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Re: [CQ-Contest] Too Much 'Assistance'?

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Too Much 'Assistance'?
From: Pete Smith N4ZR <n4zr@contesting.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:52:53 -0500
List-post: <cq-contest@contesting.com">mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
Bob makes a good point. N1MM Logger, for example, has a function to spot all S&P QSOs that are not already in the bandmap. When you are S&P, the program logs the QSO and sends the spot as soon as you send your exchange, before the running station has acknowledged receiving your exchange or acknowledged a correction of your call.

P5A (runner) - "TEST P5A"
N4ZR - "N4ZR"
P5A - "W4ZR 5NN500"
N4ZR - "N4ZR N4ZR 5NNWV"
[QSO logged and spot sent]
P5A - "N4ZR TU"

Now of course I could hold back the exchange until I'm sure he has my call corrected, avoiding the "premature" spot, but the above procedure sure seemed faster most of the time last weekend.

73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at
http://reversebeacon.net,
blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com.
For spots, please go to your favorite
ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node.

On 2/21/2014 5:54 AM, Bob Davis wrote:
I think it might be simpler than that, Mike. He had his logging
software set to automatically spot when he enters the QSO and just
logged you before the QSO was completed. That's because I tend to
avoid ascribing to malice (or nefarious intent) what might otherwise
be ascribed to an honest mistake (or incompetence). But still, there
you are.

That last one is pretty funny, though. I mean, you *are* VE9. NB is a
needed mult in a bunch of different contests. I'd never think of
calling you after spotting you spot me - when I'm running the last
thing I'm doing is looking at the cluster feed - but it actually makes
a lot of sense. It does make one feel not a little squcky, being such
a gray area. But it makes a lot of sense.

73 de Bob WP2XX

On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 7:38 PM, Mike & Coreen Smith VE9AA
<ve9aa@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:
Hey Tony,



I don't often comment on this reflector, but read it quite often.

I've gone assisted about 50% of the time the past couple years, mostly just
in the slower contests, just to increase my enjoyment level and keep me
interested.  Sometimes I'll go assisted to attack a certain Canadian record.
Often I will ignore this 'assistance' 95% of the time as I find it
distracting and just a clickfest.  BORING !  Anyways, prior to the past
couple yrs, when in contest mode, it's always been a "boy and his radio".but
I digress.



A couple contests ago, I forget which one (probably CQWW) something like
this happened to me and I thought it was REALLY strange, like I had
experienced a rip in the space-time continuum and I had to scratch my head.



I was running a small and very weak pileup of Europeans on 10m CW and at the
VERY moment, and I mean EXACTLY at

the moment, I sent the DX's callsign (and hadn't event sent 5NN 5 or
whatever yet) I saw his callsign spot me. (manually I guess)

I thought this was really bizarre, as I had not yet sent 5NN 5, nor had I
heard 5NN 20 from him yet.



Normally you would only spot a station after you would work them, right?  I
mean, you don't want MORE competition on the frequency you are battling
others on, right?

Anyways, as it turned out, I got his call correct on my own, but I wondered
at the time, just what the bleep had occurred?>!.



Reading your posting, a light bulb went on and I think here's what might
have occurred.



I was running.



TA3XXX was calling. (I made this call up just now)



He wasn't getting through, so hoping I was watching he manually spotted me.



The manual spot went out of his logging program via internet (or VHF
FM?)..some delay occurred... and

at the very time I saw it I just happened to be working him anyways.



What he/she probably had anticipated was me seeing the spot, seen a semi
rare country farther and weaker than the more western EU's, so he/she
presumed I would stop and listen for them,  THEN working them.



I think it was just luck of the draw that I was already sending the
thankfully correct call (and thereby knew the zone by default)



I felt weird about it at the time, but I had no "spare" time to dwell on it
in the heat of battle.  Your post now makes sense.

I dislike this practice and have said to myself if that ever happens I will
ignore that station, EVEN if it's a mult.



I don't need to win that bad.  It takes away all my satisfaction.  It's
about the same as a list operation where Net control gives my call, then the
DX listens to me scream "22, 22, 22, rifle shots, bang-bang", and then
someone else OK's the contact.



Thanks for bringing this up Tony.  I am on-board with your thoughts.  I
can't imagine why anyone would condone this practice.



One other thing that just occurred to me is every so often if I am just
listening to a contest, maybe making only a dozen contacts, or maybe very
casually just tuning for mults, I'll spot guys (and not even work them, or
perhaps I worked them earlier) and a couple times I have actually stayed on
their QRG long enough to hear the DX send "VE9AA 5NN 15" even though I have
not transmitted ! ! !............now I know why.



Respectfully,



Mike VE9AA



Mike, Coreen & Corey

Keswick Ridge, NB



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