Hi all,
I agree that with some contests, there is a grey area regarding whether
Skimmer constitutes assistance.
However, there is no grey area, no splitting of hairs when it comes to CQ WW
and WPX.
Both contests classify as assisted an operator who is using "DX alerting
assistance OF ANY KIND." (Emphasis added.) The rule goes on to say that it
includes packet, cluster, nets involving other individuals, but it does not
limit the description to those forms of assistance. At the end of the day,
nothing in that rule overrides the OF ANY KIND bit. Nor does the fact that
historic precedent has been that assistance is a form of packet or spots
from other stations.
It does not say DX alerting assistance only when it involves other people.
It does not say DX alerting assistance unless it's a piece of hardware in
your own shack. It says of any kind.
I would suggest the ARRL CAC has some work to do, as it could be argued that
the rules of ARRL contests do not restrict Skimmer use. I simply cannot see
how something that finds the stations for you AND decodes their callsigns
isn't assistance.
(The argument that the description of assistance could then be transferred
to receivers and rotator control boxes and amplifiers is spurious, at best.)
73, kelly
ve4xt
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