All: I haven't had too much pushback here, but I thought I should chime in a bit. The NW Division States are quite aware of the 'wilderness protocol' and do use it, when we are out in the boonies (like driving to the grocery store, or the outhouse) hi hi. Like many of you, I monitor 146.52 when traveling and announce myself as I enter a city or even sometimes when just driving the freeway. It is not often that I get any response, but I still make the announcement. I also monitor when I'm hunting or fishing - even though we have pretty good repeater coverage in Western Washington. While I don't see that the contests are going to have much of an impact in most areas of the Country, I would suggest in drafting any subsequent rules dealing with 146.52 or any other 'traditional' calling frequency that we keep a few things in mind. .The simplex channel, 146.52, has always been a quiet watering hole for conversations during active contests. That will be less possible if there are contests using the channel. .Many hams at home and mobile, monitor the radio, usually 146.52, all the time. A weekend of contest chaos blasting from a normally quiet radio will result in those radios being turned off - and possibly not turned back on. .Summits on the Air (SOTA) activity is picking up here and they make good use of 146.52. NPOTA will, I'm sure, get the same sort of use. .Contest folks NEED a calling channel on VHF two meters. That's easy to fix without cluttering 146.52 - there is a lot more of the 2 meter band than 146.52. .Contests need more activity. Ham Radio needs more activity. A different tweak to the operations would, in my opinion, get more folks on the air. We here, way west of the Hudson, have informally established some protocols on 146.52 that have been pretty useful for us. I would ask that some 'reasonable accommodation' to 146.52 and those of us who use it for other than contesting. 73 and good Hamming Jim Pace, K7CEX ARRL the National Association for Amateur Radio Northwestern Division Director