[CQ-Contest] WARC Bands and Contesting: Aargh! FAQ Update

[w5ov at w5ov.com]

Since the WARC bands are contest-free bands, where's the balance?

Where are the contesting-only bands?

Of course, there are none.  And, it would be absurd to presume that there
should be.

However, non-contesters are allowed to hold a similar absurd opinion and
are in fact, encouraged by some to seek to have contest band segments
established and the like in order to limit contest use of the bands.

When will there be fairness? When will non-contesters realize that they
have exclusive non-contest allocations and that they should stop
complaining?

Seriously, while there are contests pretty much every weekend, less than
10 weekends a year (less than 20% of the weekends) have major contests on
them that dominate the bands and most of those are one mode at a time.

Is less than 20% of the weekends really too much to ask for contesters ?

Really?

So, non-contesters get greater than 80% of the year without a major
contest going on and they also get 3 (albeit small) bands where contest
activity is precluded.

Exactly how much would be enough for non-contesters? Hmmm?

We need to fight back.

73,

Bob W5OV



> The Contesting Wiki is locked from updates for maintenance right now, but
> I've created this entry to add to the Aargh! FAQ at
> http://wiki.contesting.com/index.php/Arrgh_FAQ :
>
>
> The WARC bands are pretty quiet - shouldn't we start contesting on them?
> Short answer: no. If that is not enough for you, read on. This is
> essentially the "why are we not allowed to use certain frequencies in
> contests question answered above. However, there are two reasons why it is
> good for the WARC bands to stay contest free: (1) Non-contesters need a
> place to hide when we contesters take over the bands on most weekends; and
> (2) as Tevye sang so stirringly in "Fiddler on the Roof": Tradition!
> Supposedly, back at WARC-1979 it was agreed to keep the WARC bands
> contest-free. No one can find an actual citation for this, but you are
> free to browse here.
>
>
> 73 John K3TN
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>