This weekend is the ARRL November Sweepstakes (SS) on CW. I plan to be
on the air,
making as many points as possible. SS is perhaps my favorite contest,
because it
requires a real exchange (4 pieces of info besides the callsign, and
the signal report
is not part of the exchange.) I also like it because even a modest
station can get a
big score.

The fall and winter also bring out a lot of anti-contest and anti-DX
complaints. Some
of them may be justified - not every contester or DXer is 100%
courteous 100% of the
time.

But a lot of the technical progress in ham radio, particularly on
HF/MF, has come about
because of contesters and DXers.

Compare a typical midrange HF ham transceiver of today with one from
the '60s or '70s
and consider how many features and performance improvements came about
because
DXers and contesters pushed for them, developed them, and paid for
them. Better
filters, better dynamic range, multiple VFOs, memories, I/O ports,
no-tune-up operation,
separate rx antenna inputs, and much much more can all be traced at
least in part to
the needs and wants of contesters and DXers.

Want to compare numbers? Check out how differently the receivers of old
and new
ham rigs perform:

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

Is there a computer in your shack? One of the first widespread uses of
computers
in hamshacks was to keep contest logs. Memory keyer? Developed for
contesting.

There are lots more examples but you get the idea.

Of course a lot of these features first appear in the top-of-the-line
rigs that most of
us cannot afford. But then they work their way down to the lower-priced
stuff as the
technology matures and the development costs are paid off.

Whether you like contests and DXing or not, they do contribute to the
ARS.

(cue sound of soapbox being put away)

73 de Jim, N2EY