Dear packet spotters of local friends:
[disclaimer - the following opinion is my own and shall not be construed as
the ruling of any contest committee with which I may be associated]
So you state that, "My friend was spotting me while I was calling CQ" and
you would like a ruling. Well, let's see....
In CQWW, self-spotting is prohibited. It seems to me that if your "friend"
is spotting you multiple times, then this is equivalent to self-spotting.
Let's take this a bit further. If "your friend" can spot you multiple
times, why is he doing that? What is the EFFECT? The effect is that you
are now "calling cq" on another band (packet/internet/etc). He is acting as
a "feeder" for your station and helping you improve your score. This is
EFFECTIVELY the non-passive use of packet or spotting nets.
Does it make ANY sense that this should be permitted in light of the fact
that self-spotting is prohibited? It does NOT make any sense to me. If
this were permitted, well, what would be the sense of the "no self spotting"
rule? All you'd have to do is to convince "your friend(s)" to spot you all
the time.
This is an extremely slippery slope and seems virtually identical (at least
to me) as the stuff that K1TTT is exposing (hidden self spotting). Maybe it
can be counched in "innocence," but that would be a wrong framework.
So while this may seem like a friendly act, it is tantamount to breaking the
rules, no matter what category of entry.
And as for those who state, "It's not in the rules," well, be careful what
you wish for..... Contest Committees have no interest in constructing an
iron-clad, legal bible. The rules are out there, the annotated notes are
out there, and (I think) common sense is out there. I do not think that it
takes any sort of deep, philosophical thinking, zen experience, or heavenly
epiphany to see that "a friend" spotting you multiple times is the
equivalent of self-spotting.
de Doug KR2Q
Master of Contest Revelations and other quasi-legal gibberish
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