[CQ-Contest] Field Day and CW

[KE3F at prodigy.net]

Well, FD was quite a hoot with PVRC- my first major 
effort in many years.  Served as primary relief CW op 
and got a chance to do code on 5 of 6 HF bands.  
Anyhow, was chatting with a couple of the other CW 
types during the dinner period and we agreed that the 
CW activity seemed down a bit this year - especially 
on 10 meters where we were begging for QSOs.

One of the guys attributed the fact (sunspot cycle 
notwithstanding) to the notion that people just aren't 
doing CW and CW contesting anymore.  The other 
countered that by arguing that since many of the baby 
boomer amateur operators are into their 50s and 60s, 
that CW activity in contests should actually increase 
as these contesters have more time to devote things 
like amateur radio now that they've moved past 
the "crunch" points in their careers and many have 
families that are progessing through and beyond the 
college period.

So, has anybody else noticed a trend pattern in fewer 
and fewer QSO counts in the CW tests?  Has someone 
compare QSO counts in 2003 or 2004 to say the same 
period in 1992 or 1993?  Many variables at work, but 
it'd be interesting to see the discussion.

73 Rich KE3F