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

[Joe]

Apologies to Bob,

Not really sure why this message from me came through looking like it 
came from him.

Joe WB9SBD
Sig
The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com
On 8/10/2013 8:28 AM, Joe wrote:
>
> On 8/9/2013 6:52 AM, Bob Naumann wrote:
>> The facts support my claim that non-contesters get to enjoy a clear 
>> majority
>> of the time without a *major* contest going on and that *they need to be
>> tolerant* of other users of the spectrum!
> In addition, if it wasn't for "Contesters" I really wonder how long it 
> would be before we loose some of these HF spectrum.
>
> When I first got my license in 1975,  Yeah I sound like a old fart 
> now, and I had to walk to school in my bare feet up hill both ways too.
>
> But back then the bands on ANY day not just a contest day, but ANY day 
> were packed. 20 meters on a weekend was crazy! You never ever had an 
> clear QSO. you found a spot to squeeze into, but even a "EMPTY" spot 
> when you had your QSO you had a grumbler down below and a squeaky 
> squeak above you. that was the "NORM" If you had a really "Clear" spot 
> these people were far enough away that you couldn't understand them.  
> But most times they were close enough to be even able to understand them!
>
> Now it is different. I was off the air from 1993 till 2008 or so, (not 
> that I did not want to be on the air, but personal and financial 
> situations did not allow it)
>
>  But back in 2008 I was able to get back on again. And when I hooked 
> up the Rig, I thought the rig had died in storage from non use.
>
>  I'd tune across like 20 meters, and maybe a dozen signals. Thats it. 
> Little did I know, that this is the new "Norm" the bands are dead. The 
> level of activity is like Nothing on Non Contest days. I love 10 
> meters, being a like 6 meters a band that ya never know what it will 
> be like today or for that matter at that moment.  But I can count a 
> thousand times now where I'd tune across the whole band and not hear a 
> single signal except all the beacons.  The band is wide open because 
> hearing beacons all over the place.  I'd throw out a CQ and not a 
> answer ever. But as soon as a contest starts, there are thousands of 
> stations out there. If it wasn't for the contesters the bands would be 
> empty, except for Nets, and old farts that have been talking to just 
> each other for decades. If it wasn't for contesters the casual QSO 
> with strangers would be dead.
>
>  73, Bob W5OV -----
>
>
>
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