To be perfectly honest, I am becoming less enamoured of the cluster as time
marches on.
In contests, as I mentioned before, I don't see why I should help my
competitors (or vice-versa) by giving them information that they may not get
on their own. Moreover, in Canada, we have the CCC, or Canadian Contest
Championship, which allots points for placement in various major contests.
There are no points for multi-op or assisted entries. As a result, I have
given up using the cluster for contests.
As an aside, I wonder if the SO2R phenomenon really took off due to the
advance of the cluster such that now you don't have to tune around on the
second rig but can just click on spots and pick them off. Makes it a whole
lot easier.
In general DXing it seems that the world-wide network brings out a myriad of
bad operators, many of whom either can't hear the DX or won't believe the
DX when he says he's listening up. When the DX answers a VO1 and 250 guys
who have neither a V, an O or a 1 in their calls go back to him, repeatedly,
it just sounds bizarre. I almost think the localized clusters would be more
beneficial for dxing as the spots would be relevant to your locale as
opposed to how well a JA can hear a BY.
Anyway, I have no expectation that there is an end coming to the cluster
(nor should there be, I suppose) but I would not mourn it's removal from
contesting.
73 -- Paul VO1HE
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Leigh
> S. Jones, KR6X
> Sent: November 6, 2007 01:30
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] combination of, bragging, back-scratching
>
> > I have been trying to understand why a group as seemingly
> competitive
> > as contesters would even think of spotting stuff for their
> rivals to
> > benefit from. They spend small (or large) fortunes setting
> up hugely
> > elaborate stations in order to beat "the other guy" and then turn
> > around and tell "the other guy" where the points are.
> >
> > So far, I have narrowed it down to bragging (Hey! Look what
> I worked!)
> > and back-scratching (I'll spot stuff for you if you spot stuff for
> > me). Maybe a combination of both.
> >
> > 73 -- Paul VO1HE
>
> Evolution allowed this to continue after beginnings that were
> not related to contests at all.
>
> DX spotting networks began before home computers. In many
> urban areas the local DX club had a two meter frequency on
> which they met -- often this was a repeater. They'd simply
> keep to habits when DX contests came around. At first, the
> nature of the spotting nets was strictly local, and the more
> useful nets were the ones that were best supported by the locals.
>
> If you are not living in an area where this kind of network
> has been practical since perhaps the late 1960's then you may
> have missed out on a great deal of fun.
>
> Spotting networks have evolved. The internet has made
> spotting networks world-wide in nature. It's a good thing
> that the evolution of spotting networks has opened the
> process to the world rather than closing them up into tiny
> cells of local and regional contest clubs jealously guarding
> their "intelligence", don't you think? It's probably not the
> contesters that have driven that; more likely that's the
> day-to-day operation of the spotting nets.
>
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