Doug,
At 11:48 PM 03/01/00 -0500, you wrote:
> Just because
>someone SAYS they know what they are talking about doesn't really mean they
>do. We've all been there before.
>
>I won't name any calls, but here is some of what I found by searching around:
>
>1. One commenter appears to have submitted a log in only two contests...in
>one he had around 500 qso's (ARRL DX) and the other he had SEVEN qso's
>(Spartan Sprint). He had a long, long diatribe about Know Code
>International, and his call showed up as a member of a college ARC. Plus, I
>never heard of him.
I'll name that name for you, twas I, KU6J. I fail to see why contesting
"credentials" are required to make a basic interpretation of FCC rules
prohibiting deliberate interference, or interpreting the ARRL contest rules
which require us to follow those FCC rules, or voicing an opinion on a
controversial subject. But since credentials seem to matter for reasons
unknown (or known only to you), here are the certificates that I see on my
wall:
------------------
#6 W/VE Mixed Mode, 1981 IARU Radiosport Championship (Age 17)
#8, W/VE Mixed Mode, 1986 IARU Radiosport Championship
{IARU zone 6 champion in one of those, the certificates don't say which}
First Place Single Op, 21 MHz, US 6th District, 1979 WPX CW (Age 15)
First Place Single Op, 3.7 MHz, US 6th District "1896" WPX SSB (yes, the
certificate actually says "1896" on it, not sure what year that was really
from.)
First Place, 15 Meters Phone, SF Section, 1980 ARRL DX Phone (Age 15, WD6EEQ)
First Place, 20 Meters CW, SF Section, 1980 ARRL DX CW (Age 15, WD6EEQ)
First Place, 1978 Novice Roundup, SF Section (Age 13, WD6EEQ)
First Place, Multi-op, 1978 ARRL 10-meter contest, SF Section (Age 14 along
with my 14 year old non-licensed friend Darren. He made 2 QSOs as a third
party, so I felt obligated to enter as multi-op per the rules)
First Place, Single Op, Low Power, SV Section, 1999 ARRL DX Phone
---------------------
According to my handy-dandy logging program, I have made 6470 QSOs (mostly
CW) during contests in 1999, all using only a single "stealth" doublet up
15-30 feet, depending on snow level. Hopefully these are sufficient
credentials to take part in this discussion. If necessary, I can have my
mom dig around and look for old contest certificates I may have forgotten
about, but I'd rather not.
You'll notice that I did some moderately successful contesting as a child,
and that may be where the difference of opinion originates. I learned
contesting completely on my own, there were no other contesters around to
serve as Elmers. Some might consider that to be a disadvantage. I contend
that it was an advantage, because I couldn't learn any bad habits from the
"big guns".
With nothing to go on but the contest rules and a copy of Part 97, I simply
followed the rules. I didn't try to use my own subjective interpretation
of a "productive" CQ-er vs. an unproductive one when looking for a frequecy
to call CQ on. I probably wasted 5-10 unnecessary minutes each time I
changed bands, tuning around, QRL-ing, and sometimes S&P-ing until a
frequency opened up. If I started calling CQ and someone said "hey, the
frequency is in use!" I would give a quick "sorry" and move. Silly me, I
guess it was childhood naivete that caused me to take the sportsmanship I
learned in competitive athletics and bring it into ham radio contesting.
Imagine how much higher my scores could have been if someone of your
caliber had been there as my Elmer. I might have been a child contesting
savant! I would have learned that winning is everything, rules can be
selectively ignored, ethics and sportsmanship can be set aside, and if I
needed a run frequency, then by gosh I should TAKE it! Zero beat one of
those "unproductive" QRPers and fire away! If he isn't doing 4 Q's/minute,
he has no claim to the frequency, right? Or is it 1Q/minute? .25Q/minute?
When exactly is it that we get to ignore the rules?
If there are any young contesters out there trying to learn from these
discussions (yikes!) , I suggest you ignore *ALL* of us and get an
independent opinion. Go ask your school's
football/baseball/soccer/whatever coach if it is OK to win at all costs.
Ask them if sportsmanship means anything. See if there are any game rules
that you can selectively ignore. Take their answers, apply them to
contesting, reflect for a moment, and I think you'll have a good idea of
how YOU want to operate in the next big contest.
73,
Eric, KU6J
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