[CQ-Contest] CW/Contesting Dying?

[Robert Shohet]

I always chuckle when I hear the gnashing of teeth and feel the anxiety of
those who
say that cw is obsolete, cw is dying, contesting is dying, etc.

I think it is GREAT that there IS all this worry, because that tells me that
as a
group, we are not complacent....., yet.  As long as we keep worrying about
these things, we will do something about them, and our hobby will continue
to exist and even grow.

YES, we are getting older as a group and yes there are technological changes
and challenges and there will continue to be in the years ahead, and yes, we
are losing more and more of our contesting fraternity, year by year, but
then, if all these things are happening:

1) Why are there more hams than ever?
2) Why are there bigger contest scores than ever?
3) Why are there no clear spots on the cw bands
in any major contest?
4) Why can I make SSB contest qso's at 29.0 mhz?
5) Why are so many people spending so much money
to improve/build their stations?
6) Why are we communicating as a group MUCH MORE
than ever before (technology)?

Seems to me that things are just fine (although many
improvements can be made and much can get better).

Here's what I think:

1) There ARE more ham operators and contest operators
out there and the internet has NOT affected radio activity
in a meaningful way - otherwise you would not have seen
the EXPLOSION in the activity level of European and
South American ops.and stations.

2) We ARE older and much more distracted with family, career,
aging parents, financial issues, health issues, etc. that are more
relevant to a population with an average age in the high 40's, vs
an average age in the late 20's!

3) We have more money to spend on our stations and operating
activities and ARE spending it, including dxpeditions, recreational radio
travel, etc.

4) We have more interests and more diverse interests than just radio.
Whereas a high school kid might have sports, dating, academics, radio,
music, etc, a 40 or 50 year old has ALL those interests PLUS
business, travel, political affiliations, fraternal organizations, volunteer
work,
caretaking, other hobbies, etc., etc, and a LOT less time to do it all in!

5) While our operating may be more limited in terms of time, it is probably
with greater SKILL:

higher code speeds, 2 radio vs 1 radio operations, building more complex
station equipment, speaking more languages, better station/antenna building,
etc.

6) Technology has removed much of the drudgery of operating and let us more
easily operate and spend more hours doing it with less fatigue, making the
hobby more
enjoyable!:

Contest software, DVP's, computer logging, computers!, pre-built switching
devices,
better quality radios, headsets, keyers, etc.

7)  We are paying more attention to our family, spouse, kids, than previous
generations
and with shrinking free time, are choosing to spend more time with them
rather
than operating on a regular basis (at least I am)  :-)

Sure there are less JA's and lower US participation in WPX contests and less
cw in the
novice bands.  I can live with that, there are so many other aspects of our
hobby that are better
than ever before.  Yes, cw as an art may be losing its appeal, but until cw
contest scores
go down dramatically from cycle to cycle, I have to believe that the
activity is there when
it counts, and I won't worry.

But as long as we as a group continue to worry, and not take it for granted,
then the future of
cw and our hobby is assured!

73

Bob KQ2M