Topband: Band planning in contests

[Steve Ireland]

G'day all

It has been interesting reading the passionate e-mail thread on 160m band
planning in contests.

In many countries where 160m operation permitted, space available is
relatively limited - in Australia, we are limited to the lowest 65 KHz of
the band.  I guess, as a result, most operation of a contesting/DXing kind
has traditionally limited to the lowest 50 - 60KHz of the topband.

Now, when this tradition gets coupled with an long-running and popular
contest like the CQ 160, the resulting effect is similar to a bar-room
brawl, where lots of people and a lack of space result in frayed tempers
and bad behaviour - which is very difficult to control.

>From the southern hemisphere, the CQ 160 CW can be viewed as lots of big
blokes with big voices from NA and Europe getting together in a confined
space with predictable results.  If the CQ 160 CW can degenerate into a
bar-room brawl, I guess the CQ 160 SSB can be worse, because the blokes are
MUCH wider/bigger and so the effective space is even smaller - a big brawl
in a very tiny bar.  

I think John K9UWA has a good point - how practical are BIG SSB contests on
160?

Now, don't get me wrong, I have some fun in the CQ 160s, but because of the
macho-mayhem, slug-fest between Europe and NA nature of the contests and
their rules - and me being a tiny DX voice a long way away, have visited
them less and less in recent years - despite the efforts of Dave K4JRB and
the organising committee to try to find DX a quiet corner.

If we want 160m contests to survive as genuine DX contests, there has to be
regulation and rules that enable disqualification of those who
systematically flout them - especially in the matter of bandplanning/DX
windows.  More thought also needs to be given to how to offer
encouragement/protection to DX stations - otherwise, genuine DX contacts in
these contests will largely become extinct.

Vy 73,

Steve, VK6VZ