[CQ-Contest] RTTY and CW Sprints

[Joe Subich, K4IK]

Jeff, 

>  Since the start of 2005 there has been a RTTY contest just 
> about every weekend, with more to come in the following 
> weeks.  Are you guys going to just claim every weekend for 
> yourselves.

Before you go casting stones, go look at any of the Contest 
Calendars and tell me one weekend this year that has not had 
a CW contest of some kind.  By the way, your own posting 
shows at least five weekends free from RTTY contests and 
several others where the contest is a 24 hour affair or 
has limited bands of operation.  I'm not going to take sides 
 ... I enjoy both digital and CW ... but you need to give 
the RTTY operators some slack.  It is Sprint that moved onto 
the RTTY WPX weekend, not the other way around.  
 
>  My post was intended more towards the USA/VE then EU to cut 
> us some slack during the 4 hours that NA Sprint and WPX RTTY 
> have to coexist.  Not much to ask since the WPX  RTTYis 48 
> hours long. 

Telling US/VE operators to stay out of 40 meters below 7040 
during NAQP isn't going to work any better than telling the 
big multi-multi stations not to monopolize the bottom part 
of every band during CQWW or ARRL DX.  Any North American 
operator interested in making a serious effort in WPX RTTY 
in a down sunspot year is going to have a significant QSO
& multiplier count on 40 meters ... and due to the Region 1 
bandplan, those QSOs will have to be between 7025 and 7060. 
Propagation and the operating patterns of the casual operators 
Region 1 will make the most important hours 2200 to 0200z 
plus or minus a little.    

>  Based on the replies I have recieved and the post calling 
> the NCJ "morons" , It seems you guys have no class at all.... 

No, it is the sponsors of a NORTH AMERICAN contest who chose 
to move it into conflict with an INTERNATIONAL RTTY contest. 
The solution is to return CW Sprint to the first weekend of 
February and Phone Sprint to the second weekend.  If the 
conflict with the FOC Marathon is that much of a problem 
FOC can move to the second weekend as their operation 
rarely extends high enough to conflict with RTTY WPX. 

73, 

   ... Joe, K4IK