Every Day Should be a Contest!

While hunting for anything vaguely resembling a calling frequency on 20 and 40 meters on the final evening of sweepstakes, I remember thinking how wonderful it was that the bands were full from end to end (despite simultaneously cursing the fact, since all I wanted was a measly 2.5 kHz!).

The fact is, the bands are just as open today as they were during the contest, but spin the dial through them, and you'll hear only a handful of QSOs. Imagine the benefits if the bands were just as full in non-contest periods.

1) There would be a good case for expansion of the amateur bands, especially the popular ones, like 80, 40, and 20 meters.

2) It would encourage good operating practice. Contests teach you that you don't own any frequency, and sometimes you just can't keep them. Despite the fact that a few people take this personally, there are times when a QRM'ing station simply can't hear you. When asking a station to move away, always be polite. There is a very good reason why QRP stations don't call CQ very often -- many sources of QRM simply might not hear them.

3) It would encourage good engineering practice. Two of the biggest problems during contests are wide signals and splatter. If your SSB signal is 6 kHz wide, you are not helping the crowded situation, and you are often making it hard for the other station to understand you. When trying to communicate through QRN and QRM, hi-fi audio makes it more difficult, not less. If things were crowded while NOT in the heat of a contest, it makes it easy to politely encourage people to 'fix' their stations (and offer advice, if appropriate).

4) Nets would be better understood and acknowledged, both during contest and non-contest periods. Many nets provide a valuable service to the amateur community, and are equally necessary and important in crowded conditions. Please note that a 'net' does not mean the frequency where you and your buddies like to chat. Crowded conditions would force net operators to understand that they can usually get QRM'ing stations to move by politely asking. Additionally, it would force other operators to know the times and frequencies of important nets, so they could be avoided.

I understand if you don't like contests. After all, how many of us would choose to drive in heavy traffic, as opposed to a wide-open road all alone? However, sometimes we have to drive in heavy traffic, and knowing and abiding by the rules makes things less stressful for everyone. The best way to learn the rules is to practice, and that's the real reason for contests. Just like in traffic, there will always be a few jerks, but that's never an excuse to act like one.

John KB5HWS (one of the K5UTD operators during sweeps)

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