[UK-CONTEST] SSB AFS 2003 - G3NKC

[Steve Jones]

Re David's comments on sstv ops, I came across these sad creatures right at the end of the contest. I lost my run frequency and after doing two or three sweeps of the band section, I found 3732ish very free of qrm. I asked three times if the freq was in use - no reply - but after abt ten minutes of successful running I got qrmed by a sstv station. I worked through it ;-))  until he came onto ssb telling me I was in the wrong part of the band, - after informing him that I was within my licence conditions, that I had asked if the freq was clear 3 times, and that the contest, which is only held once a year, was finishing in 11 minutes, I asked for his call. He gave it as PA4DX and continued to lecture me, so I told him that if he continued to cause deliberate qrm to me I would report him to his licencing authorities - yep he carried on with more sstv - so I hopped up and down a few kc every  minute and managed to work another six stations. I then informed him that for his rudeness I woudl carry on with a local rag chew at the end of the contest and that I would make a point of using that part of the band for my local qsos in the future. 

I have had this problem with sstv stations before, and if they used some politeness in the begining and asked me to qsy I probably would.  I don't think you can come to a deal with them, so I think its best to avoid them if you can but if its near the end of the contest and you 're looking for a nice clear freq for a few mins, some very entertaining sport can be had around 3730 ;-))))))) - just make sure you ask if the freq is clear first, so you keep it legal ;-)

On a more serious note, I agree with Steve that no more bandwidth should be used, but I think the contest would encourage more newcomers to try contesting if we all agreed to a rule change to restrict power output to 10w - the experienced contesters would  still be at the top of the table but the qrm levels woudl be lower, and the M3 stations would feel that they had more of a chance against us qro merchants. 100w max was suggested by one of our club members after last years contest, but on reflection I think we should all use 10w.  Any views on that one?

73

Steve GW0GEI 
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David L Sharred 
  To: UK-Contest 
  Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 8:44 PM
  Subject: [UK-CONTEST] SSB AFS 2003 - G3NKC

  Started on 3730 - figured if the SSTV band (which is only voluntary) is
  3730-3740, then I ought to have been ok.  Had some QSO's on this frequency
  before the contest, with no complaints, but when the even started, I was
  plagued by the SSTV fraternity. I had to move eventually after approx 1
  hour, as more SSTV policemen joined in (including 1 DL !). I don't suppose
  that the SSTV brigade look here, but I can't see that they are doing
  themselves any favours by jamming people. You look like a might sad bunch to
  me.





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