Contesters.

Started by gil, October 10, 2012, 11:22:47 PM

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RadioRay

#15
This looks like the CQ DX WORLDWIDE CONTEST   ::)  WaHoo  ::) Reading through the silly rules, it appears that you get points for talking to different countries.  Naturally, if you live in Europe, where countries are the size of American counties, that's fine.  If you live in north America, you can blab from Maine to San Diego, California and still get zero points, which is how it should be.  All contests = zero points, no paper and no publishing of 'results'.  (I always thought that results implied DOING something.)

I am curious to hear how this interferes with emergency radio operations relating to the impact of Hurricane Sandy. With Hurricane Sandy due to hit in the next 24 hours, ham radio is very important for us in the more remote areas where loss of infrastructure along the coastal counties can last for a week or more.  Emergency coordination is generally done on Statewide HF.  I can only imagine about 2 a.m. with winds ripping roofs off and some guy is going to be calling me at the EOC: " Italy Zulu One Bravo Sierra you are 5/9, Italy" on his 'voice keyer'.

It may not be as important as contesting though:
'Worked All Crack Houses in Detroit'

Maybe it's just me, but I don't like SPAMMERS, litter-bugs or telephone sales guys and other rude, pushy critters. Unfortunately, the only cure for such wide-spread mayhem is EMP, because counting on good manners in a contest as a way of limiting the damage certainly has no effect.



>RadioRay ..._ ._
"When we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can."  ~ Matthew Henry

cockpitbob

I'm in the middle on this one.  Contests and special events are a good way to get people to use their licenses and keep their skills up.  I know people, like my son, who need some kind of reason to get on the air.  This weekend is nuts though, and Ray has a really good point about it interfering with emergency traffic.  Let's take it to the other extreme though.  If ham radio died as a hobby and our bands were mostly silent, I can guarantee you that the .gov would sell that bandwidth to the highest bidder.  All things in moderation.

gil

The problem is, they were all over the band, even the Extra CW lower part between 7.0 and 7.025. Unbelievable...
This morning I hear one calling CQ on 14300 during the Maritime Net!

Gil.

raybiker73

Right now, they are everywhere, from 75 all the way to 10. Even heard a PX prefix on 10 meters calling "CQ Contest", using concert hall reverb/echo and with mariachi music playing in the background. I think my favorite was a guy on 20 meters (which is almost literally FULL, every last little Hertz getting hoovered up). He was giving the standard "CQ Contest" boilerplate, but he was talking every bit as fast as the legalese you hear at the end of commercials. I listened for a bit, and I'll bet he worked 10 stations in 30 seconds. Looks like this will be a good evening to leave the radio off and get reacquainted with the XBox and the Playstation for a while...

gil

Yep, I took refuge in the lower part of 40m. Even there, I had to find some empty space between 3kHz wide SSB signals in the CW section! Operators who couldn't go there were SOOL. I just don't understand it. Just like plane spotting... Plain weird. They can contest all they want for all I care, but when a contest takes up all the bands for days, I say ENOUGH!

Gil.

KC9TNH

Quote from: gil on October 27, 2012, 10:34:40 AMThis morning I hear one calling CQ on 14300 during the Maritime Net!

Gil.
Other people treat 14300 as the WW "tune up" freq for 20m. They don't listen for the other half of the QSO. It's gonna happen. During a busy contest weekend, MMSN often has enough devoted relays who'll draw swords & try to repel boarders. 14300 has been designated by all THREE International Am Radio Unions as a Global center for emergency traffic. This testament to the NCS & mission on 14300 is, as Smilin' Joe would say, "...a big f***in' deal" for a single amateur frequency. The next step is for the entire IARU to get all their little NRA-like contest sanctioning bodies (ours is the ARRL) to put into their many contest wall-paper rules:

"Contacts logged within plus/minus 2.5kHz of 14300mHz will be disallowed and the station shall be ineligible to submit a contest log for consideration for 1 year from that date for any (sanctioning-body) event."

Other than that, contesters have their piece of the hobby too, and, yes it's in the part of FCC Part 97 that they're allowed their version of the pursuit of happiness. Uh, big SSB contest, CW rules.

Think prep - what are you going to do otherwise?
Find alternate freqs, make backup plans.
Primary
Alternate
Contingency
Emergency

gil

Those guys are bleeding all over the Maritime Net on 14300 right now transmitting on 14299.. Don't they know anything?

Quote"Contacts logged within plus/minus 2.5kHz of 14300mHz will be disallowed and the station shall be ineligible to submit a contest log for consideration for 1 year from that date for any (sanctioning-body) event."

That would be a great rule!

Gil.

gil

Another Friday night polluted by a contest. the whole 40m band is unusable, including QRP calling frequencies! AAHHRRRRRR !!!
Inconsiderate jerks!

Gil.

KC9TNH

Quote from: KC9TNH on October 27, 2012, 05:53:43 PMThink prep - what are you going to do otherwise?
Find alternate freqs, make backup plans.
Primary
Alternate
Contingency
Emergency
Here's an example that drives what I was talking about, the Region 1 band-plan. It's theirs, and they don't follow it any more than those in North America do. Same global regard (on paper anyway) for 14300, same delineation of QRP "centers of activity" or mid-40m digital activity. Doesn't matter.

As an example, while working on 3rd cup of coffee & drafting my retirement packet, I was listening near a CW 20m area familiar to us, right below the typical digital boundary. Yup, same contest all weekend. Does he have a right to be there? Sure. At least I got my 5nn from the CZ station on 20 watts. (Proof that more than half the battle is antenna; do a QRZ lookup of OK7B and checkout their antenna farm if you want an envy attack.)

Plan for the comms that matter, and back that plan up, and back it up again. As I said above, until the sanctioning bodies disallow contacts for certain modes in certain areas, a band plan is just that - theory. Otherwise one is just gonna continue to upset the digestion, which is not good.


gil

I am sure glad we have the 30m band for times like these. However, 30m isn't the best at night, often closed... I just can't believe the ARRL can't suggest to contesters to avoid calling frequencies.. How hard would that be? I have heard stations caling CQ TEST on 7030 for a full hour, with two-second breaks between calls.. !!!  Next time I get an offer to join the ARRL, I will write back and tell them they won't get a penny from me until they fix that problem.

Gil.