[PaQSO] Bands

[Kay Craigie]

WA3RA wrote: "I also heard (post contest) that there wasn't supposed to be
220/440 qsos...."

True, there aren't any suggested frequencies for those bands in the contest
mailer. Does that imply that the bands above 2m are off limits? Apparently
some folks are interpreting it that way. However, if something is
prohibited, the rules should say so explicitly, not do it by implication.

The rules do say, "12, 17, 30 meter and repeater QSOs NOT permitted." If the
rules also intended to ban QSO's on frequencies above the 2m band, wouldn't
that be stated in this list of no-no's? The rule would then say something
like "12, 17, 30 meters, all bands above 2 meters, and repeater QSOs NOT
permitted."

Since the rules do not explicitly prohibit QSO's on bands above 2 meters,
seems to me you could operate on 10 GHz if that's your cup of tea. 

If the sponsors do intend to rule out QSO's above the 2m band, I hope they
will specify that in the rules in future years. I'm not in favor of it. For
one thing, it would push away new hams who haven't upgraded to General yet.
They may not have 220 or 6 meters, but they probably all have dual-band rigs
with 440 MHz. If they enjoy the QSO Party on VHF/UHF, that could give them
the motivation to upgrade and become able to participate on HF, too. All in
all, I don't know what virtuous purpose would be served by prohibiting
(non-repeater) QSO's above 2 meters.

73 - Kay N3KN