On 1/23/02 3:58 PM, Jay Pryor at jpryor@arches.uga.edu wrote:
>And I candidly admit that most days on the
>bands, this is not a big deal. But on CW contest weekends things will be a
>tad more crowded.
By the same token, on CW contest weekends, the phone bands are less
crowded.
To assume otherwise would be to draw an exclusionary line between CW and
phone operators. Indeed, these are largely the same people. OK, we have
some CW operators who don't own microphones, and plenty of phone
operators who don't operate (or no longer remember) CW. But there's also
a sizable group who do both.
I had an excellent time in the ARRL 160m contest running stations about
1876 kHz for almost 2 hours. Although (currently) lacking regulatory
force, that frequency is well in the "phone" portion of 160m. Yet it was
a much better frequency than anything available to me in the "CW" portion
of the band.
With only (nominally) 43 kHz in the "CW" portion of the band, I can't
think of any more crowded conditions than the single-band 160m contest.
(Although propagation and participation may be a factor) Yet, operators
seamlessly moved into the "Phone" portion of the band.
So, I don't buy the argument that if "phone" gains spectrum, then "CW"
loses.
For my part, I'm doing a lot more CW operating than just a few years ago.
I hope that helps.
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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