[LCC] Thoughts from NTS official regarding contesters

[Marshall Stewart]

In an emergency, I'd sure rather have a contester handling traffic than a
"2M repeater jockey".  

 

Just my opinion.

 

73,

Marsh, KA5M

 

  _____  

From: lcc-bounces at louisianacontestclub.org
[mailto:lcc-bounces at louisianacontestclub.org] On Behalf Of Mark, K5ER
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 4:55 PM
To: lcc at louisianacontestclub.org
Subject: [LCC] Thoughts from NTS official regarding contesters

 


        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!  
 
 
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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

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