Topband: Straws in the wind, continued or, "Where's the DX?"

[Gary Smith]

My 2 cents (& my 2 cents are surely worth 
more to me than anyone else).

this is a licensed sport, I see it in some 
ways like fishing which is also a licensed 
sport; some catch and keep, some catch and 
release, some pay big bucks to fly to way 
out of the way places that most can't 
afford to do, to get the big fish, some 
fish the docks. Some like to go on Charter 
boats, some fish off the shore. Some get 
famous for fishing (River Monsters) and 
others compete in an even field to see 
whose skill is better. Some use a trot 
line, some use nets, some spear, some 
remove the barbs from the hooks, some try 
to get their families involved and some go 
fishing to get away from their families, 
and so on, and so on.

Each of us has our idea of what Ham Radio 
should be. Some keep it to themselves, 
some feel the need to vent but one thing 
is for sure, we like finding other hams 
that think as we do. Some of us feel if 
someone sees things differently, then they 
are some kind of threat to what we hold 
sacred, anything negative in the woodpile 
is the beginning of the end.

To me, each of us is competing against 
ourselves and anything else is like 
spitting into the wind. If I spent every 
penny I own on ham equipment, there will 
be so many more that have far more money 
than that available as chump change. Any 
contest I enter, no matter how well I did, 
someone in my call area could have done 
better if they had better location, 
equipment or time into it. All I can do is 
compete against me and then it is fun.

If someone uses CW and hates FT8 or RTTY, 
whatever the mode and I use FT8, we're not 
competing against each other, but some see 
it as a threat to what they see as the 
brass ring. All my antennas are wire, how 
can I compete with stacked monobanders? My 
160 is a sloper and at max, 50' tall, how 
can I compete with a full size 4 Square or 
better? I can't. Nor do I find any value 
in comparing what I have to do to make a Q 
compared to what they have to do to make 
the same contact. I'm happy for them, 
they're having fun and so am I so everyone 
wins. 

DXCC, I need one more for Honor Roll. It's 
my game against me, not me against some 
station that makes contacts easier than 
me. In that light; It's futile to complain 
about a mode someone else uses in getting 
the same award because its easier for them 
not doing it my way. Their award has a 
value to them and it's not up to me or 
within my power to assign worth just 
because I don't like their mode. 

I personally prefer CW, enjoy RTTY but 
RTTY is to me pretty much like FT8. One 
can argue that RTTY with N1MM+, MMTTY and 
a pan-adapter still require some playing 
with to make the Q but if the software 
were out there to do it as automatically 
as FT8 and make quicker Q's... you can bet 
your bottom dollar it would be the new 
contest mode the moment it's released.

Bottom line is: If it is a popular mode it 
is not going away and nobody disliking it 
will make any difference in the final 
outcome. 

See, my 2 cents is worth more to me than 
anyone else. ;)

Good DX & 73,

Gary
KA1J