Hi all:
This is to the best of my recollection. YMMV.
In the beginning (gosh, sounds deep)....there was Single-OP, Multi-Single, and
M/M.
During the mid-1980's, Packet started gaining momentum and there was
consternation
about how to treat it. Was it single-op or mult-op? For a time, there was not
quite
consensus that it was the same as multi-op and that is how entrants were
expected
to enter. But the entrants didn't really agree.
So what was happening was that we were forcing the entrants to "cheat" (cuz
they
were using packet but entering single-op). As I recall, it was K1AR who pushed
the
issue by using packet and then submitting his log as M/M (even though he was
the
only op). His logic was that M/S had a 10-minute rule, which he had violated,
so his
only recourse was to enter M/M. We all thought that made it obvious that we
really
needed a new category.
So in a room at Dayton, a bunch of us agreed to agreed to create the SO-A
category.
I don't remember who "named" it (that name was not my choice), but I'm thinking
it
was K1DG (again, I could be wrong). There was a vote and SO-A stuck. SO-A
became
a category of entry in 1989 (at least according to the CQWW Contest Handbook,
1994 Edition). I sure don't remember the year myself, but I'm confident the
book has it
right.
This won't solve anything being debated here, but I thought the history might
be interesting.
de Doug KR2Q
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