Radio Preppers

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: gil on October 10, 2012, 11:22:47 PM

Title: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 10, 2012, 11:22:47 PM
By the way... If you are a contester who likes to call non-stop on QRP frequencies, you're not welcome here. Don't sign-up, and don't come back.

Damn it i'm pissed off!

Gil.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: cockpitbob on October 10, 2012, 11:27:53 PM
OK, I'll bite.  What set you off on this?
BTW, I agree with you.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 10, 2012, 11:32:15 PM
I'm on 7030, and some ass**le is calling non-stop without pausing for more than 1 second. Just sent him an email too. I don't understand how someone can be so rude. 7030 is a QRP calling frequency, not a contest one. It's the same story almost every week-end and now Wednesday!? Geez!

Gil.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: RadioRay on October 11, 2012, 01:31:48 AM
Unfortunately, the contest mania has grown now to the point where almost every weekend, for two days straight (sometimes more) the bands become totally useless unless you're a conetester.   For me: enjoy what you want, but WHY do it at the expense of every other ham in the world?  There is a very common thought that if you're not in the contest then you have some secondary right to the band, because paper collecting is so much more important than any other activity - like communications for example.

I remember one git who would park on 60 meters with his 'voice keyer' , quite literally all day, everyday, because he wanted to get his 'Worked All States" on 60m.  Nevermind that it made the channel entirely unusable for weeks (did he even sleep?) but from just before sundown when the band would fade in from Arkansas to Idaho until late morning when it would fafe out, there was the same 'voice keyer'  "Alpha Bravo Five ....."  calling and only answering in person, when he felt like it was important for his WAS.
If someone did that on the street, he's get knocked down - and rightfully so.



73 de RadioRay
W7ASA ..._ ._
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: raybiker73 on October 11, 2012, 02:28:02 AM
I don't really understand the allure of contesting. I don't know, maybe I just don't have the competitive spirit or whatever, but it doesn't appeal to me at all. Many years ago, when I first wanted to get involved in ham radio, I went searching for a local club. I found one, but they brusquely informed me that they were a "contest club" and "didn't have time to play babysitter" for someone who was just learning. I bid them a hearty "f*&% you" and went back to shortwave listening, and didn't get involved in ham radio for another ten years. Last spring, when I decided I wanted to try again, I once again found a local club...and it turned out to be ANOTHER contest-only club. These guys weren't rude, though, and even pointed me in the direction of a club that was more welcoming to newcomers. I'm sure there are some really nice people that do contesting, but that initial impression from years ago just left a bitter taste in my mouth. Plus, I got involved in radio because I want to talk to people, not because I want to contact them just long enough to tell them that I don't have time to talk to them.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: cockpitbob on October 11, 2012, 09:37:59 AM
I have a feeling that some of it is just plain ignorance.  If you look at the ARRL's Band Plan  (http://www.arrl.org/band-plan-1)none of the calling frequencies are mentioned.  Same with their 1 page color bar chart band plan.  You have to tunnel in to find the ARRL's Considerate Operators Frequency Guide  (http://www.arrl.org/files/file/conop.pdf)before you find the recommended calling frequencies.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 11, 2012, 10:52:20 AM
Thanks Bob, I'm going to print that out and keep it handy!

Contesters are like these people who, when behind a wheel, become monsters. They'll trample everyone on the air and after the contest, they retreat back into their little self. For me, they fall into a double category, weird/rude. Some day they'll be on their deathbed, and I wish I'd be there to hand them their latest contest certificate and ask "was it worth 2/7th of your life?" I just hate rude behavior of any kind. It often stems out of deeply rooted self-esteem problems.

They also run a lot of RF power. My puny little 15W can't compete.

Every time I hear a contester monopolizing a QRP calling frequency, I think I am going to email him "The Considerate Operator's Frequency Guide." I suggest everyone do the same. Maybe if these guys get enough emails they'll move to their own calling frequency, wherever that may be.

Gil.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: AE5J on October 11, 2012, 11:45:14 AM
Gil

I have learned, through many years of listening to some really bad operators, that I have to understand that no one at the FCC requires good manners and courtesy before they issue a license. Some folks who hold a ham license are just plain not worth the gunpowder it would take to blow them up. The problem, in my opinion, is getting worse because of the general slide in our country of acting with responsibility and consideration of others. Just listen around on 75 meters at night for clear evidence.

Some would advocate fighting fire with fire or other more drastic measures. Life is too short for that. I USE contesters. I use them to contact DX that would never listen for me at other times. They are so desperate to win, they'll respond to the proverbial "anyone who can walk through the door" signals. Of course, I never fill out a contest report and send it in.

Otherwise, I just get on one of the WARC bands. They don't use them for (major) contests - yet. Give 17, 12, and 30 meters a try. Lot less frustrating. And QRP works great on these also!   :D

Give some of the digital modes a try also. Even contest madness lunies can't stand to listen to all that tweeting and howling! You, on the other hand, use a computer screen and can turn the volume off.   ;D

BTW...upgrading is probably more important now than it ever was before. Becoming an Extra meant a relatively clean 25Khz at the bottom of the bands for CW. Nowadays, most of the CW ops in the Extra portion are a bit more considerate.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 11, 2012, 11:47:50 AM
Hello Pete,

QuoteBecoming an Extra meant a relatively clean 25Khz at the bottom of the bands for CW. Nowadays, most of the CW ops in the Extra portion are a bit more considerate.

Hum, that has not been my experience so far...

Gil.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: AE5J on October 11, 2012, 11:53:49 AM
Gil

I hear you....it grieves my heart.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: RadioRay on October 11, 2012, 04:47:03 PM
One of the growing problems on the WARC bands is that despite 'No Contests' they have 'sorta-contests....'  You know-we'll all meet there and have numbers (like the digital 'meeting' on 30m) and see how many others we can exchange numbers with.  Well, is that NOT a contest?  I hear the RF storm of N0GUD 599 N0GUD 599 N0GUD 599 N0GUD 599 and two dozen others all doing it across the bottom half of thirty meters. 

You are right though - this is not and should not be a matter of legislation and I really do not want it that way.  Common courtesy is no longer common, yet a punch in the nose for even the most impolite and down right rude offences is illegal. Though we're no longer able to talk sense into miscreants, use the rod for the back of a fool & etc. & it's still too early for a rope and a tree - hmmm, life is just too complicated these days (Grin )  A couple of jolly good stonings would solve all of this for two reasons:

1.  There would be no repeat offenders.

2.  Those who MIGHT behave equally as badly, would see the results and be afraid.

An armed society is a polite society. 

Being from the wild West, I'd prefer to just hang'em with their own coax, but some panzy eastern lawyer would think that was a bad idea. Of course our cure for that out West would be preemptive: hang the lawyers first, which is why we are so free out there.

Fortunately, CW and digital have an edge - though small - over the SSB guys who really have to endure this and worse - largely because voice on radio is the lowest common denominator, so it also gathers more of this sort of problem.  Code software makes CW "contesting" an auto-frenzy even for the CW illiterati as long as the code is loud and relatively uniform and/or actually machine generated. 

Well - the nurse is coming down the hall with my medication and she becomes angry when she finds me using the staff computer, so I'd better leave now...


(http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/v1/products/3822658/views/2,width=280,height=280.png/escaped-mental-patient-0.png)



RaDIoRAy  ..._ ._  moo-ha-ha-ha!
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: KC9TNH on October 11, 2012, 07:18:24 PM
Quote from: RadioRay on October 11, 2012, 01:31:48 AMI remember one git who would park on 60 meters...
60m isn't supposed to be used for contests, right up front in alot of ARRL lit. If they send him a WAS for that I'd be surprised, but not terribly. They often speak with forked tongue. They will rally & support for one state of affairs when talking the the ITU's internationally, and then support things that run completely counter to that. Kinda like the NRA.

If someone turned in a log like that for a WAS it should've prompted an inquiry back from them along the lines of "WTF were you doing contesting on 60m, hmmm?"  Oh, that's right he wasn't contesting, he was just calling CQ non-stop digitally on the tightest band there is.

You can't fix people like that; they exist, there are legions of people internationally that think 14300 is the int'l tune-up freq. (I personally think every amp should be sold with a like-rated dummy load but I'm sometimes of the rope + lookin' for a good tree type too but not for this. Lots of stout trees in the nation's capital first...)

One night I was in the upper CW area on 40 and some really loud Canadian stations were talking on LSB, the talking wasn't so bad but they were over-driving their amps and splattering something terrible.  Just on the verge of getting mad I checked the CANADIAN band plan (online) and discovered that area is indeed an allowed SSB area. Glad I didn't make an ass of myself & learned something to boot.

'Course if you have a VFO you can spin it... You're not gonna fix various facets of amateur radio by letting them live in your head.
:)

My favorite though is some old hams having a ragchew were periodically plagued by a really vulgar QRM off his meds. They DF'd his butt, and a big dually 3/4T truck with a loggin chain took care of his antenna farm....
Just makin' conversation ya know.

Edit to add: Anyway, getting mad isn't good for the keying or the digestion. Try 7114 occasionally.
There's no sign on the SKCC 'Elmer' freq that says QRP stay away...
jes' sayin'.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: Jonas Parker on October 13, 2012, 12:50:43 PM
Quote from: gil on October 10, 2012, 11:22:47 PM
By the way... If you are a contester who likes to call non-stop on QRP frequencies, you're not welcome here. Don't sign-up, and don't come back.

Damn it i'm pissed off!

Gil.

And stay the hell off 14.300.00 as well!~
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: MIA on October 13, 2012, 05:30:09 PM
My family contests, although it's generally just the VHF+ contests. Depending on contest rules and how slow things are, we will use the calling frequencies (QRP calling freq too, if it's a QRP contest), but we only call periodically and we move off the call freq once a contact is made. Most contests are active enough that the calling freqs are never needed, with the general exception of13cm (2.4 GHz) and up.

As for the idiot on 60 meters, he was certainly a horses @$$. However WAS is an award not a contest, and 60m is a valid band for that award. However, anyone sitting on a 60m freq with voice keyer like that should be shunned, as he has no consideration for anyone else.

We can run legal limit on any band up to and including the 23cm band, but we only use enough legal power to make the contact. Anyone using full legal power (or more) when it isn't needed is not only a bad operator, but just a jerk. YMMV
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 26, 2012, 10:59:45 PM
And there we go again! It's Friday night and the whole 40m band, including CW part is flooded with SSB contesters.
Contesting is killing Ham radio. Maybe not economically, contesters buy radios, but in essence it is.

Gil.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: RadioRay on October 27, 2012, 06:36:04 AM
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 ..._ ._
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: cockpitbob on October 27, 2012, 08:35:00 AM
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.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 27, 2012, 10:34:40 AM
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.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: raybiker73 on October 27, 2012, 05:26:12 PM
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...
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 27, 2012, 05:47:21 PM
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.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: KC9TNH on October 27, 2012, 05:53:43 PM
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
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on October 27, 2012, 08:17:09 PM
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.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on February 15, 2013, 11:31:53 PM
Another Friday night polluted by a contest. the whole 40m band is unusable, including QRP calling frequencies! AAHHRRRRRR !!!
Inconsiderate jerks!

Gil.
Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: KC9TNH on February 17, 2013, 12:18:38 PM
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 (http://iaru-r1.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=175&Itemid=127). 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.

Title: Re: Contesters.
Post by: gil on February 17, 2013, 01:30:33 PM
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.