> I'll agree, there is a small % of the ham population affected by these
> contest. BUT its my understanding the petetion RM-10352 was not
> concieved because of the contest. It has come about because of the
> migration of the guys from the crowded and unruly 75m band. I know, I
> know, you may accuse me of peering into my crystal ball or crying
> wolf, but I can see it comming. This RM is only an attempt to hedge
> what is an inevitable circumstance.
As recently as a year ago, a notorious 75-meter truck driver in
Alabama was trying to get his friends to start a net on 1830kHz.
In 1972, W8VLN, W8EOT, W8LZM, and others started a SSB net
on 1830 called the "Window Shade Net".
We had W5TZ, KT5S, and WA4TWM on 1824 LSB until
Hollingsworth stepped in.
We had an Alabama SSB net on 1815 or so, I remember them
starting up on top of me while I was operating the CQWW 160 from
Ohio many years ago.
Unfortunately the problem is getting worse, not better. of course if
you never work 160, or can't hear weak signals, you would never
know that. So indeed the problem does affect only a small
percentage of us on a daily basis.
> I'm no big Contester, no big DXer, but I've been witness to the
> changes in personalities on the low bands over this period. Without
> some clear rules, the future looks bleak for Topband and all our
> favorite aspects of ham radio. First it'll probably be the AMers
> that'll be targeted for extinction, that old junk takes up too much
> room, they'll say. Then the lowly old antiquated CW guys, who needs
> them anyway, that stuff should have gone down with the Titanic. Guess
> who's gonna be next on the list ?? Why the contesters thats who. The
> good ole boy ssb ragchewers are tired of giving up their freq all
> weekend for some silly contest and before you know it you'll be
> fighting for your lives.
That's right on target John. It is VERY short-sighted for anyone who
works CW or any narrow mode like PSK to think we aren't heading
for a problem. Just wait til the sunspots die, and all the 75 meter
"nets" need a place to move.
73, Tom W8JI
W8JI@contesting.com
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