[CQ-Contest] A proposal

[Ron Notarius W3WN]

Oh boy, I can just see the flames now...

Jim, the short answer is that:
(a)  There is no LEGAL restriction preventing a contest on the WARC bands, but
(b)  Accepted VOLUNTARY amateur practice has been to not have contests on them.

Why?  A number of reasons:
-- The bands themselves are so narrow as to effectively prevent a contest situation from taking over the entire band.  
-- In the beginning of each WARC band, not all governments permitted their amateurs to operate on the bands, or imposed power or other restrictions.  This was neccesary as the former services using the bands moved out.  So until relatively recently, not everyone had access to the bands, putting some theoretically at a disadvantage
-- And probably most importantly, by designating the WARC bands as "contest free," those who do not wish to participate in a given contest (especially one of the majors) have an alternative band to go to.  

And I'm sure others will come up with more reasons, these are just off the top of my head.  (The expense of outfitting or retro-fitting a major contest station for 3 more bands, including the potential inter-mod problems, comes to mind too).

Suffice to say, I think someone making a serious proposal nowadays for a WARC related contest will have their head handed to them.  In bloody little pieces.  People get upset when the notion is even broached.

Now, if the day ever comes that we can get the WARC bands expanded (yes, I know, dream on), to say 300 - 400 kHz wide each, then we can talk about contesting on them.  But for now?  That proposal will sink like an innocent wench accused of witchcraft in Salem in the 1600's!

73, ron w3wn

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Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:12:30 -0400
From: "James  Cain" <cainjim at mindspring.com>
Subject: [CQ-Contest] A proposal
To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>

I agree with the reflector administrator that the SO1/2R discussion is a "dead horse." If one operator can listen to two different bands in different ears. good for her!

I have an idea, and if it's a dead horse I am not aware of it.

The recent IARU Radiosport contest was fun getting on the air for, for me at least, to see how many WRTC participants I could work. An added dimension to an otherwise "normal" contest.

Also this summer I got in the ARRL June VHF QSO Party and the CQ WW VHF Contest, on 6 Meters, with a dipole. It was fun because it was something new and different for me. 

There never have been any organized contests on the so-called "WARC bands," which have been available to us for more than 20 years. A long time ago I operated on these bands and worked DXCC on 30, 17, and 12 Meters. These are very interesting frequency allocations; it doesn't take a genius to know that when 20 Meters is good, and 15 Meters is fair, 17 Meters is Red Hot. 

I was not in the official loop when we got the WARC bands; it was 1978 or 1979, I think, with later implementation. But I would like to say that credit for the new bands belongs to the ARRL and it was, in my opinion, the ARRL's greatest achievement in my 44 years of membership. 

I do not know why these bands were stipulated to be "contest free." Maybe it depends on what your definition of "contest" is. As Ed Tilton, W1HDQ, a QST editor said 50 years ago, "Contesting is normal amateur radio speeded up."

There is no LAW against an "Activity Day" (contest) on a "WARC band." There's no LAW against a five-word-per-minute CW ragchewer on 7010 during a DX contest, either. Somebody just has to organize the Activity Day, announce it, and pump it up. We could do it on this very reflector. You would not need high power or a beam to be competitive in an activity like this. How cool would it be if we moved the upcoming NAQP CW to 30, 17, and 12 Meters? (Oh, OK, it would be cooler if we had some sunspots.)

I do not see the ARRL sponsoring anything like this, and there is no reason why they should.   

We all now have radios that cover these bands, and we aren't using them. In fact, most of us don't use any of the bands outside of a handful of weekends each year. In 1977 I was highly competitive in the ARRL CW DX Competition. I had a Collins S-Line. After the first weekend, I realized I'd better try to work a few multipliers on 160, for which I didn't have a radio (or an antenna, for that matter). I borrowed a TS-820, I think it was, for the second weekend of the Competition, and I think I worked three or four stations. Now, 160 has exploded in activity, and if you don't think contesters had a lot to do with that, well, I disagree. 

Jim Cain, K1TN