[UK-CONTEST] Digital on 160

[Steve Rawlings]

Don wrote:
 > Mm, last night W1AW came up right on top of 8R1EA (and much louder).
 > Crazy situation!

-- craz'y  a.  insane; extremely foolish; ....

Although the total number of amateur beacons/information service 
stations is quite small, it's surprising how much QRM each one can cause 
when launched within our communication segments.  The number of such 
stations is growing, and it would appear that anyone can pick a 
frequency of their choice, put their keyer into loop mode, and start 
sending callsign/QTH locator/etc. - even ANT1/ANT2 tests and DX spots - 
for months on end.

So, it's not surprising that Don decided to describe this single example 
of avoidable QRM as "crazy".  I trust that 8R1EA was able to QSY a few 
kHz to a quieter spot.

What words, then, might we use to describe situations when a minority of 
the amateur community monopolise entire band segments, across multiple 
bands for several weekends in a row?

What words could we use to summarise situations where our CW-only 
segments are taken over by a small but very loud minority of amateurs 
running high power data modes or SSB for entire weekends?

As far as the majority of amateurs are concerned, they encounter crazy 
situations nearly every weekend.  Under such circumstances, QSYing a few 
kHz may be no help at all.

Can no one else in this little group appreciate what it's like to be a 
non-contester these days?


Regards to all
Steve GW4ALG