[PaQSO] The Contest 2011

Mon Oct 10 18:35:25 EDT 2011

Regarding the nets and the "good ol' boyz" and ragchews and the rest...

Don't sweat the small stuff.

This is nothing new.  This has been going on for years; I ran into this when
I was operating K3CR in the party in college, and that was before disco
died.  It happens to our contest, other contests, and will continue to
happen to contests in the future.

The realities of life are:

(1)  Nobody owns a frequency in the Amateur Radio service.  Not the nets,
not the skeds, not W1AW, not DX windows or AM calling frequencies, not a
station running DX for hours on end.  We all must share the resources.

(2)  FCC rules on this boil down to:  He who is there first controls the
frequency until they give it up.  And the netmongers etc. know this.  They
have to, they did pass their license tests, didn't they?

(2a)  Let us also not forget that people run different equipment, different
power levels, different antennas... and most importantly, propagation can
shift or change, and just because you can hear me doesn't mean I can hear
you... or the other guy you're talking to.  There's a difference between
deliberate and accidental interference; know it.  

(3)  FCC rules aside, life, let alone the contest, is too short to sit there
and argue.  To say nothing of the time lost that you could use working
stations.  Don't bother arguing with the turkeys.

(3a)  I have a nice picture of the local flock of wild turkeys crossing my
street on Saturday night.  I may just make it this year's QSL card, with the
caption "don't let the turkeys get you down"

(3b)  And if a case of accidental interference happens (see 2a above),
sometimes it's best to just QSY, rather than waste time or energy arguing
over who was "right."   This is RF, not the Natiional Debating Society
finals.

(3c)  If you hear someone ask "is the frequency in use?" or send "QRL?" and
you're using it... answer them.  If you don't, then don't complain when they
start operating on top of you.  If we were psychics, we'd be on TV,
advertising our services with Dionne Warwick and raking in the cash... we're
not on TV...

(4)  It cuts both ways.  A few years ago, I was running on 3906 early one
evening, long before the Century Club net was due to turn up.  But one of
the self-appointed CC Kops started on me, making rude comments, ordering me
off the frequency, jamming or interferring with people calling, and all the
rest, and all without benefit of legal ID.  Finally, another op who knew me
called and pleasantly reminded me the net would be starting "soon" (over an
hour away).  And I told him, as I would have told the dingdong had he simply
asked, that I was well aware of the time and had planned to shift to CW
about a half-hour before the net would start... and don't forget that the
net frequency was about 2 kHz below where I was anyway.  

Someone pulled something similar on me last year.  I was just on the edge of
the DX calling window... to him, this was a frequency cast in stone as a
no-contest zone.  I ignored him, worked the small group calling me, then
called him and read him the riot act... and QSY'd on my terms, not his.

Sunday afternoon, I asked if the frequency was in use (I think I was on
about 7187) twice, no one replied, I called CQ contest, and then some
dingbat pops up and, very snotilly, informed me that I was intereferring
with a "mobile motorcycles" net (huh?) 2 kHz down and to move "your contest"
away.  I told him he was rude, he had failed to identify, and why didn't he
say anything when I asked if the frequency was in use?  He told me he didn't
have to, I "ought" to know.  Right.  And he never did ID.  So I just moved
up 1 kc and went on my merry way... and I don't feel the least bit guilty
about it.  

A little courtesy and common sense goes a long way.  Sadly, some prefer to
be bullies and push others around... and violate a dozen or more FCC rules
in the process.  Others prefer to kvetch and moan and play martyr (if I want
a martyr, I'll just call up my mother), or make snide posts to the DX
reflector -- and usually do that with someone else's call as well.  Ignore
them, or see (3A) above.

73, ron w3wn

-----Original Message-----
From: paqso-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:paqso-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of w3prl ARS
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 7:50 AM
To: PaQSO at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [PaQSO] The Contest 2011

Hello All:

My response is to the comment from WA3EOP concerning the nets or ragchews 
during the PA QSO..........as I was roaming the band on 80 Saturday evening,
I hit 3820 only to find some of the most vulgar language on the 
airwaves.  Seems the party go-ers were interfering with their scheduled 
ragchew and no one wanted or CARED to move the standard 3kc away while 
the party was going on.  I heard one gent say this was their frequency 
and that the offenders ought to get the hell away from their nightly 
spot.  The battle went on for over a half hour or more.  It would seem 
that the "rules" of courtesy would be thrown out the window because it's a
once a year party for Pa, and really does anyone care about the rules during
a contest of this magnitude????   In essence, the ragchewers might have been
right, for 
the offenders to get off "their" frequency, but I also know the rules 
concerning nets is a courtesy to move someplace else, but the contesters we
also right in their own way in that they were there 
"first"........my point to all this is really about the language of 
these little ragchewers and the contesters infringing on someone else's 
space.....it was really hard to have my 14 year old grandson listen to 
this CRAP........

I'm simply saying all bets are off on trying to hold any nets while 
contests are going on.   It's not that we do anything "on purpose" while
contesting.......everything is jammed up, moving a 100 miles an hour, 
just sad that the ragchewers couldn't realize there was a party goin on.

I absolutely HATE hearing that kind of language on the air, and the threats
that went along with the disgusting attitudes.

But it's what happens when thousands of hams want to be heard all at the
same time........

73 All,
W3PRL 
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