[UK-CONTEST] CQWW 160 SSB

[Peter Day]

I  can't let you get away with this one Roger :-)

You paint a quite demoralising picture of HF amateur radio as we know it 
today.

How can you say our (HF) bands are under utilised outside of contests 
unless you, like me, are on the air almost every day and find them so? I 
certainly don't find them like that. Sure, 28 and 24MHz are very quiet 
much of the time but even 28MHz does not always come alive in a contest. 
The bands 18MHz and down are usually open to all parts of the world 
these days and I've been having loads of QSOs on them and often have QRM 
problems too. I mean by this that I have actually been having * 
conversations * with other amateurs, and not with meaningless rubber 
stamp type 599 or 59 reports! To replace non contest conversations with 
  number and prefix swapping contest style contacts is not meaningful or 
even useful communication in my book!

Yes, I love contesting and do a lot of it these days. I also look for 
new countries and swap the ubiquitous and rather idiotic 599 reports 
(why DO we all do that? We didn't in the 60s when Dxpeditioners were 
putting on the rare ones!) but I balance that with real conversations on 
the key, microphone and keyboard modes. There are many people who post 
to this reflector who I never hear of outside contests or they are 
active only when there's a Dxpedition to a Most Wanted entity. If that's 
the only fun they get out of amateur radio then I do feel rather sad for 
them... but everyone to their own thing of course. Some of them must 
have no on air radio friends.

There are so many different facets of this great hobby... operating, 
building equipment, experimenting with antennas, working with the local 
club, helping newcomers, being part of special event stations and many 
of the things on your own list Roger but to suggest that Contesting is 
the Saviour of Amateur Radio is quite ludicrous!

The tone of your posts suggests that you'd be happy o the HF bands were 
wall to wall every day with 59 New Hampshire, 59400, 5914 etc instead of 
folk having friendly chats about the weather, the gear they are using 
and generally furthering world wide friendship.

There is no subsitute for on air conversations. To suggest mobile 
phones, Skype and the like make this obsolete is not only erroneous but, 
if read by newcomers on this reflector, will be no incentive to those 
wishing to be part of amateur radio.

You have to face the fact that, unlike you and I, the majority of radio 
amateur are not competitive. Contests are not the reason they took up 
amateur radio in the first place.

The "ham bands" (how I hate that word ham!) do have a purpose and they 
help us to communicate with others who share common interests in things 
technical, social and hopefully create international friendships which 
must be a good thing.


Peter G3PHO


On 04/03/2011 02:11, Roger G3SXW wrote:
> Dave - outside of contests (and DXpeditions) our bands are
> under-utilised. We risk losing our precious frequencies by defending
> the rights of that silent majority who pop up for an occasional chat
> once a week.
>
> We must get real, come up to date. The hobby has moved on. Tens of
> thousands of contesters are enjoying the hobby, communicating,
> learning, pushing the technological envelope, providing the
> life-blood that the hobby so desperately needs, enthusiasm,
> band-occupancy, building super-stations, investigating weird
> propagation modes, learning new operating techniques, developing new
> software, The raw energy of contesters is energising the hobby.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The people I know who are doing the energizing are definitely not 
contesters!
>
> So, here's the sociological/psychological interpretation: society is
> changing fast, the internet facilitates instant communication; we no
> longer need the ham bands to communicate, to help us feel less
> lonely. We use e-mail and IM, so instead of chatting on the air we do
> it via the internet. (I do not comment as to whether that's a good
> thing or not). But it leaves the ham bands without a 'purpose'.
                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> That purpose is now competitive, i.e. contesting and DX-chasing.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  I can't believe I'm believe I'm reading this from one with the SWLing 
and later operating experience you have.