The problem with the QST Op-Ed is this: when all the world is wringing hands
about Big Brother taking away our frequencies because of a lack of activity,
why in the world would anyone want to limit something with as much activity
as a good phone contest?
Sheesh. So perhaps on the odd Saturday the rag doesn't get chewed as much,
there's still plenty of fun to be had for those open-minded enough to find
it.
And, when is the last time the demands of rag chewers ever amounted to the
slightest innovation in amateur radio technology? Yaesu didn't build the
Mark V so Frank can discuss preferred means of acheiving regularity or Eldon
can wax philosophic about windom antennas.
SSB certainly wasn't designed to cater to the AM crowd, now was it?
High-activity events, be they contests, DX-peditions or "operating events"
(heaven forbid we call a spade a spade on field day, now right?), drive
amateur radio. They're what drive people to go to seemingly absurd lengths
to establish a station on some remote crag of rock, why N6BT builds Force
12s, why Ten Tec builds Orions and why Alpha builds 87As.
And all of this is why Ten Tec, Yaesu, Force 12 et al buy ad space in CQ and
QST, donate radios and antennas to DX-peditions and, thankfully, why we even
have any frequencies to be having this discussion about in the first place.
For all that contesting provides the amateur radio community, we really
don't ask much of the non-contest phone operator.
73, kelly
ve4xt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Coleman" <aa4lr@mac.com>
To: "Mark Beckwith" <mark@concertart.com>
Cc: <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 10:27 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Feb 04 QST op-ed article
>
> On Jan 16, 2004, at 8:43 PM, Mark Beckwith wrote:
>
> > KI9A steered us toward the February Op-Ed in QST proposing phone
> > contest
> > subbands. I read it and the author seems to be about as fair and
> > balanced
> > as possible given the volatility of the topic.
>
> Fair and balanced? He's basically saying that contest operation isn't
> as valuable as other types of amateur activities, so let's restrict it.
> He want's to block off 100 kHz of 80m so guys can get on and talk about
> their various geriatric aliments without having to suffer any contest
> QRM. (OK, so maybe I'm passing judgement here, too. Harumph)
>
> > So are all you phone guys out there giving us a bad name or what?
>
> There just isn't room! SSB signals might be as close as 2 kHz apart
> without completely blowing each other out of the water. CW signals can
> get to 250 Hz and closer. On 20m, with 200 kHz for SSB operation,
> there's only room for about 100 "channels". 100 channels on CW would
> only be 25 kHz.
>
> Plus the fact that Phone contests generate a lot more activity. And
> that's likely to increase as more countries adopt codeless HF license
> classes.
>
> > So help me out here (since I am not a real serious phone contester)
> > have
> > phone contests gotten to the point where the contest requires all of
> > the
> > entire phone subbands?
>
> Something like NAQP? No. SS, ARRL DX, CQWW, WPX - Yes.
>
> > Or is the guy who is claiming that in QST just not shooting straight?
>
> He says he's a contestor, too, but if he doesn't bother to send in a
> low, even for a small effort, it doesn't count in my book.
>
> > Why NOT limit contests on 20M to below 14.297?
>
> Sure, so long as we reserve 14.150-14.200 for contest-only operation.
>
>
> 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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