Quote Originally Posted by KC9SQR View Post
I really don't see why so many people feel they have to bitch about contests... (I'm not saying you are, I'm just sayin in general)
I used to be one of those people who used to bitch. After a while, I grew up and came to like the opportunities that contests present.

Me personally I don't see the point in radio contests.... It's not something I think I personally would get into.. But it doesn't bother me... In fact I'm happy that these contests DO happen.. In part because it keeps hams on the air... The more our bands get used, the less likely I think we are to lose them...
I can't see that we're in any serious danger of losing the HF bands. I'd be more concerned about UHF and up.

I probably am not bothered nearly as much as other people are by contests being I don't get on HF but I really fail to see where the problem is with contesting..
The "problem" is with the haters, not the contests. From what I've observed, the haters fall into the following categories:

1) People who have poor to appalling HF stations. Indoor antennas and low antennas (under 30 feet high for dipoles) are not going to produce a signal that can be heard through the din of a contest. They may be able to make contacts on an empty band, but the slightest amount of band activity makes them disappear into the background.

2) People who have radios that are 30+ years old, or dating back to Marconi. Broad as a barn door and incapable of proper filtering when the band starts to get crowded. A TS-520 or TS-820 is fine for day to day, middle of the week, conditions. So is a TS-430, TS-440, IC-718, or FT-101. They are not, however, fit for contest level activity. Especially if they are stock radios without any additional filters.

3) Certain people who think their mode of choice is the only one that is valid. This group tends to be what I refer to as Single Mode Sad Sacks. They are completely unwilling to switch to a different mode and try something else. If, for example, they use SSB and there's an SSB contest, then all the bands are useless and they can't operate at all. It would never occur to them to try switching to CW, RTTY, or trying a WARC band.

4) Frequency Squatters. This group takes many forms. The basic form is that they have used (insert frequency) since Christ was a corporal (7 days a week) and no one is allowed to use that frequency, ever. Two examples of this on the 20m band are the SSTVers and the MMSN. Other examples are any one of the various nets that infest certain bands, usually 40m and 75m. It doesn't matter to these groups if the frequency isn't being used at the moment, or won't be used for the next 2 hours. It's their frequency, so fuck off. If you happen to be operating on "their" frequency when they come on, they'll try to run you off. The SSTV people are famous for this one. If they find anyone on 14.230, all of a sudden 5 SSTV stations start transmitting all at once.

I like contests because they are a good way to measure the effectiveness of my station. When I can step into the fray during CQWW SSB and make contacts among the high power stations, using just 100 watts, it validates all the work I put into making and deploying the 5 wire antennas I have.

As an aside, I highly encourage you to get away from VHF and UHF FM as soon as you can. IMO, HF operation is far more interesting. At the very least, you should investigate weak signal (SSB/CW) operation on 2m and 70cm.