[LCC] Thoughts from NTS official regarding contesters

[Mark, K5ER]

         I did not write the following and am posting it as it was 
forwarded to me. This appears to be a back and forth discussion between a 
couple of individuals. Lest anything be taken out of context, I have not 
edited what was said, and only added color to help differentiate the 
speakers. I certainly appreciate Hank's comments, which are in black, in 
which he makes some very valid points on why we are not necessarily the 
"bad guys". If you agree, consider dropping Hank a note and let him know 
you appreciate his support of contesting.

73,
Mark, K5ER


>This came from the NTS"Officials" email reflector.  Thought you would like 
>to know what at least one NTS Official has to say about contesters!
>
> 
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>>
>>3.  There is also a power and control political dynamic at work at the 
>>ARRL Board of Directors level.  Over the decades, the Board membership 
>>has shifted from a field services perspective to a contesting 
>>perspective.  Many of these individuals recall the days when those active 
>>in nets and field services activities were the core political influence 
>>in Amateur Radio.  Many of them resented it.  As such, as their influence 
>>grew within the ARRL, some sought to promote their negative conception of NTS.
>>  ...
>
>Awhile back I posted an email about contesting which is reproduced below.
>
>The email engendered lots of comments, most bemoaning the fact that 
>contests sometimes clobber lots of spectrum. No one grabbed onto the 
>points I hoped to make.
>
>Which are:
>
>1. Contesting is the most robust segment of ham radio, contesters have the 
>best stations, and contesters are the best operators. Some will disagree 
>with me, but they apparently haven't listened to a supposedly 
>upper-echelon NTS net like PAN, CAN, or EAN recently. They probably also 
>haven't listened to a good contester working stations at 150+ per hour. 
>It's easy enough to poopaw contesting, but it takes stations and basic 
>skills that many NTSers lack.
>
>2. Contesting is doing something right and growing. NTS is dying. We 
>should look at contesting and figure out what they are doing right.
>
>My flak jacket is on. Fire away. If you disagree, suggest alternatives.
>
>It's time to stop bemoaning the state of traffic handling and NTS. It's 
>time to do something. Before it's too late.
>
>73,
>
>Hank, W6SX
>
>
>Re: [radiograms] Re: Traffic Handler's Code
>
>Here I go again.
>
>We have met out enemy, and he is us.
>
>JW wrote:
>>So what am I getting at? NTS is the only widespread program I have 
>>encountered, which teaches the basic skills of communications and network 
>>management.
>Perhaps. If teaching is happening at local and section nets, it somehow is 
>not making its way to region and area nets. The skill set of many NTS 
>operators is, to put it bluntly, pitiful. I'm more inclined to speculate 
>that "teaching" at local and section nets is simply reinforcing poor 
>habits. There are of course exceptions, both individual and net, but 
>overall we're not making the grade.
>>So what's my point? We are the training. As much as some ECOM people who 
>>oppose NTS hate to admit it, traffic nets are the only regular activity 
>>that actually drills the individual Amateur Radio operator on proper 
>>communications procedures and techniques that can be applied dynamically 
>>to any ECOM situation.
>There is another activity which produces what I consider the best 
>operators in the world: Contests.
>
>The best contest operators put a lot of time, energy, and money into 
>improving their stations. You can actually hear their signals which is a 
>lot better than some traffic signals up to and including area and TCC levels.
>
>The best contest operators are fanatics about accuracy. If they mislog a 
>contact, they lose the contact, perhaps lose a multiplier, and sometimes 
>lose two more contacts as a penalty.
>
>The best contest operators are into training. There are various Contest 
>Academies and Contest Universities around the world. There are email 
>reflectors that discuss operating technique and station improvement ad 
>nauseam.
>
>The best contest operators are propagation experts.
>
>The best contest operators know how to pull signals out of QRM and QRN.
>
>The best contest operators know how to manage pileups (all on one 
>frequency--not spread out like DX). Listen to some of the best working a 
>pileup at 250 contacts an hour and your head will spin. A feat equally 
>worthy to clearing 120 per hour on an NTS area net (which by the way used 
>to happen back in the days).
>
>The best contest operators are dynamically adaptable in real time. If rate 
>slows, they change something(s) to bring it back up instead of doing the 
>same thing forever (sound familiar?).
>
>A case in point. K6XX is one of the best contesters in the world. He is 
>also the best emergency NCS I have ever heard. As far as I know, he only 
>gets on during emergencies, but when he does, everyone readily defers to 
>him, and he runs the net. No monkey business.
>
>It used to be that traffic handlers were the best operators in the world. 
>No more.
>
>My point. We could learn a lot from contest operators. More of us could 
>even get on for contests--it would improve our skill sets. More 
>importantly, we should try to observe what contesting is doing right--it 
>is the most-robust and fastest-growing ham-radio activity.
>
>Disclaimer. I started our as a traffic handler. I started contesting with 
>an ORS appointment in the CD Parties. Over the years, I've transitioned 
>from a dyed-in-the-wool traffic handler to a dyed-in-the-wool contester. I 
>still NCS PAN and do a TCC function once a week, despite low traffic 
>counts, low participation, and sometimes low skill sets. I do it because 
>it's still fun--but not as fun as it used to be and not as fun as it could 
>be again. I do it out of a sense of obligation and in the hope of what 
>could be again.
>
>We have met the enemy and he is us.
>
>73,
>
>Hank, W6SX
>Mammoth Lakes, California
>Elevation 8083 feet in John Muir's Range of Light
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.louisianacontestclub.org/pipermail/lcc_louisianacontestclub.org/attachments/20120625/8cf45ff6/attachment.html>