[UK-CONTEST] 40m CQWW SSB

[Peter Bowyer]

Well said, Gerry.

Peter G4MJS

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerard Lynch" <gerrylynch at freenetname.co.uk>
To: <uk-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 9:47 PM
Subject: [UK-CONTEST] 40m CQWW SSB


> Taking my life in my hands, I posted this to VivatMorse:
>
> ----
>
> At the risk of being lynched, and as someone who rarely operates SSB 
> outside
> contests, but was active with the club station at the weekend, let me 
> humbly
> disagree.
>
> The reason why CQWW SSB populates the entire 40 m band from 010 up with
> 20-30 over 9 signals during European dark hours is that it is simply the
> most popular operating event in amateur radio.  More than 90% of the
> stations active on 40 last weekend will have been SSB contest stations, 
> and
> I'm afraid 90% band occupancy on that basis seems reasonable.  And it's 
> only
> one weekend a year.
>
> Interestingly, on WPX, the contesters seems to spread down to around 020 
> or
> so, and I was active in the wee hours of Sunday morning on 40 CW during 
> WPX
> SSB weekend this year and there seemed to be no trouble with people 
> fitting
> in to the QRM free 20 kHz.  And there were few complaints.  And that makes
> at most two weekends a year where the band gets wiped out - in the others,
> CW exclusive segments seem to be respected, even in WAE and ARRL SSB.
>
> So for those two weekends a year, what's wrong with being a bit cosy -
> heaven help us, you might even **work** some people?  Or moving to another
> band?
>
> 30 metres - even on major CW contest weekends, I rarely hear any CW 
> stations
> above 10.125 even though our exclusive segment goes up to 140.
>
> 17 metres is never crowded even on major CW contest weekends.
>
> 12m - does anyone hear QSOs in the 910-920 CW exclusive segment, even in
> solar maxima?  Thought not!
>
> 80m - always plenty of space on 80 for a natter, occupancy really thins 
> out
> above 3550 and I never hear anyone much above the QRQ boys on 3569.
>
> 20m - the SSB segement is getting as bad as 40 in CQ WW now, I suppose a
> combination of low sunspots keeping 10 closed and the no-code HFers. 
> Still,
> the 14.100 band limit was well respected when I was on the band.  On the
> other hand, we regularly push up over 100 in CQ WW CW, 125 or so seems to 
> be
> the limit, and I seem to remember ARRL contests going that high in the 
> past.
> Oh yes, I remember the days when 20 CW could be crowded on non-contest
> Saturdays, but they're long gone, aren't they?
>
> 40m is the only CW band which is remotely crowded, and yes, it does get
> crowded most weekends.
>
> It seems you can't win - on the one hand one hears constant complaints 
> about
> the lack of activity (and you can spend a long time calling CQ on 40 
> during
> weekdays with little change, and yes, I get out well on 40), but when 
> there
> is a serious amount of activity, people whinge because it's too much!
>
> Oh, and don't forget the SSB boys will be complaining in 4 weeks when *we*
> spread up to 7.075 or 80 - although any whingers are told in no uncertain
> terms by me to read their bandplan carefully.
>
> Oddly, there was plenty of SSB activity below 21.150 this weekend, about
> which I've heard no complaint, and the digital contests, which cause QRM 
> to
> the 40 CW exclusive segment almost every weekend these days, with far less
> participants, cause much less online complaint.  Is this a case of people
> waiting all year just so they can have a good whinge (after all, a good 
> old
> amateur radio pastime) in the last weekend in October?
>
> Like that DL/OE eejit who has obviously retirement QSYed down to the Med
> somewhere who spends all weekend shouting "only in CW" to SSB ops at the
> bottom of the band?  Like operating without a callsign is just like, 
> sooooo,
> legal, mate.
>
> And remember, 40m bandplans are different in every part of the world, so
> expecting the CQ committee to police all of them is a bit silly.
>
> Flame away, my asbestos suit is on.
>
> 73
>
> Gerry G0RTN
> Vanity Page at http://www.gerrylynch.co.uk
> "In days of old, when ops were bold, and sidebands not invented,
> The word would pass, by pounding brass, and all were well contented."
>
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