I think the problem boils down to this: Bandplans assume "normal" loading,
and try to concentrate certain types of activity together. Most of the
time, this is fine. However, this idea falls apart when two things happen:
One: *everyone* wants to get on the band at the same time (ie - a very
popular contest such as the CQWW is taking place) - there simply is not
enough room to accommodate everyone at the same time, and
Two: a lack of sunspots. For the past few years, this has meant a huge
concentration of activity on 20 meters as the whole world tries to get on
the band at the same time. Now that cycle 24 has started to show signs of
life, the congestion we have seen is starting to ease as folks are able to
migrate to 15 and 10 meters during contests.
That said, filling the entire band is somewhat of a rare occurrence - three
weekends a year - namely the CQWW, CQ WPX and the ARRL DX. Trying to jam
the same number of folks into less spectrum (ie - setting aside a big chunk
for 20 meters for nets/ragchewers and forcing contesters to deal with even
worse congestion does not make any sense. Why should they enjoy QRM free
operation while the rest of the world (who are actually using their radios)
have to deal with even more QRM? If folks are adverse to contest activity,
using the WARC bands seem like a perfectly reasonable alternative, but for
some reason is rejected outright as a bad suggestion.
I have brought this up with a few locals - an often cited reason is that
they don't want to spend money on a WARC band antenna. They bought a small
tribander many years ago, and that should be good enough. Most of the time,
it is. Some coax and a piece of wire is all it would take for them to build
a dipole for 17 meters, but is seems easier to complain (endlessly) rather
than expanding their horizons and try something new. I am not sure what
they would do in a real emergency if their tribander fell down and they had
to build an antenna from scratch, or actually spend some money to improve
their stations.... Needless to say, their radios are of a similar vintage,
and lack many of the filtering capabilities offered by modern transceivers.
I am sure this will seem odd to most of us who have put lots of
time/money/ongoing effort into their stations, but there it is. Its easier
to complain that to spend a few bucks on a new antenna.....
Tom - VE3CX
The RSGB does, from time to time, receive complaints from members who find
> thei enjoyment of the bands constrained at weekends due to contest
> activity.
> It is all very well to say "use the WARC bands" but for phone-only
> operators, that leaves you with 18MHz upwards - not too helpful for local
> nets, etc. So I do believe contesters need to show some moderation and we
> (the RSGB Contest Committee) are trying to lead by example in this respect.
>
>
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