[CQ-Contest] Feb 04 QST op-ed article

[Tom Horton]

Kelly,
  Wow! Exceptional points all!
73, Tom K5IID




At 01:47 02/06/04, you wrote:
>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 at mac.com>
>To: "Mark Beckwith" <mark at concertart.com>
>Cc: <cq-contest at 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 at arrl.net
> > Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
> >              -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
> >     The world's top contesters battle it out in Finland!
> > THE OFFICIAL FILM of WRTC 2002 now on professional DVD and VHS!
> >        http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>     The world's top contesters battle it out in Finland!
>THE OFFICIAL FILM of WRTC 2002 now on professional DVD and VHS!
>        http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>
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