The discussion of who should operate where is a useless massage of
the finger muscles!
First let me say that I am primarily a CW-type ham and participate in
as many CW contest as I choose. I now have operated on 1 1/2 RTTY
contest. I thoroughly enjoyed my first CQ WW RTTY contest this past
weekend and found the ops to be very polite and extremely good at
what they do. While I think that ALL hams should only operate CW, I
actually do realize that there are numerous modes available in this
HOBBY, and that since it is a hobby, everyone should operate in what
ever mode they enjoy. But we ALL should be flexible.
No matter what mode contest happens, it is 'natural' to spread out in
frequency if participation is heavy. We do it in ALL CW contest, the
RTTY guys do it, and the SSB guys do it. And that is the way it is!
In the spirit of competition, we just do not stop to think who we may
inconvenience while operating in a contest.
W4BW, the ex-FCC chairman got us the WARC bands, mainly so
non-contesters would have some place to operate if their favorite
frequencies were being used during a contest. Unfortunately, he could
not account for us hard-headed types who would rather complain about
a contest, rather than take advantage of the WARC frequencies.
The ITU Regions established the frequency range of the ham bands;
they did not specify any mode of operation. The FCC bought into the
ITU Region 2 frequency allocations, but the FCC did NOT make any
band, except 60m, mode specific. The ARRL (not my favorite friend)
did their best to 'suggest' band plans, so everyone would have a
'protected' place to operate. Of course that ARRL has no enforcement
authority (thank goodness!). The FCC 'blessed' the ARRL's band plan,
but I don't believe they ever made it a legal requirement.
BUT everybody wants to pick their own frequency to operate. For
instance, the QRP community chose, on 40m, to use 7.040 MHz as their
calling frequency. Tuff Tootie! The band plan has, for years,
designated (suggested) that 7.040 MHz is a RTTY DX window,
specifically because ITU Region's did not coordinate frequency
allocations for all parts of the world. The ITU frequency allocations
for US/VE DO NOT RULE the world. So we have to do something we really
don't like to do, i.e., we have to cooperate (gasp!). And obviously
the QRP community did not check the band plan, when decreeing 7.040
MHz was to be their 'calling frequency'.
The discussion about the RTTY gang 'should' stay up above x.xxx
frequency is very one-sided. Simply because when there is a CW
contest, it's for certain that the CW ops are NOT going to honor ANY
band plan. It just doesn't work that way. Tit-for Tat!! The same
goes, of course, for SSB. Every SSB contest, it never takes very long
for the 'old boys network of SSB ops, to raise cain because they were
stepped on by 'idiot' SSB contesters, not realizing (admitting) that
'THEIR NET' frequency that they have been using for years, belongs to
EVERYBODY.
This discussion has been on-going for years; RTTY has now been
included simply because the mode is gaining in popularity. The
discussion will continue for years, as long as there is no legal (FCC
requirement) for mode/frequency operations. Most likely because all
hams have a huge lack of ability to accept change and we are
certainly not an adaptable bunch of folks.
Besides that, the bands are open!
Tom - W4BQF
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