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Contesting Online Speak Out


Speak Out: SSB operations out of the 40m bandplan

Every DX phone contest, on 40 meters, stations can be heard operating SSB down below 7040kHz and others, working split, listening for contacts there. Even though the "7040" plan is voluntary, do you feel it still deserves to be honored during contests?

130 opinions on this subject. Enter your opinion at the bottom of this page.
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Opinions...

<-- Page 9 -->

Anonymous on 2004-04-05
The point of view presented by Helmut is very funny. Thinking this way, dear Helmut, you shouldn't be anxious to work 6990kHz or 7110kHz - if only demand of free frequency will define bands borders so why not? This way you can hear on 10m band - Russian taxi nets, CBer and many others. Are they right ? It's only rule of demand and supply.
I think the real problem is in reducing level of ham spirit - many contesters do not observe not only band limits but also other rules ( especially power limits). The highest score is everything for them and it is not important which way he will be on top.
And, it is sad but true,this way is acceptable for contests committees.
SP6RGB

Anonymous on 2004-04-05
Dear Helmut. I'm not sure that bandplanning has much to do with demand and supply theory. But bandplanning has everything to do with social responsibility; compromise; and fairness. For many, there is more to amateur radio than just "making tons of QSOs somewhere". Not everyone takes part in contests; and bandplans recognise that certain transmission modes are incompatible when used in the same part of our spectrum, and need to be separated. The fact that a club station may have the biggest SSB signal on the band does not give them the right to clobber ragchewers; or experimenters; or QRP operators; or blind operators; or the disabled guy who has to key the TX with his foot; or the newcomer wanting to make his first CW QSO; or the old timer switching on his old 807 CO/PA for the first time in a decade.
Who have you clobbered today?
Regards to all, Steve GW4ALG

Anonymous on 2004-04-04
General rule how the all the markets in the world work: demand & supply. If in major contests ssb stations run out of free frequencies WHY in the world would you need to keep 7.000 to 7.040 free "JUST IN CASE" someone would like to exchange something like "hi my name is mike and the weather in abc is 20'c and ...... bla bla bla .... . If the frequency is ocupied be a cw qso it is ham spirit to not interfere. But it is NO ham spirit at all to trasmit ONLY to interfer with stations that are working tons of QSO's somewhere. Again: Supply and demand - 100 QSO's in a contest or out of a contest shold be considerd having a higer priority than "keeping the band clean - INTERFERENCE" .... and INTERFERENCE of any kind is NOT what your licence permits, where a bandplan IS JUST A SUGGESTION !!!

73sss and good DX !

Helmut

Anonymous on 2004-04-04
Regarding the comment: "perhaps . . . during SSB contests the CW ops could go to the top 3kHz of the phone subband. No SSB should be there".
Very few CW ops would want to inconvenience the users of other modes in this way, even though the bandplan permits CW up to 7.100. Note that when a SSB op sets their TX dial to 7.100, a clean LSB signal will remain in-band.
I hope this helps, Steve GW4ALG.

vk4dx on 2004-04-03
"xx" would you give us some honour and share your callsign with us so we all know what that proud contest station is.

As for the 500 Hz CW filter I am under strong impression that you have NO IDEA what you're talking about. If I am listening a 449 station on 7010 and you come on top of that with S-9 +20 dB - the only thing that helps is a glass of water straight into your transmitter.

Even if your license is permitting you to transmit SSB below 7040 it surely isn't permitting you to transmit on the frequency that is already in use. And that's why you get the frequency cops.

What was that callsign again ?

73 Mike

AB5XZ on 2004-04-02
I don't mean to make light of the 7000-7040 situation, but perhaps during SSB contests the CW ops could go to the top 3kHz of the phone subband. No SSB should be there anyhow because it's too close to band edge - as I have been told a time or two by OO's. And for me it would serve as a marker - sort of a "warning track".

Anonymous on 2004-04-02
Who say me, how many CW station could be from 7.000 to 7.040 in the weekend?If you heve simple filter for example 500Hz for listening. 50? 80? 100?.So I don see reason why this operators say me to go up when I CQing in the SSB contest.I thing, that they have much free freq. for CW.They are band policemans who havnt any other work....
So how much weekends is this situation? WW contest, ARRL contest, WPX contest...and? Iaru HF? WAE ?.....
So 6-times?? or more?.....
And what RTTY contests?....Are all stations in the RTTY segment? :-) they are from 7.020 to 7.060-7.070....
The 40m band is to much thing.I waiting for new band plan where will be operator from EU and other world transmithing from 7 to 7300...It is in the near future.But now I and our contest station will transmiting under 7.040 because we havent 1500 Watts for make place between BIG GUNs from EU.......So our licence say that we can transmiting from 7.000 to 7.100.

73 de xx

Anonymous on 2004-04-01
Thanks, Mike.
An excellent suggested rule!
I think that we're all fed up of being clobbered when NA stations announce that they're listening for SSB stations within the data and CW segments.
73, Steve GW4ALG

vk4dx on 2004-03-31
I think it should be regulated by the contest organizers, in the contest rules, something like: " ... 40m SSB operation should be from 7040 and above. Any station transmitting below 7040 as well as any station announcing their QSX below this frequency will be considered as violating section (whatever number) of the rules and therefore be disqualified. "
Easy as that.

And yes - I am for 7040 brickwall. It happened to me on a number of ocasions that I was in a middle of a QSO on 7015 or somewhere close just to receive huge amount of QRM from stations calling some W6 who is transmitting on 7206 and listening on 7015. Yes, that frequency might seem clear on his end but he doesn't care that someone might be using that frequenc somewhere else in the world, maybe even right in the area where his potential callers are from. And the guys who call him, they never EVER listen if there is anyone on that freq, they just go blind and call. What happens - they all, including the W6 station are breaching both, the contest rules and their own license regulation by interfering with other radio traffic on the spectrum without taking any precautionary measures to avoid such. They all should be DQd.

73 from Australia, Mike VK4DX

LZ1ABC on 2004-03-30
xexe ......SV2AEL i heard this gentleman too:)))
He was totally crazy. Constantly shuttling through the band to check if someone was working below 7.040.
He had some rough times i guess:)

But thats contesting, its not an easy thing, especially on 7mhz when in SSB.

GL de Chav

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