My 2 cents (& my 2 cents are surely worth
more to me than anyone else).
this is a licensed sport, I see it in some
ways like fishing which is also a licensed
sport; some catch and keep, some catch and
release, some pay big bucks to fly to way
out of the way places that most can't
afford to do, to get the big fish, some
fish the docks. Some like to go on Charter
boats, some fish off the shore. Some get
famous for fishing (River Monsters) and
others compete in an even field to see
whose skill is better. Some use a trot
line, some use nets, some spear, some
remove the barbs from the hooks, some try
to get their families involved and some go
fishing to get away from their families,
and so on, and so on.
Each of us has our idea of what Ham Radio
should be. Some keep it to themselves,
some feel the need to vent but one thing
is for sure, we like finding other hams
that think as we do. Some of us feel if
someone sees things differently, then they
are some kind of threat to what we hold
sacred, anything negative in the woodpile
is the beginning of the end.
To me, each of us is competing against
ourselves and anything else is like
spitting into the wind. If I spent every
penny I own on ham equipment, there will
be so many more that have far more money
than that available as chump change. Any
contest I enter, no matter how well I did,
someone in my call area could have done
better if they had better location,
equipment or time into it. All I can do is
compete against me and then it is fun.
If someone uses CW and hates FT8 or RTTY,
whatever the mode and I use FT8, we're not
competing against each other, but some see
it as a threat to what they see as the
brass ring. All my antennas are wire, how
can I compete with stacked monobanders? My
160 is a sloper and at max, 50' tall, how
can I compete with a full size 4 Square or
better? I can't. Nor do I find any value
in comparing what I have to do to make a Q
compared to what they have to do to make
the same contact. I'm happy for them,
they're having fun and so am I so everyone
wins.
DXCC, I need one more for Honor Roll. It's
my game against me, not me against some
station that makes contacts easier than
me. In that light; It's futile to complain
about a mode someone else uses in getting
the same award because its easier for them
not doing it my way. Their award has a
value to them and it's not up to me or
within my power to assign worth just
because I don't like their mode.
I personally prefer CW, enjoy RTTY but
RTTY is to me pretty much like FT8. One
can argue that RTTY with N1MM+, MMTTY and
a pan-adapter still require some playing
with to make the Q but if the software
were out there to do it as automatically
as FT8 and make quicker Q's... you can bet
your bottom dollar it would be the new
contest mode the moment it's released.
Bottom line is: If it is a popular mode it
is not going away and nobody disliking it
will make any difference in the final
outcome.
See, my 2 cents is worth more to me than
anyone else. ;)
Good DX & 73,
Gary
KA1J
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