Topbanders,
Another 160 contest in the books and the usual debate over the window.
Item first: Those who say the window is silly or unneeded are just
plain wrong. With wall-to-wall CQ'ers, the window is the only
realistic chance most stations have of getting some DX mults other
than the Caribbean. Here in the great white north, with the aurora
cutting us off more often than not, it is frequently the only way an
unassisted station can tell if EU is workable.
Item second: Many US stations who are not 160 regulars don't know
about the window. There is nothing wrong with politely asking them
to QSY and giving the reason.
Item last: The window is for intercontinental QSO's only (rule
6.1). The lawyer contingent can parse this (suggestion) rule
endlessly to justify various nonsense, but here is what it means: NA
stations shouldn't CQ there, and this includes most Caribbean
stations. The possible exceptions are field-day type operations or
low power/QRP, especially from the more exotic islands further
south. Two 20 over signals from high power stations at nearby
islands eat up half the window. Follow KV4FZ's example.
Now you know the revealed truth about the window, so no more
discussion is necessary. Do things this way and 160 contesting will be better.
73 Ron KK9K
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