The AM Forum

International DX Contest (Phone)

International DX Contest (Phone)

I recall reading something about a memo from Riley, particularly in reference to 40m, saying that working DX on split-frequency is illegal unless the US station listens on his transmit frequency to make sure it is clear before transmitting.

...FB IDEA...I CAN RUN MY KW AM CARRIER ON THE LOWER PORTION OF 75,AND WERK U GUYS TRANSMITTING ON THE HIGHER END...WOULD'NT THAT CREATE ALOT OF PISSED-OFF "DIPOLE IN A BAG" OPERATORS....WHY DONT WE HAVE A CORNTEST SOME WEEKEND..."CQ LEFT-HANDED DENTISTS",OR WHATEVER...AM FROM ONE END OF THE BAND TO ANOTHER...EVERYONE TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING ON DIFFERENT FREQS...!!!....SK..

Yep...   I agree! 

It's time to fight fire with enhanced nuclear radiation...     ;D

First off...   how about a contest on 160 and 80 only that's ONLY open to retuned AM
broadcast transmitters? That oughta make a pretty big splash, especially those rigs that
have a VFO patched in to replace the crystal oscillator!    :o  Call it the "RCA Rumble" or
something like that...   or the "Gates Grabass" or the "Raytheon Wreckage"!

Next...  a contest for ALL bands (except 30 meters, of course) that lets the less
stentorian rigs fire up and have at it for DX.
 
Just imagine...   every Halliscratchers, Collins, Johnson and Heathkit out there calling "CQ
AM DX" for a SOLID WEEKEND! SSB contacts count for ZERO points! And for the weekend
the "Gentlemen's Agreements" about AM frequencies go right down the toilet...   the
WHOLE DAMNED PHONE BAND is fair game...  just like for the slop bucket contests!

Maybe we should start having the Heavy Metal Rally every other weekend, or once a month.

The winner could be determined by they're points total for the year.

Maybe we could get yaecomwood to donate a nice shiny new ricebox for 1st place....to be run over with a nice big 4 wheel drive BY the 1st place winner.

Ya think they'd go for it?? ???

Most “serious” contest stations are only really on during contest times, so to them, it probably doesn’t make much difference how many “heavy Metal Rallies” you have. Most good contesters possess excellent skills operating under adverse QRM type conditions and can easily notch and null adjacent channel interference. And, most likely, you couldn’t get enough “heavy metal rigs” operating simultaneously on several bands to make much of an impact.

Yes it is a big deal John, it's rude, its disruptive, and if any other group were to have this kind of impact there'd be Holy Hell to pay.

One potentially effective countermeasure would be to pressure the publishers who sponsor the damn things.

Part of it would be many of us calling and questioning, then escalating to confrontation for action and resolution.

The other part of a carrot and stick approach would include a visible effort to improve rules compliance, draw regulatory attention, and consider petitions for rulemaking.

It's clear the contest organizers and participants feel they can do this with impunity. A few complaints are the cost of doing business. To elevate that cost to a sufficient level may tip the balance toward restraint rather than the wild, screaming interference bystanders now have to suffer.

John, I agree that it will take more than an isolated number of complaints. I said as much in my posting to which you replied. Organizers of these events count on a small number of people motivated enough to question the rampant, wild screams, and so far, it has been for them an acceptable cost of doing business.

Raising that cost may prompt a review and action.

NØIU said: OK, lets say you actually do get the ARRL to banish all contesting forever. Congratulations! Your work is not done, it has only just begun. You can’t just stop with the ARRL. Because no one owns the frequencies, you have to go to the other major US contest organizer, CQ Magazine. Here is their contact information:
CQ Magazine
25 Newbridge Road
Hicksville, NY 11801 USA
Phone: (516) 681-2922
Let us know how that turns out.

Now you can’t just single out these two contest organizers because that would be discriminatory and that is already illegal. Let’s see who else organized contests in the United States in February and March:

Ten-Ten International
Digital on Six
Arizona ScQRPions
The Adventure Radio Society
FISTS International CW Club
The Old Man International Sideband Society
Antique Wireless Association
Colorado QRP Club

There were also QSO Parties in the following states:
Minnesota
Delaware
Vermont
Northern New York
New Hampshire
Louisiana
North Carolina
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Idaho
Virginia

Since it would be impractical to conact every contest organizer to get them to stop contesting, it would have to come from the FCC in the form of changing Part 97. They can't even decide when or even if they will abolish Morse code testing so I am sure they will jump right on your proposal to abolish contesting.

OK, so lets say you do manage to get the FCC to outlaw all contesting. During that same period, there were contest organized by organizations in Mexico, Canada, England, Netherlands, France, Ukraine, Spain, Germany, Russia and Kuwait. They don’t have to follow FCC regulations. Since you can’t stop with the FCC, you have to go all the way to the International Telecommunications Union. The international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum are made at World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) which are held every two to three years. The next one will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from October 15 to November 9, 2007. You have about 19 months to get your revisions on the agenda. Here is their address:

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Voice +41 22 730 5111
Email: itumail@itu.int

Better get busy. You have A LOT of work to do!

Until you get the ITU to abolish contesting world wide, your only choice is to keep a log of everyone who hinders your enjoyment of ham radio and submit formal complaints to the FCC.

The reason the band is filled with contesters several weekends a year is becuase there are more operators on the bands at those times.

Paul --

The reason the band is filled with contesters several weekends a year is becuase there are more operators on the bands at those times.   The first time you try to propose rules, official or otherwise, to cubby-hole contesters to a small band of frequencies because they effect your operating habits I guarantee you they'll respond the same way towards you because you're effecting their operating habits.  Be carefull what you ask for.   

As I've demonstrated before,  the percentage of weekends per year, and days per year, that contesting effects the bands in a significant way is very small.   You might not like what the numbers say, but you can't refute them.   I made the post a few months ago; feel free to look it up.  By the way, the approach is valid; simply trying to dismiss the approach as "without merit" means nothing.

Rude operating?  I've no problems with people trying to do something about that.  Just as there are those on 75M AM that give AM a bad name because of their operating practices, there are contesters that give contesting a bad name because of their operating practices.   Hmmm.  There are quite a few on this forum that defend that kind of late night 75M behavior as just having fun, it's been that way for years etc.  I wonder why they don't apply the same viewpoint to contests!!

This weekend on the radio: ... the Idaho, Oklahoma and Wisconsin QSO parties...

running full legal output into a beam on a huge tower wheres the challegnge in that ??

  Why can't the contest sponsors simply designate specific portions of the band off limits to contest operation, and disqualify anyone caught violating the rule?  That would leave everyone some space to operate, even though we might have to QSY a few kc's away from our carved-in-stone God-given frequencies decreed to us by James Clerk Maxwell himself.

I still don't get it ?? What is the lure and thrill of contesting ?? You buy a computerised radio that can do all kinds of modes, you run it into a max power out linear and into a beam on a tower then you shoud CQ Contest and people come back to you. You exchange 2 words with them and move onto someone else. I don't  get it ?? What's so fascinating about that ?? I can do the same thing over the Internet and get more meaningfull conversation out of it as well.

I could see  other types of CHALLENGING contests. How about very low QRP contests ?? Like who can make the most contacts via a very low power rig and minimal antenna.  Or perhaps  a contest consiting of low power portable stations using battery operated QRP rigs and temporary makeshift antennas hung from trees, etc. That would be interesting and challenging.That is more along the lines of what I might call a "contest".

But buying the latest and most expensive Kenwood, Ten Tek, or Icom, running full legal output into a beam on a huge tower wheres the challegnge in that ?? I just don't get it.

It's the quantity of contacts within a defined period. Contesting is not about "meaningfull  conversation". "Meaningfull  conversation" is reserved for non-contest times. Even back in the days of boatanchors, there were lots of contests. Check some 50's, 60's, 70's QST's and CQ magazines.

There are several QRP related contests each year. How about Field Day? Generally, temporany antennas, generator power, no linears, QRP class, battery power class, etc.

It becomes a challenge when a 1000 plus other guys are running the same kind and style of equipment. Equipment performance becomes important, antenna designs are critical, excellent operating skills are crucial. None of these are required for casual conversation.