[UK-CONTEST] 21/28 MHz CW Contest G3BJ

[Gerard Lynch]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Wylie" <t.wylie at ntlworld.com>

> Perhaops its time to scrap ALL the Contests and keep just four -
>
> AFS
> Club Calls
> An Amalgamated field day  SSB/CW and RTTY  (Come on I can hear you now)
> and ONE other Contest like field day only run from
> home - multi band/mode - ONE weekend a year....

I know you're just being provocative, Tom, but:

You'd scrap RoPoCo?  Still plenty of interest there, surely? And actually 
nice to have a contest where CW skills are properly tested.  Apart from 
IOTA, that is.

You'd scrap BERU?  Oh, please let's not start that bloomin' argument again. 
Suffice to say it easily has a sufficient following to be retained.

Amalgamated field day?  Ugh!!!  Please, let's not inflict digimodes 
contesting on people with the sense to avoid them.  Both bits of FD have a 
substantial enough following, in other R1 countries as well as the UK, it 
ain't broke so don't fix it.

However, the 21/28 MHz I have no real problems about seeing sail into the 
mists of history.  I think I tried the CW leg once from GI, and it was a 
time when there were some sunspots about.  After an hour producing a grand 
total of about 5 European QSOs, I QSYed to 12 metres where I worked a steady 
stream of JAs, followed by Yanks as the propagation swung round.  Thus my 
rather negative view of 21/28 was formed (or was it just 21 MHz in those 
days?).  Anyway, I wouldn't miss it if it went.

I don't think every country needs a national contest, especially when 
they're all pretty much the same (i.e. RDXC clones).  The exceptions, the 
one country only events, are too boring, for me anyway, if you're not from 
that country - e.g. PACC - working PAs at 5/hour - how exciting?!?!?!  IOTA 
is increasingly the UK's de facto national contest, and if we need another, 
I'd like to see more done to promote WAE.

It might be nice to have a *different* sort of contest where strategies were 
completely different - maybe a 1 pt/kilometre contest on HF with no mults? 
A Sweepstake style traffic handling contest?  Europe-wide RoPoCo?  I'd scrap 
any number of HA/YU/YO/9A/UR/etc./etc. Tests for a few of those.

Oh, yes, and our bands under 150 MHz are not under threat as nobody else 
wants them either.  But if you're worried, put nice Mr. Skype on "do not 
disturb mode" and stick out a CQ - you all remember how to do that, don't 
you?

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."