truly make sense to conduct some
nets there.

Flame away!

 

73,

Erik K7TV

 

>snip

>The high end of the CW portion of the bands aren't that crowded.

>And there's the WARC bands sitting there doing almost nothing!!!

>snip

> 

>Larry/K2GN - http://k2gn.com

 

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