[FQP] SP RTTY, FQP and 40 CW - observations

[K1to at aol.com]

http://www.pkrvg.org/zbior.html

Results are shown back to 1998.  Perhaps it existed prior to that and no 
results are available.  I cannot tell if the weekend has always been the 4th 
weekend of April.  (Anyone have old magazines with contest announcements?  or 
better yet, a log from one of their contests?)  Note that the rejuvenated FQP also 
started in 1998 and has always been on the 4th weekend of April, even in the 
old days when sponsored by Florida Skip.

2006 results show a total of 26 USA entries, several of whom are also FCG 
participants.  Most entrants are from Europe and the number of entrants slightly 
exceeds that of the FQP when mobile county logs are not considered.  

Rules do not indicate any suggested frequencies.  Bands are 80-10.  

Questions and conclusions:
1)  If USA entrants are low, then why is 40 CW such a mess in the evening?  
Is it largely due to the loud European RTTYers?  

2)  With no suggested freqs, stations just spill everywhere.  40 CW is a 
tighter band, espec in EU, but you'd think that with expanded SSB segments for 
much of EU that the RTTYers could extend up to 7100 (maybe they already do!  
Someone please comment on what the true top side is for the RTTY activity.).  
Somebody stated that the center freq for RTTY has been 7040 forever.  Why then did 
we not have this problem in the earlier years when we weren't forced lower in 
the band?  And if the center freq is 7040, why doesn't the activity extend a 
lot lower in the band than 7030 as the edge seems to be recently?

Region 2 band plan - from the IARU site
7000 - 7035 CW  
7035 - 7040 Digimode with other Regions, CW  
7040 - 7050 Packet with other Regions, CW  
7050 - 7100 Phone, CW  
7100 - 7120 Digimode, Phone, CW  
7120 - 7165 Phone, CW  
7165 - 7175 SSTV, FAX, Phone, CW  
7175 - 7300 Phone, CW

Looks way too restrictive for the RTTY gang.  

3)  Both the SP RTTY and FQP are growing contests.  There is not going to be 
enough 40 CW spectrum for both during that Saturday evening stretch.  
Fortunately, we've not hit a problem yet on 20M.  

4)  It would be useful to understand how many of our entrants are not Extras 
and cannot go below 7025.   Other than looking up each call one by one, I 
don't know how to assess this.  

5)  Many mobile rigs are not set up with 250 Hz CW filters, but even with 
500s, we should squeeze up to 20 mobiles into a 10 kHz wide window.  

73, Dan



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