[TenTec] The QSK of QSK

[Michael Tope]

I guess I am just a LID. Boo Hoo.

Mike, W4EF........................................


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Brown" <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
To: "Ten Tec List" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 5:23 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] The QSK of QSK


> On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 00:21:39 -0700, Michael Tope wrote:
>
> >Some would argue that it takes a masochistic streak to do it
> >with low power and mediocre antennas.
>
> I would say the opposite. Most current award and contest structures
> reward those who buy more of the most expensive gear and assemble
> the biggest stations. They cater to the the rich, not to ordinary hams.
> They reward the ability for the brain to process two QSO's at a time and
> type the information into a computer. I see this structure as basically
> flawed.
>
> The structure of most contests requires a signal report. When is the last
> time you sent or received a real signal report during a contest?  When's
> the last time you did that working DX?  I worked the WAE contest at 5
> watts, and well over half of the QSO's I made required repeats of my
> call and the serial number, but every single RST was 599. Huh?
>
> Yes, most contests do have "classes" for less than 150 watts, and
> some do for QRP. But it's very different running 100 watts when
> everyone else is running 100 watts as compared to when everyone else
> is running 1.5 kW.
>
> Ah, you might say, it's also about antennas. I say it's about LEARNING
> about antennas, about how to do more with less. I have far more
> respect for someone who has spent time designing and building an
> antenna that fits into a restrictive residential situation than for one
who
> buys whatever monster multiband antenna that someone else designed
> and puts it on a big tower.
>
> Some "big" contesters and DXers don't even sign their calls often
> enough for folks to know who they are  by tuning the band -- you have to
> use a computer to find out who these guys are!  Or they work at high
> speeds, under the assumption (often wrong) that they have such a big
> signal that it's no problem to copy them at high speed. These guys are
> LIDS too.
>
> One other point. When you are running high power, you can be causing
> serious QRM to folks who you can't even hear. When you are running 12
> dB more power than everyone else, you have the responsibility for
> LISTENING 12 dB more carefully to your operating frequency, including
> the time "between your signals."
>
> Jim Brown  K9YC
>
>
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