Ken, WM5R, wrote:
> I was not disputing that one can operate an entire contest with
> 100% recorded voice files. In fact, my post acknowledges that it is
> possible and has been done, and I'm sure it will continue to be done
> in the future. But your prediction was, "In 10 years, major
> phone contests will be won by contestants who use 100% recorded voice
> files." WriteLog has been able to do this for three or four years
> now, and even though I have heard stations on the air using that feature,
> I have yet to see anyone come close to winning a major contest who relies
> upon 100% recorded voice files. I don't think it will happen in the next
> 10 years, let alone become a commonplace event for those using 100%
> recorded voice files to win major contests.
Methinks one reason you haven't seen anyone come close to winning yet is
that those of us working to further perfect 100% voice file automation use
haven't yet built our SuperStations necessary to pull it off :-)
It's a laborious task as Jamie knows to pre-record tons of full callsigns
in order to reduce the robotic sound. If the prices come down on the real
whiz-bang voice automation stuff (about $30K the last time I checked), the
labor intensiveness would be reduced dramatically.
Still, IMHO it will take at least 40 message slots (at a minimum), or, the
UNlimited messaging I'm trying to get in Writelog to pull off a win even
with a competitive contest station.
Example: One message slot alone is needed for the nuance situation where
you may get only the last letter of a callsign in a multi-call
situation. You push one button which combines:
<ending.wav><space.wav><the_only_ending_letter_of_the_call_you_copied_phonet
ically.wav><space.wav> + any/all daisy-chained .wav files of the exchange
to follow.
Other important message needs are for things like:
<please_repeat only_your_prefix.wav> ... (in heavy QRM scenarios)
<please_repeat only_your_suffix.wav> ... ditto
<yes_this_frequency_is_in_use,wav> (for SO2R Zone ops)
<please_look_for_me/us_on.wav> + indivdual frequency number .wav
files (for SO2R Zone ops)
<sorry_this_is_a_fully_automated_station_so_I_can't_answer_your_question_rig
ht_now.wav> :-)
etc., etc.
Live voicing has certain advantages including speed, however continued
refinements in the voice automation realm hold great promise for the
future. One of the big advantages of full voice-automation is
significantly reduced fatigue. The older contest ops get, the more
important this aspect will become.
A biggie for me is that I can eat anytime I want while simply pushing
buttons with one finger to operate a phone contest. Try this one "live" !!!
Confession: My work in this arena has taken a back seat for a while due to
other "stuff", but congrats to Jamie... 15,000 pre-recorded files deserves
a medal.
73...
Rick, K6VVA
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