[CQ-Contest] Does might make right in contesting?

[Fred Laun K3ZO]

At 10:08 PM 2/24/00 -0600, K4RO wrote:
>
>
>The question is simple: is it OK to take a frequency from someone?
>
>Are there times when it is OK and times when it is not?  Please explain.
>
>Are there "prime areas" where it is acceptable, and areas where it is not?

A similar thread has been discussed at various times in the past, most
notably related to the use of "QRL?".  The question is really more
complicated than those stated above.  First of all, the real question is:
"How wide is the swatch of band that a station who is runnning thinks he
can lay claim to?  How close to his run frequency can someone get before
being told "QRL"? 

As my dear departed and deeply missed mentor W3GRF always said:  "It's a
listening contest as well as a sending contest."  One measure of contest
skill is the ability of a person to copy weak signals through heavy QRM.  I
reserve the right to decide for myself what bandwidth I need to run
stations successfully.  I don't allow someone else to make that decision
for me.  If someone considers themselves to be my equal in operating skill,
they should be able to put up with the same amount of QRM I'm willing to.
Therefore, I have two cardinal principles by which I handle this situation:

1.  I will NEVER use the term "QRL" when someone gets on or what I consider
too close to "my" run frequency.

2.  In return, I expect that nobody will ever use the term "QRL" to me.  I
do not believe it is ethical to try to influence a competitor's operating
decisions by communicating with him directly.

I believe I am capable of determining for myself whether a particular
frequency was obviously in use or not.  If notwithstanding the above
someone says "QRL" and then demonstrates that he was indeed using the
frequency (as defined above) by completing a QSO or otherwise demonstrating
obvious prior use of the frequency, I will move without further ado.

I state the above with the additional note that I never use narrow filters.
 I prefer to let the filters I was born with between my ears do most of the
work for me.  In CW contests the filters in both IF's of my FT-1000-MP are
set at 2.4 KHz.  In SSB contests, the filter in one IF is set at 6.0 KHz
and the other at 2.4 KHz.  So if I'm not bothered, nobody else should be.
                    

73, Fred, K3ZO


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