In the USA there are maybe 7 contest weekends (Jan VHF SS, June and Sept VHF
QSO Parties, CQWW VHF, August UHF, the August and Sept 10 GHz weekends).
That's 14 days out of 365. It's going to take an awful lot more activity
than contest weekends to justify use of the bands.
I hate to see good equipment going to waste. Why aren't these grid circling
Rovers out there EVERY WEEKEND at least, making some QSO's? They're
certainly capable of it. That would be more like it - 104 out of 365
days. Maybe we ALL should be doing this.
I make frequent trips to my favorite hilltop outside of contests, at least
every MAD Saturday and often during the week when the tropo forecast or
rain/snow scatter possibility looks good. If nothing else, I enjoy listening
for the K3SIW beacons north of me. I can often hear them up through 3456
MHz.
Use the equipment you have every chance you get, not just in contests.
73, Zack W9SZ
On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 2:16 PM, Steve Clifford <k4gun.r@gmail.com> wrote:
> Zach,
>
> I made one comment on this subject but have stayed quite about it since
> then. My last comment was taken in a way that was not intended and I fear
> the same will happen again. That said, I can't let this one stand. The
> ARRL has made a big mistake in allowing grid circling. Yes, they boost the
> number of QSO's on the microwave bands and I'm sure the ARRL will waive
> them
> around whenever they are trying to defend the amateur spectrum.
>
> But is that really honest? Should we be using this kind of data to justify
> our use of the bands? Are amateurs using the band so infrequently that the
> scores of grid circling crews the biggest argument we have? If so, I think
> our claim to those bands is pretty tenuous.
>
> Now let's say we have plenty of other good arguments as to why cell phone
> companies shouldn't be given the microwave bands currently used by the
> amateur community. What happens when congress or the FCC finally figures
> out what a scam the grid circling crews are really pulling? It will not
> matter that we have so many other good arguments. They will focus upon
> that
> one practice to minimize the amateur use. They will hold it up as evidence
> that we are squandering our allocation. That will become the focus if they
> ever figure it out.
>
> I don't want to rely on arguments that have a scam at the core. If we as
> amateurs can't justify having our parts of the microwave bands without
> throwing in the contrived contacts from parking lot distances, then we
> don't
> deserve it at all.
>
> I submit this respectful of those who disagree.
>
> Steve
> K4GUN/R
>
> On Sun,
> Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2010 13:44:28 -0600
> From: Zack Widup
> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Use it or lose it debate.
> To: vhf@w6yx.stanford.edu
> Cc: vhfcontesting@contesting.com
>
>
> I kinda hate to say this, but Frank, you seem to care little about anything
> else except this captive Rover deal. Every topic posted here does not
> revolve around it. The captive Rover thing is only a tiny part of VHF+
> operation that takes place and wasn't even related to the topic that you
> responded to. If anything, the Rovers you refer to would even give us more
> in our defense (or offense) regarding our frequencies, because they are
> using them. The FCC and Congress could care less about who Rovers are or
> what they do in contests. All they care about is whether there is activity
> in that band or not.
>
> I have only had about a dozen people at most around here to work on the
> bands 2304 and up. I've made numerous "pilgrimages" to a nearby hilltop to
> work some of the few down by St. Louis, and have succeeded with some but
> not
> others. So we keep trying. This is all outside of contest periods - usually
> weekend mornings or when the Hepburn tropo index looks promising. So, just
> like the NRA of years ago, "I do my part."
> :-)
>
> 73, Zack W9SZ
>
>
>
>
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