[CQ-Contest] SSB in CW band

[kr2q at optonline.net]

HI all:A couple thoughts....1.  As has already been stated (but worth repeating), "band plans," which are not formalized as law, have no bearing on DQ.  "Law" may be either the law of a country or of a contest sponsor.2.  If the extra "room" were not needed, it would not be used.  A good example is 10m during thesun spot maximum.  Right now (the bottom), it would make Ø sense for someone in the CQWW DXcontest to call CQ during the contest on 28.750.  They would likely get no answers.  But during thepeak, that spot would be jammed with stations (wall to wall on ten).  So the analogous application to40 is that if EU were calling CQ on 7015 and it "wasn't working," then they would not continue to sitthere.  As for some "big" USA types CQing and QSX on 7001, same thing.  If nobody (DX) callsthem, they would not continue to listen there.  It is a supply and demand type function.3.  I really don't understand how SSB signals in the "cw" portion of the band prevents cwqso's.  Since I am mostly just listening this contest (my antennas are still strewn all over on the ground,save one), I had an opportunity to not only view the LIVE scoreboards, but to read the contestreflector and be motivated to reply here.  So...I see the annual comments about this and I wanted totest it for myself.  I went to CW on 40 and operated CW.  No sweat.  Why?  Cuz (a) I used narrowfilters (the SSB essentially "goes away") and (b) I listen to cw on the opposite sideband (USB).  Can Istill hear SSB guys?  Yes, but I can still hear very weak cw guys also...with ease.  Now I'll be the firstto admit that I am not in zone 14 where the issue is likely "worse."  Is it really "that bad" that cw qso'scannot take place at all in the bottom 25 khz?4.  I also have to wonder about the time of day.  I suspect (and others outside USA can fill me in), thatthe bottom of 40m is not covered with SSB for the entire contest.  I suspect that occurs mostly during the times of day when DX propagation is best.  That is usually when most casual guys are asleep.Now I know that there is lots to be had during the day on 40 in Europe, since everything is "so close,"so I would appreciate some comments from the active EU contesters....is the bottom filled with ssbthroughout all 48 hours?  But unless the entrant is M/M or Multi 2, I gotta believe that daylight hours are, in the majority, best spent elsewhere for single ops (IE, not on 40).de Doug KR2QPS..usual disclaimer: These are my own comments and do not necessarily represent the opinion of anygroup with which I may be associated.