RTTY Contest on 40m! Can ya tell?

This past weekend was one of those weekends were there was another RTTY contest going on. I could actually make this statement over half the weeks of the year because there are at least 29 RTTY contests a year...

I don't do RTTY, however I do find it interesting. It's one of those old modes that still stays sexy somehow, even when a more efficient mode like PSK31 exists. In general I don't mind the contests, but the blanketing QRM on 40 meters has been an ongoing issue that everyone complains about afterwards, but no one does anything about it. It seems to be wall-to-wall RTTY, often down to 7.025 Mhz.

In this RTTY contester survey it's asked if operation below 7.025 Mhz is a problem. Of course that's not the problem; I've rarely heard a RTTY station below 7.025. The problem is the stations from 7.025 to perhaps 7.050. 7.000 to 7.025 is often considered the DX window. People tend to avoid ragchews down there when there's DX around. People who run QRP tend to hang out between 7.040 and 7.045. FISTS people trade FISTS numbers and pleasantries around 7.038. The European QRP frequency is 7.030.

If you start a CW QSO above 7.025 during a full bore RTTY contest, you can bet that during the QSO you will experience RTTY QRM at some point, and often it's a station that starts right up on top of you. I hate to paint a group with a broad brush or sound like a crusty old fart CW op, but it just seems like no one listens before hopping on a frequency and calling CQ in RTTY. Would it be too much to ask for RTTY ops to send a CW QRL? if they are below 7.050?

Above 7.070 where the PSK folks stay it can be a RTTY free-for-all as far as I'm concerned. Let's just show a little compassion for the CW operators down lower in the band.