John,
I certainly follow your logic on this point. True enough that it's difficult
for the ARRL to police some of these limitations, but I think the ones you
listed would quickly become self-evident.
For example, if an operator is running 1KW on 2 Meters and claiming to be
"low power", he won't fool many of his fellow competitors. Likewise, a
multi-op station (even one running CW or digital modes) would become obvious
too.
Spotting is much more difficult to detect. Let's say that someone operating
in the "Single Operator Low Power" category decides to monitor the Internet
clusters during the June contest. He doesn't post any spots, so is
completely, 100% undetectable. But using the network, he manages to snag
five or six more multipliers on six meters than his nearest competitor in
his section. He wins the section, while his honest competitor finishes 2nd.
Beyond all that, what I dislike is that eliminating spotting results in
fewer contacts per contest. Period. Given the very real differences between
VHF and HF contesting, I think we should do everything we can to make more
contacts possible. Assistance accomplishes that, and I think would be a
healthy change for VHF.
73,
Les Rayburn, N1LF
EM63nf
Les Rayburn, Director
High Noon Film
100 Centerview Drive Suite 111
Birmingham, AL 35216-3748
205.824.8930
205.824.8960 FAX
205.253.4867 CELL
http://www.highnoonfilm.com
--------------------------------------------------
From: "John Geiger" <aa5jg@yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 8:46 PM
To: "Les Rayburn" <les@highnoonfilm.com>; <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>; "R
Johnson" <k1vu@tmlp.com>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Assisted Classes
> Following this logic, then, shouldn't we just eliminate all power
> categories from contests, as the ARRL really can't policy how much power
> anyone is running? Probably need to eliminate the single op/multiop
> distinction also, since it is always possible that you could get a little
> late night help that isn't reported on the summary sheet. I guess the
> only classes we would need for VHF contesting would be limited (4 bands or
> less) and unlimited (as many bands as you want).
>
> 73s John AA5JG
>
> --- On Sun, 2/14/10, R Johnson <k1vu@tmlp.com> wrote:
>
>> From: R Johnson <k1vu@tmlp.com>
>> Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Assisted Classes
>> To: "Les Rayburn" <les@highnoonfilm.com>, vhfcontesting@contesting.com
>> Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010, 9:45 PM
>> Well put Les !!!
>> 73
>> Bob, K1VU
>>
>> At 15:58 2/12/2010, Les Rayburn wrote:
>> >It reminds me of Oppenheimer's analogy about the Atomic
>> Age. The "genie is out of the bottle". Web clusters,
>> spotting networks, Twitter updates, etc. are here and
>> nothing will change that.
>> >
>> >The ARRL can't police these sites, because they don't
>> own them.
>> >
>> >It seems to be that retaining the notion of an
>> "unassisted class" is wishful thinking. Many of us long for
>> days gone by, filled with comic books, and pinball machines,
>> and rotary telephones. But those days are gone. You can
>> surround yourself with mementos of those days, or stubbornly
>> refuse to use that new touch tone phone, but it won't bring
>> that world back.
>> >
>> >In any contest, people can and will use whatever means
>> are at their disposal to win. Yes, most of us will follow
>> the rule and take pride in the fact that we didn't act
>> dishonorably to win 5th place or crack the Top Ten. But
>> there are others who "win at any cost" will always be the
>> order of the day.
>> >
>> >The ARRL has to be realistic about their ability to
>> enforce the rules of any contest, and try to make it as fair
>> as possible for everyone involved. It's clear that they
>> cannot effectively enforce many of the rules that involve
>> the use of spotting networks. So why not just admit that
>> Genie is out of the bottle. Allow assistance in the form of
>> spotting networks, and move on.
>> >
>> >This levels the playing field, and operators add
>> another tool to their shack. In the end, the best operators
>> will still prevail, as they usually do. Yes, it changes the
>> game--and we'll mourn the passing of a simpler time, when a
>> operator could sit alone in a room, disconnected from the
>> outside world save for their radio.
>> >
>> >But life and technology marches on.
>> >
>> >73,
>> >
>> >Les Rayburn, N1LF
>> >EM63nf
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Les Rayburn, Director
>> >High Noon Film
>> >100 Centerview Drive Suite 111
>> >Birmingham, AL 35216-3748
>> >205.824.8930
>> >205.824.8960 FAX
>> >205.253.4867 CELL
>> >http://www.highnoonfilm.com
>> >_______________________________________________
>> >VHFcontesting mailing list
>> >VHFcontesting@contesting.com
>> >http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/vhfcontesting
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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