I cannot believe that so much AR publicity goes into maybe two ILLW stations who refuse to give out numbers for the RD, and maybe two rogue contesters who push the boundary a bit, causing the ILLW to jump up in arms. Such a miniority – such mountains out of mole hills.
What happened to respect fellow hams, – if it’s no then move on.
BUT..
I also see that contesters are tagged “against the spirit of the hobby” (by the editor in Oct AR), if we ask for a number from an ILLW stn.
Hang on a minute.. if someone on the street asks you for the time, do you tell them NO? Common courtesy says of course you give them the time otherwise you are the one against the spirit of humanity, not the person asking. Same scenario as I see it.
So now we have arguments from both sides of the fence and I truly believe if a contester gets a “no number” then move on, but I also think it is not a friendly or sociable attitude from one or two ILLW stations, but we should always respect their decision not to participate.
ILLW will probably not be moved, as the RD won’t be moved. Remember there are many personal and emotional ties to the 15th of August and the RD is all about this and the remembrance of such. Lest we forget.
Let’s get over our minor differences and get on with it.
Alan VK4SN
RD Manager