Mike,
> There was a post here calling for a ban on it,
> forget who it was tho'.
I've see that now and stand corrected...
>
> Agreed. In fact as a person who enjoys the bells
> and whistles of
> computers, as well as the knobs on my radio, I would
> be happy to
> adopt whatever technology comes along. It isn't
> inferior to an "unassisted class.
>
The jury is still out here on that ;o) Maybe I've seen
and read too much SciFi...
> There are some issues though. I don't want to get
> too much into that
> on this sig, but there are some up and coming
> problems for them
> common to all those small groups that separate
> themselves from the rest of the world.
There's definitely good and bad, definitely a more
philosophical discussion beyond contesting.
>
> Of course I'd like the Amish furniture in this
> instance, but then
> what I'd really like is the nicest furniture I could
> get regardless of who manufactured it. 8^)
*chuckles*
>
> But perhaps I didn't make myself clear. The
> technology that the amish
> possessed in 1845 was vastly superior to that of say
> the 1200's. When
> they decided to set themselves apart, they continued
> with the
> technology they had, and to not allow anything
> "newer" unless it was approved by a religious
leader.
Another emotional issue, that has been a source of
debate since religions began. To my way of thinking,
"vastly superior" means replacing the operator. I'd
use the US auto industry as a case and point (although
you could pick your favorite manufacturer here) Robots
are superior and have replaced much of the workforce.
Maybe electronics is an even better example...
>
> The analogy to an unassisted class is that at some
> point, freezing of
> the technology, or even the addition of technology
> that was once not
> considered assistance to the forbidden list, will
> eventually set
> these unassisted folks quite far apart from the rest
> of the Amateur world.
You could argue being a CW operator already does
that... It's one thing to use technology to improve
efficiency, but another to have it doing the work.
Lot's of things have changed since I've been
contesting I know folks like to point out keyers and
computer logging, but way back when most folks had
separate transmitters and receivers and they were all
tube finals (remember retuning for every band
change?), press a button and away you go now. One had
to hold a lever and wait for the yagi to rotate, now
you can point and click the rotor, or with a SteppIr
go to 180 or bidirectional with a button press. No
outcries over any of this that I recall... Those are
still operator decisions, just much more efficient...
>
> Even just a bandscope or waterfall running will give
> me a place to
> tune to with a click of the mouse. Then assuming
> that the Ops are at
> all efficient, I'll know in a few seconds the
> callsign, and I'll have
> it more accurately than the skimmer can do it just
> by listening for
> those few seconds. work the station, and be done.
> That bandscope or
> waterfall was of great assistance to me. What's
> more, it can be used for SSB also.
I agree that can be a great help, and at least you
listen first ;o)
>
> So it really isn't a black and white issue, as some
> would have it. So
> many unintended consequences pop up.
I agree 100%!
>
> For myself, I am of the opinion that assistance
> comes from outside -
> the amateur gets their information from somewhere
> else beside their operating station.
This is where is the sticking point ;o) A computer
gathering and displaying information is an outside
source IMHO...
> Well, I'm not betting, but robots exist already. All
> it takes is some
> Digital handshaking, and the QSO is made. It would
> be pretty silly to
> contest that way though. It would be even sillier to
> try to "robot
> contest" using CW - it isn't terribly efficient in
> the conversion to
> digital. Now all that being said, there are plenty
> of silly people in
> the world, so I would have to qualify the statement.
>
I know it's been done already and it looks like the
fully automated Top 10 challenge has been issued...
The future is upon us ;o) Sure wish I could have had a
valid bet on this...
Cheers,
Julius
Julius Fazekas
N2WN
Tennessee Contest Group
TnQP http://www.tnqp.org/
Elecraft K2/100 #3311
Elecraft K2/100 #4455
Elecraft K3/100 #366
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