WRTC may be over, but for serious contesters, the work that determines the next season is already underway. I'm joined by Randy Thompson K5ZD, Chris Hurlbut KL9A, and Bill Fehring W9KKN for another Q5 Contest Crew roundtable, starting with the still-unresolved WRTC results and moving quickly into a remarkable August NAQP CW. Randy worked roughly 650 stations in only four and a half hours, while the crew looks at huge rates from 8P5A, KP2M, and young Q5 regular W0AAE operating from Iowa. But the larger story is what happens when the contest ends. Chris is planning more towers and switching work, Randy is digging the base for a third tower, and both make the same point: summer is when serious stations get built, tested, broken, and fixed. Waiting until contest season means waiting too long. Bill also reveals a particularly interesting post-WRTC project: a wideband recording of the event that he can search by time and frequency—and even search through decoded CW. The crew also looks ahead to CQ Worldwide operations from ZF and V4, youth mentoring in the Caribbean, and the station work that has to happen before fall. For contesters, builders, and operators planning their next station improvement, this is a useful look at the work that happens long before the first CQ of a major contest. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.
enjoyed the YouTube always good to hear what the guys are up to. question : Chris mentioned an Iowa guy W0AEE , not found on qrz .. I always pay attention to anyone active in Iowa as i need that state on several bands . Brett vk2wwv/vj2w
“Next Steps for the Contest Crew”? I hear the hot dog eating contest is always looking for someone to dethrone Joey Chestnut. The similarities between the two are, frankly, hard to ignore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan's_Hot_Dog_Eating_Contest
Taken from the Internet:: WRTC is a radio contest event, designed to provide a platform for high-achieving ham radio contesters! So why have they now encroached on the WAC bands? Many Ham are totally fed up with contests all the damn time! Now we cannot use the "WAC band" where no contest is supposed to be allowed. Yet again non contesters are not being heard. Not officially using the word contest and WRTC instead, seems to of allowed you guys to operate wherever you like. The whole thing is a joke! Ham radio was supposed to be for communication, not to compete against others consistently to the annoyance of other users! Are you guys only able to 59 001 and not capable of a real conversation. Is that the truth? Car's were ment to drive from A to B, not around a race track every day!
I think you're confusing WRTC with WWA. WRTC is held in conjunction with the IARU HF World Championship, and is run by the same rules as a regular contest - no WARC bands. I don't think I've heard WRTC on the WARC bands Now the WWA is another thing. It's claimed that this is not a contest - I disagree with this claim. I don't care what anyone else says about this, if there is some kind of prize, be it an award or anything like that at the end, it's a contest. Because they claim this is not a contest, using the WARC bands is allowed. I think this stinks. Everyone who is not a contester goes to hide five days a week on the WARC bands to get away from CQ TEST - especially on the weekends. Having WWA participants encroach on the WARC bands is a real irritant. Fortunately this only happens a few times a year. Hopefully my memory hasn't failed me! Mike KD9CK
Five days a week? I'm a contester, and wish there were more contests, but most days there's nothing to speak of! If you count sprints like NAQCC Sprint, CWops CWT, or the weekly RTTY WRT, there are a few on weekdays, but these contests are 30-60 minutes, single-mode, and in some cases QRP-only (NAQCC, Run For the Bacon, etc.) Weekends are the only time contests are a significant activity, and even there, the major contests are only held on one mode at a time. So you can do phone during a major CW contest, digital or CW during a major phone contest, and so on. And the WARC bands are always there. (Yes, I agree that we should keep contests off the WARC bands.) I just don't see how contests can be a major problem.
I know there are a lot of "anti contest" hams but the reality is that contests are a great motivator to improve both the station and operating skills. Building, improving, and maintaining a competitive contest station is a never ending endeavor. There is always something broke which must be fixed. There are antenna, feedline, and switching improvements that enhance the speed at which one can "point and shoot" in the right direction mid contest to put a needed mult in the log. Technical station improvements are not the only benefit of contesting but so is operator skill. One does not simply wake up one day capable of the astounding rates top contest operators achieve. It takes practice, lots of practice to reach their level.....which many of us never do because our brains are simply not capable of the multitasking they are. A lot of the equipment and station design and construction benefits non contest operators enjoy only came about due to the improvement efforts of contesters. So if you are tempted to "hate" contesting you might want to stop and consider just what valuable components of your station came about only because of the experimentation and development of contest operators in the past.
N7WR - Ok, so can we then also talk about some of the mostly awful operating practices that contesting encourages, enables, and rewards? As someone who “gives away points” during contests, I’ll admit that it can be fun. But running above the legal limit, operating on bands where a gentleman’s agreement exists not to contest, rudeness on the air, using remote stations (I know it’s allowed, but it creates an uneven playing field), dishonest signal reports, tuning up over people, and station wars over who can spend the most—all while making it harder and harder for the average “normal” contester to rank. Then there’s the discouragement of actual human interaction as operators chase the 3-second QSO, and now AI robots calling CQ. And, of course, ignoring family, friends, and community so you can pour all your time and money into your “super station.” Just to name a few. If contesting wants to turn its PR ship around, perhaps it should start looking at what makes a good operator and a good human being, and then design its rules to encourage those behaviors and discourage the others. But that gets to another problem: generally, contesters don’t seem particularly concerned with what anyone else thinks or wants. If the contesting community wants the rest of Amateur Radio to respect what it does, it might be worth asking whether the rest of Amateur Radio has a point. The Radio Amateur's Code The Amateur is Considerate... He never knowingly uses the air in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others. The Amateur is Loyal...He offers his loyalty, encouragement and support to his fellow radio amateurs, his local club and the American Radio Relay League, through which Amateur Radio is represented. The Amateur is Forward Thinking...He keeps his station abreast of science. It is well built and efficient. His operating practice is above reproach. The Amateur is Friendly... Slow and patient sending when requested, friendly advice and counsel to the beginner, kindly assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others; these are the marks of the amateur spirit. The Amateur is Balanced...Radio is his hobby. He never allows it to interfere with any of the duties he owes to his home, his job, his school, or his community. The Amateur is Patriotic...His knowledge and his station are always ready for the service of his country and his community. The Radio Amateurs Code was written in 1928 by Paul M. Segal, W9EEA
Mike thankyou for your correction ! Yes I got them confused but you covered the issue well, and of course you are correct, its me with the failing memory! Thankyou.
