Corntests - Rotten QRM

[W1UJR]

Contesters are just plain "rotten".

Sorry, I just don’t get it.
How much audio gain and speech compression is too much?
What gives you the right to ruin a QSO because they are operating in a mode you can not copy and don't have interest in?
Forget the belches, burps and "creative language" of 75; nothing gives ham radio a black eye like a contest where almost every op on the band is inconsiderate, rude and just plain obnoxious.

I'm more than certain that this has been discussed before, but how about a break or freq limit from the corntest?
48 hours of "CQ Contest" just numbs my mind, and I am just monitoring, could you imagine participating?

If the point is to see how many contacts one can make in a fixed timeframe, why does it matter if it is 12, 24 or 48 hours?
Furthermore, if this is also about skill, how about a mandatory power limitation of 25 watts?

Or limitation to certain frequency segments, do we really have to have the entire band trashed?

Somehow I just don’t think “The Old Man” would be at all pleased.

Anybody else car to vent on this, perhaps I am missing something?

[W2VW]

The contesters that you are hearing near existing QSO's are wannabe losers. They would not be trying to clean out an AM QSO if they had any hopes of earning a high score. The time wasted playing that game is enough to see section leader go bye bye. Best way to deal with the garbage is a better antenna.
BTW you are 5-9 hr.

[W3SLK]

Bruce said:

Somehow I just don’t think “The Old Man” would be at all pleased.

I think TOM would be severely pissed[/i] if he knew how the (be)League(d) is being run today.

Sorry I didn't have a good copy on you last nite Bruce.

[W2VW]

The Old Man was a CW man. He would not have lowered himself to commenting about phone lid wars. No wonder the guy invented silencers.

[W2JBL]

     last night i actually got reprimanded for tuning up, testing and signing my call on a very clear 3880 by a contester who informed me that i should not be testing because i was INTERFERING WITH THE CONTEST! how about we get the ARRL to set up a contest operator complaint system where contesters who generate complaints from non competitors get either disqualified, or lose points for interfering with normal operation? years ago i got banned from sporty car racing for "rough driving" (chrome horn). why not ban contest ops for rough operating? the ARRL general contest rules cleary state that competitors must abide by FCC regulations. the "Riley era" has brought (ugh) politically correct operating to our bands. why should contesters be immune to it? 

[Ed KB1HVS]

CQ sweepstakes. CQ SS. I tried to engage one of them in a QSO. I asked him since he now had my call would I now be entered in the sweepstakes and what prize is at stake.. I asked him if my chances of winning were good. He called me a lid. I laughed. so Im a lid.......... He continued on in the qrmtest

[W3SLK]

Chris said:

how about we get the ARRL to set up a contest operator complaint system where contesters who generate complaints from non competitors get either disqualified, or lose points for interfering with normal operation? years ago i got banned from sporty car racing for "rough driving" (chrome horn). why not ban contest ops for rough operating? the ARRL general contest rules cleary state that competitors must abide by FCC regulations. the "Riley era" has brought (ugh) politically correct operating to our bands. why should contesters be immune to it?

You got to be kidding me!!!!! The ARRgghhL won't even do what their own (be)League(d) members want let alone devoting time with petty corntests! I remember this topic being discussed back in my high school days when there was a least some credibility of order on the bands, (75M being the exception). Look at the ARRgghhL's own bandwidth proposal and tell me they will address corntest etiquette.

[WA3VJB]

Call the Contest Guru in Newington and you will get your answer.
I did, and I have.
All contest queries should be directed to contests@arrl.org or by telephone to 860-594-0232.
Dan Henderson   n1nd@arrl.org


On the other hand, they seem to offer us a reward for challenging the people taking part in the contest.
From what I understand, if we can successfully push them off frequency, either for a period of time or off a range of frequencies, that is considered a
 Clean Sweep
and you can obtain the following:  (from ARRL website)

Clean Sweep Mugs

Commemorate working your "clean sweep" by purchasing your 2005 November Sweepstakes mug. To earn your mug, work all 80 ARRL/RAC sections during the CW or Phone November Sweepstakes. Mug awards are based on claimed scores. The price for the keepsake mug is $12 each, (including postage and handling). If you submit electronically, send a paper copy of the first page of your Cabrillo file and indicate how many mugs you are ordering along with your check. If you log by paper, attach a note to the top of your summary sheet indicating how many mugs you are ordering and your check. All orders should be sent to Clean Sweep Mugs, ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main Street. Newington, CT 06111. Your mug will be shipped after all entries and mug orders have been processed and verified. Supplies are limited. We only guarantee filling orders received by the Phone Submission deadline of December 21, 2005.



Scoring is as follows:
Push away a pissweak contest station - 5 points
Push away a pissweak contest station and get him to quit for the weekend - 10 points

Push away any station that has "worked" less than 50 other competitors - 10 points
Push away a station whose signal is 30+ or more -- 50 points

Block contacts by an automated station through technical countermeasures -- 75 points


None of this is considered intentional interference under the contest rules, since it makes for a more challenging event.

[Glenn NY4NC]

Oh man! That's funny! 

You could have told him...... "I could really use a microwave oven or a new digital camera, how many points do I need??" 

CQ sweepstakes. CQ SS. I tried to engage one of them in a QSO. I asked him since he now had my call would I now be entered in the sweepstakes and what prize is at stake.. I asked him if my chances of winning were good. He called me a lid. I laughed. so Im a lid.......... He continued on in the qrmtest

[k4kyv]

Well, back in the mid 30's when Sweepstakes was first inaugurated, it lasted for an entire week!

Of course, it was cw-only back then.

I have no gripe against the cw sweepstakes.  It might actually help the participants sharpen up their cw skills.  They stay on the bottom end of the band, and there is usually enough room up the band to work non-contest cw if one is so inclined.  But the idiot-box SSB contests are a different matter.

I see a certain inconsistency in the ARRL's philosphy regarding subbands.  They strongly promote mode and licence-class subbands because it's an "American tradition," yet oppose segmenting the bands to keep contests in a limited portion in order to allow non-contesters to operate normally.

[W1UJR]

I see a certain inconsistency in the ARRL's philosphy regarding subbands.  They strongly promote mode and licence-class subbands because it's an "American tradition," yet oppose segmenting the bands to keep contests in a limited portion in order to allow non-contesters to operate normally.

Don, interesting point, was not aware that the SS had been around since the 30s.
Your comments regarding limitations on time and freqs hit the nail on the head!

If a certain segment of the band were set aside for use during a contest, the rest of band would be free for normal and emergency traffic.

I am not sure of the exact number, but I would wager perhaps 10-20% of the amateur community actively participates in contests.
Which means, under the current arrangement, the remaining 80-90% of us are unable to use the band during the contest period?

Fair, equitable?
I think not.

Look at the way the AWA runs contests; it’s a model for what the ARRL should work toward.
Limited operating times, limited operating freqs, rewards for lower power, just makes sense.
Skill, not brute force.

Isn't what the amateur service was charted to do, advance the radio arts?
Not run 2KW linears with the audio gain and speech compression set on stun!


Let's see, where is the copy of the Radio Amateur's Code?

[ve6pg]

...I'M GLAD WE IN CANADA DONT HAVE BAND/MODE LIMITATIONS...NOTHING LIKE FIRING UP THE AM GEAR ON SAY,3550,AND HAVING A QSO...SK..

[k4kyv]

...I'M GLAD WE IN CANADA DONT HAVE BAND/MODE LIMITATIONS...NOTHING LIKE FIRING UP THE AM GEAR ON SAY,3550,AND HAVING A QSO...SK..

Maybe you could work the French guys who operate AM on 3550.  Hear them regularly during the winter months using my beverage.  They are just barely legible  here, right above the noise level.  I suspect they come in quite well in the coastal areas of northeastern US and Canada.

[ve6pg]

...i've herd weak hets on those freqs,not strong enough fer me..it would be nice...btw,i received a notice of violation from some "OO" last week,telling me to stop operating "in the cw portion of 80 meters". if i didnt cease,he would forward "my file" to the fcc...'hope he does..make him look even more stupid...sk..

[w3jn]

Wow.  This idiot OO doesn't even realize you're in Canada?

This evidence of such a Fine Business OO program  *really* deserves a blast to the ARRL.  What absolute ignorance 

[ve6pg]

...oh he knows i'm in canada,he mailed the report to me..but,these guys seem to think that what the fcc/arrl dictate,is universal. if you guys cant go wherever you choose,they assume nobody else can..tim...sk..

[Paul, K2ORC]

...i've herd weak hets on those freqs,not strong enough fer me..it would be nice...btw,i received a notice of violation from some "OO" last week,telling me to stop operating "in the cw portion of 80 meters". if i didnt cease,he would forward "my file" to the fcc...'hope he does..make him look even more stupid...sk..

Yikes!  That OO's not in New Hampshire by any chance is he? 
By all means, you should send a copy of the OO notice to the ARRL.  What an embarrassment. 

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/oo.html
 http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/am_aux.html

[Ed KB1HVS]

Oh man! That's funny! 

You could have told him...... "I could really use a microwave oven or a new digital camera, how many points do I need??" 

 I really CAN use a new microwave oven  . I had my chance..............

[W3SLK]

No, this what you need to send him
Read it at a decent size here: http://www.somis.org/OOO_card.jpeg

[c. mac neill w8znx]

Hello gang
I have no real gripe with contesters
many of them only get on during tests
ties up fone bands only a few weekends a year

75 fone full of contesters, heck go down to 80 cw
great place to run your heavy iron

look at it this way
how would you like it if they were on all the time

de mac

[w3jn]

I don't have a problem with the national contests such as FD, SS, etc.  It's the worthless state so-called "QSO pharties" I can't stand.  The ops seem to be even less polite than normal corntesters, and if there's any purpose behind them I fail to see it.

[W3SLK]

"What was your call sign? Say again over. W what?... QSL, you're 5-9, 5-9 good luck in the contest...."

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

"10 contests / 52 weekends per year = 20%"

This number is low, when as JN noted you include the state QSO pharties. Regardless, when a very small portion of the ham population (probably single digits in percentage, maybe less) ties up the entire phone band for 20% of the weekends out of the year, I have trouble seeing how this is equitable or fair. Do any other single focus activities so monopolize the bands?

[W3SLK]

You can slice it any which way you want but in my opinion, corntests suck! You have a small percentage of "operators" stuffing the phone segment with their relentless bullshit, preventing the majority from enjoying the bands even if they wanted to. It amazes me to see these people fall 'ass-over-tin-cups' for contacts just so they can claim a slimey coffee mug.

[WA3VJB]

Henderson, the Contest boss in Newington, used this same statistical impact approach when I tried to confront him about the disruptive behavior these events represent.

I don't agree, Mark, that it is "fair and equitable" for bystanders to be precluded from operating. We are all obligated to avoid interference; you learned that before Day One of your license. A "contest" does not trump that rule, so there is no level that can be rationalized, including that based on duration as you and the ARRL have claimed.

I don't have any resentment toward you, but Henderson came off as an arrogant SOB when he said the number of calendar days these events soak up makes them insigificant as a source of interference. He refused to consider constraints, including a limited range of operating on a given band specified in the contest directions.

So much for goodwill.

Limiting the frequency range of contests would provide a place for those who want to avoid these incidents, while not adding much to the bedlam among contestors who already are dealing with interference as part of what they consider a delightful challenge. Such constraints would not materially change the nature of these 'events.'

Let's use two other examples to show why it does not work to use percentages/duration to rationalize bad behavior.

EGC, whose overmodulated, reverberated CB-style activity has been a source of irritation on 75m, is only on a few hours at a time, and 'limits' himself to a 30kc chunk of the band when he's on. Would you say this is 'fair and equitable' to others?

Or how about the late K1MAN broadcasts. They too were only on a handful of frequencies, albeit the duration was far more prolonged. Those not interested in his material could tune away, successfully avoiding him. That may seem "fair and equitable" to others too, under the statistical rationalization coughed up for contests.