[VHFcontesting] FM-Only Frequencies?

Jerry jer.sieg at shaw.ca
Wed Dec 12 12:37:59 EST 2012


I have had numerous occasions when I ask a 'New Ham' to QSY to .52 
Simplex to explain things, etc... rather than tie up the local Rptr.. 
and get 'What is That ?' in response !
   I have Rx e-mails and telephone calls from US Op's that a VE6 was 
calling CQ on 50.110 SSB from my Grid, so would have to track them down 
via phone calls...and on occasion have had Op's ask me 'What does DN39 
mean ?"  Perhaps our  Ham Classes should be just 25% Rules, 25% Regs, 
and 50% Op Procedures.. (you can learn how to get a shock or a burn on 
your own..if you decide you 'wanna build or fix something yourself' !)
I am sure the .52 Rule was put in place for large Metro areas that 'must 
utilize it' on occasion.. which is probably a good idea..but I could 
call CQ FM Simp. on any freq. and 'Never Get a Reply' as they have 
figured out how to program the memories..and never need to touch a knob 
again !
'Common Sense' is the Rule.. but I don't believe we 'Teach That'..Do We ?
Jerry
VE6CPP
DN39or (FYI..that's my Maidenhead Grid Square !)  ;o)

On 12/12/2012 10:11 AM, Keith Morehouse wrote:
> I believe the "52" rule was written to get "buy in" from the FM crowd back
> when that mode was popular.  There had been many complaints about certain
> contest stations monopolizing the calling frequency and it was felt
> necessary.
>
> Now, the FM band is a vast wasteland in many parts of the country. Maybe a
> re-visit of the rules is in order.
>
> Jay W9RM
>
> Keith J Morehouse
> -via DROID2Global
> On Dec 12, 2012 10:52 AM, "Paul Decker" <kg7hf at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I have to admit I haven't read the rules.   It sounds pretty short sighted
>> to me as well.
>>
>> Would that be 146,520,001  Hz that I am calling on?  ;)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm at arrl.net>
>> To: Paul Decker <kg7hf at comcast.net>
>> Cc: Bob K0NR - email list <list at k0nr.com>, vhfcontesting at contesting.com
>> Sent: Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:41:33 -0000 (UTC)
>> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] FM-Only Frequencies?
>>
>> The contest rules explicitly state that you cannot use the national
>> simplex calling frequencies. I think it's a dumb rule, but it is a
>> rule.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Paul, N8HM
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 11:34 AM, Paul Decker wrote:
>>> There seems to be so little activity on FM simplex and on VHF FM anyway,
>> I personally would just call on the calling frequency and not worry about
>> it too much. I believe the argument you presented holds and it's not
>> against the law.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Bob K0NR - email list
>>> To: vhfcontesting at contesting.com
>>> Sent: Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:50:22 -0000 (UTC)
>>> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] FM-Only Frequencies?
>>>
>>> I like the idea of the FM-only category... it won't make a huge
>> difference in
>>> activity
>>> but it opens up the contest for people that don't have limited vhf
>> stations.
>>> But here's what happens next (based on many actual conversations):
>>>
>>> Me: Hey, Charlie, there's an FM category in the VHF contests. You should
>> give it
>>> a try.
>>>
>>> Charlie: OK, sounds great. I'll look for you on 146.52 MHz, right?
>>>
>>> Me: Well, no, you can't use the FM calling frequency for calling in the
>> contest.
>>> Charlie: Really? If I was operating SSB, can I use the SSB calling
>> frequency?
>>> Me: Well, yes, that is allowed. But for some reason FM is treated
>> differently.
>>> Charlie: Wow, that seems dumb.
>>>
>>> Me: Correct.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 6:46 PM, Les Rayburn wrote:
>>>
>>>> so what frequencies will you be monitoring in your area? For distant
>>>> questions, it's really necessary to monitor with the squelch off--meaning
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