Do Contests Need to Change? Kyle Krieg AA0Z Makes His Case

CQ100 and HamSphere...look ma, no RF! I can talk to people on the internet all over the world...just like non-hams can do! Even without a license. And most *are* non-hams.

 

Ham Sphere. Yeah, that's it. Maybe for those who can't pass the General exam, but still want to enjoy "HF"

 

Licensed almost a whole four years and he has it all figured out.

 

How long should it take to have it all figured out? Just curious.

 

Honestly….never.

But as evidenced, every once and awhile a 3 to 4 year wonder will show up here.

 

By making such comments, you not only insult those who ARE innovators, but feed into public archiving which lets others show evidence that Part 97 licensees are NOT executing the Part 97 mission.

For someone who asserts that ham radio is dying you did a pretty good job of feeding into assisting that, by those, outside of ham radio, who would take no pity in our demise. IMO.

Also, the more you assert 'hobby'-- alone and exclusively-- the more others feel emboldened to plan for spectrum re-assignment.IMO.

 

I don't watch 35 min videos unless it's Taylor Swift or Beyonce.

I got about 3 mins into this one and had to do something more important: I'm now soaking my comb and it's going well.

 

I thought you were bald?

 

K9UR said " Remember too that most of the audience here don't have too many solar cycles left on earth." K9UR said it. K9UR --- "UR" just rude! Please remember the Hams that came before you, stood up and helped future Hams.

That comment reminds me of everything that's broken in American society today. i.e. If you do not "adapt" to the prevailing forces, you are "canceled."

The Internet has enabled a lot of things for Ham radio. Humbly, I believe that getting on the air and working what you can hear, without Internet related assistance, is the noblest form of Ham radio.

Hams like to say that they are "when all else fails" right?

Contesting, without assistance, is a great way to learn and grow. Of course, there are some big stations out there, put together with sheer investment in time, money and location. Here's a hint. Some of these big HF contesters travel to different parts of the globe just to operate a station at a different latitude. Usually, there's a few days before a big contest kicks off and they're testing. My 100W and home brewed antennas in Connecticut worked phone all over the place.

I was a VHF+ contester (mainly where I contested). For HF contests, I was mainly RTTY. But for the HF phone events I always kept an ear out for stations testing prior to the event.

I truly hope that HF contesting doesn't end up like a "hotspot" environment, so prevalent now on VHF/UHF. Don't get me started about the JT FT modes on HF Little to no effort there.

 

Nothing rude about my comment. How many Hams today know cw. Now it’s the minority. 20 years ago it was the vast majority. 20 years of no code license and how Times have changed. I’m an cw op and can hardly find a rag chew on any band now.



Old skills and old hams die off. It’s the way life goes. Noting rude about that. It’s fact. Reality. Us old dinosaurs will go extinct. No illusion there.

The younger generations are digital natives. I teach them every day. Everything they do revolves around technology. That’s not gonna change as time marches on. Those in their 70s and older simply do t have the skill to do it. Those in their 30s do, and are the future. Yes. Generational divide.

I always respect the older folks who adopt the new technologies.

Yes there is room on the road for a model A buggy but you don’t see too many so you ? And if you do they’re usually inches from getting flattened and run over.

the hobby will move along. Whether each of us decide to do so or not is up to us. There are still a few holdouts dreaming of the days before side band too….

as for contesting I predict a hard toggle to new approaches within a decade.

 

Wrong - It is a rude and offensive comment as you literally state : "Remember too that most of the audience here don't have too many solar cycles left on earth." How many solar cycles do you have left?

 

Only the creator knows for sure... but in my early 50's, I hopefully have 3 cycles if I'm lucky.
Those in their 70's might have 1 left...if you believe statistics and actuary data. Avg life expectancy is 78 for males in USA.

Kyle AA0Z is in his mid 30's. Statistically he has twice as many solar cycles in him as a 70 year old avg ham.

 

Do Contests Need to Change?

No.

 

You are free to take whatever section of a longer contest you find interesting. With the evolution of work schedules, the demands of child custody schedules and the like, four-hour sprints are likely to exclude many who might otherwise participate at some time during the longer format. As we age (I'm 62), if we unintentionally exclude new ops from contesting, contests will not benefit from increased licensing in recent years. There are already substantial barriers (cost of equipment, antenna restrictions, etc) to getting on HF.

I think I hear a bit of curmudgeon in your comment, in that the contest should be short to match your preferences.
I have heard this sort of argument before, from a curmudgeon with a Z somewhere in his call, who objected to scoring advantages for lower power categories. His argument was that if you couldn't afford HIS hobby you should find another.
Patrick KV4MO