Contest Insanity

After what has been going on tonight I had to write a post about this and vent. We have a contest going on right now. One would think that this wouldn’t be anything to vent over. I’m trying to listen and participate in one of my favorite nets that has been on the air at the same time and frequency every night for over 20 years. Upon inspecting the rest of the band and being unable to find a single empty spot I have decided to unplug for the night. The contest participants have turned 75 meters into a solid band full of QRM. We have stations running full legal limit and are spaced at most 5hz apart across the entire band. They seem to have no respect for anyone else trying to use the band for normal routine things. There should be some courtesy exercised in contest operations not to turn the band into complete garbage. I will not participate in a contest that degrades the quality of amateur radio for everyone. There is absolutely no excuse for this. Thankfully the contest doesn’t go on all that long and things will return to normal soon. I would never operate where I am going to interfere with other stations. Most of the operators out there are of the same mind. All it takes is a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone else. [Vent Mode Off]

73 and I’ll catch you all down the bands somewhere
David
W5MZ