From: Mark Beckwith, WA6OTU - wa6otu@caltech.org
To: Contest Reflector
When: 4:33PM 5/15/94
Greetings to everyone. What started out as an 'interesting
curiosity,' that of connecting together a bunch of like-minded individuals
inclined towards electronic means of communication by opening up this hackers'
paradise of The Internet, has in short order evolved into the most effective
forum of discussion we have - five years ago, you couldn't get a contester to
tell you what he thought. Now you can't get 'em to shut up.
I have been making the dreadful mistake of thinking The Internet and
E-Mail were concepts far away from the beaten path, comfortably off in the
future somewhere. Well, I woke up one day and found myself comfortably off
in the past somewhere. It became apparent to me that the items I have been
putting forth for discussion in the NCJ have been beaten to death and put to
bed before I even hear anything about it, and that, by the people whose ideas
I care about the most. I, who used to be very much a part of the mainstream
of contesters' thoughts, am off flailing in the distance by myself wondering
why nobody sent me any letters.
I could make a position for why correspondence and the telephone are
important tools, but I think I'll save it for somebody who cares. I hope you
will all agree with my basic belief that late is better than never. Forgive
me if it seemed like I was out of touch. Apparently I was the last one to
find out.
I am still trying to figure out how to actually get my hands on the
archives - things like FTPing and Telnetting are still a little rocky here at
WA6OTU. I have read reams of stuff already that I got to see months after the
fact. Still digesting. Wow, are my eyes burning.
On to the 'business' of this Reflector. I will be reading it just
like everyone else. I may go on vacation and not see it for a few weeks.
My server may crash and it will all get lost. Most likely of all, I will see
a thread running that I want to, if you'll excuse my language, 'flush.' My
point is, if you have something to say TO ME, please send it TO ME.
That being said, I would like to ask my first question of the readers
of this Reflector: Field Day is the single most written about topic in the
history of the Contest Advisory Committee. Long before 'the Rover Issue' we
have gotten hundreds of letters about various aspects of FD, and they will
continue long after 'the Rover Issue' is history. One thread common in
several letters of late is that the number of "freebie" transmitters allowed
by the current rules is getting out of hand and is cultivating some degree of
'unfair advantage.' For the sake of our discussions, could you answer these
questions:
1. What is the most FD QSOs anyone made last year with their freebie
VHF station?
2. Any REALLY BIG packet totals out there? (like over 100)
3. Any satellite station QSO totals over 100?
4. Am I crazy or is it just plain silly to expect a 1A set-up running one
tranmitter with 3 or 4 guys to be in the same category with a 1A that has
4 transmitters on the air simultaneously (as currently allowed in the rules)
manned by a crew of more like 15 ops?
I would REALLY appreciate any comments on this you may want to throw
my way. It would help me establish the relative importance of this topic on
our agenda. Thanks. 73,
Mark, WA6OTU
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