Bill W4AN asked why the low level of activity in the WAE CW contest
from several areas of Eu, including the UK.
I raised this about four years ago on the reflector. I love the QTCs, they
add an extra skill element to the contest and are a long way from the
meaningless exchange of the CQWW.
The specific reason I, and several other G contesters, do not enter WAE
any more is because DARC have competely ruined the single operator
section by allowing packet. I'm sorry but for me it isn't a single-operator
effort if you use packet. Some major contests like the CQWW have
introduced a packet assisted category for those who like to let others find
their multipliers for them. Unless DARC do this for the WAE, I'll make a
handful of contacts just for a bit of fun but I am not interested in
competing.
Let's not start another assisted versus unassisted debate. We'll get the
usual misguied protestation that packet is just another aspect of
technology. It's actually far more than that, because the packet user
is getting other people to do the searching for him in (near) real
time. If I put a couple of receivers in the room next to the shack and get
friends round to find mults for me that would be multi-op, so it makes no
sense that the same setup via packet is considered single op.
So, at present WAE isn't "Worked All Europe" - only some parts of Europe.
That is why I am very sorry that the organisers of WRTC 2000 have included
WAE in their list of contests which count for qualifying, while leaving out
the ARRL DX contests which are much bigger events. Maybe they might
change their minds? I'd like to go to Slovenia in 2000 but my three Eu wins
in ARRL CW count for nothing as far as that is concerned.
Dave G4BUO
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