Fellow Contesters:
This is NOT a yes/no type question, despite it being very PC to say,
"Of course not."
As already pointed out, this IS a contest. The serious types are in
it to win...the propagationally challenged are in it to fun while they
have their small window of opportunity.
This is like asking, "When the DX says 'KR2 ?' is it ethical for KR5V or
KR4..whatever to reply." DUH...no, it's not "ethical," but you
better be damned sure they are going to dump it in...and WHY NOT?
Way back when, when I was thin and had dark colored hair, and operated
on 10 meters at the dynastic m/m (per K1AR), I often avoided 28.500
(which was the band edge)...there was too much BS there. Often W2PV
would come on 1.5 hours befor the band had any possibility of opening
and start "the beacon." I let them stay there the whole the contest...
it didn't matter, we always beat them on 10 anyhow. But I can tell you
that when the band opened to JA, I would immediately go to 28.500. For
some reason, you could always run hundreds of JA's (remember those days?)
on the band edge. Luckily for me/us, we had an invincible antenna for
JA on 10m meters. I would ALWAYS dominate/"steal" 28.500 and run JA's
right through PV and PV simply had no choice...we were just that much
louder.
Was I "stealing" their frequency? PV had occupied (hogged?) it for
the entire contest (up until the JA opening). I would say I was
forcing them to share. :-)
I think all of our op's got along famously with all the PV op's. Nobody
accused anybody of "stealing." In the battle of peers (IMHO) anything
goes (as long as you don't get obnoxious about it).
As some of you know, I do a fair amout of QRP contesting. If I'm CQ'ing
and trying to run and I don't get an answer after 2 minutes, is it
"stealing" if somebody else opens up on top me and CQ's? I don't
think so.
How about if I'm actually WORKING guys (qrp) and some W5 (or 0 or 7 or
whatever) starts calling CQ on top me? They hear me, I hear them.
They are louder...they win. I would NEVER feel like they "stole"
my frequency...they WON it. Just because you may not be in a qro vs
qrp scenario doesn't mean that the same "ethics" shouldn't apply.
The days of each side taking a tea break or dinner break while in the
midst of being engaged in warfare (you know...actually killing each
other...like people losing their life) are long gone. Hanging your
hat on "intentional interference" is laughable. Every contester
"steals" a frequency in one form or another in every contest...it's
only a matter of degree.
Finally, if it is any solace to Pat (9RV), K2GL lost to PV in 1981....
de Doug KR2Q
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