"To me, it's all about contacting people in different places." VO1HE
Well, Paul, to other people it's NOT all about contacting people in
different places. One of the WRTC-1990 operators considered their particular
contesting interest to be in using the many rapid contacts to learn about
ionospheric propagation. To them, the person on the other end was
secondary - not valueless - just secondary to their interest in the physics
of radio waves. There are very many hams who are only interested in
technical experimentation - building antennas, designing electronics,
constructing stations. They get on the air just to test their latest
creation. Then they QRT again until the next project is finished. Some hams
like to construct and test digital protocols. And some are very focused on
the person-to-person aspect of the hobby. All are amateurs and all are
legitimate activities.
In the context of awards and contesting, the mission of any particular
activity is completely defined by the activity sponsor. If the sponsor
chooses to emphasize the personal or "social" aspect, then they are free to
do so. Perhaps they would require that the operator be physically present
at the transmitter and receiver. i.e. - No remote operation as defined by
the FCC is allowed within the scope of the sponsored activity. On the other
hand, if the mission of the activity focuses on the ability to establish a
minimum level of communication between two places on the surface of the
Earth, then the actual location of the operator has less significance and
remote operation is allowed. This is all up to the sponsor. If you do not
agree with the sponsor's definition and stated mission, then you are free to
attempt to pursuade the sponsor to change, not engage in the activity,
engage anyway and agree to disagree, or start your own activity.
If one looks at the FCC's Basis and Purpose for the Amateur Service (and I
know this is not a controlling document in Canada), Part 97.1 has five
parts: emergency service, training, technical skill, advancement of radio
communication practices, and goodwill. None is given priority. All are
equally important in justifying the amateur's presence on the air waves. I
think it behooves all of us to take a step back from our own interests now
and then to remember those equal justifications. This does not excuse poor
behavior or sloppy execution in any domain, but we must accept that no
single goal or ideal of the service outweighs all others.
73, Ward N0AX
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