Instead of embracing ways to get and keep more people on the air they
want to regulate a certificate into the ground just like the Gov't seems
to do with everything it touches.
Obviously remote ham radio is very popular as these stations are popping
up all over the place, which is a good thing.
A prolific W6 had or has a remote station in W1 land for over 30 years.
These are individual awards. How you get them is your business, how I
get mine is my business as long as we both follow the rules. The rules
have allowed this for a very long time. Why would we change the rules
now that a particular part of the hobby is picking up steam?
I don't think we need any more meaningless endorsements for awards.
Someone working DXCC from one location is no big deal. I can be done in
a contest weekend. Honor role is a separate subject. How would you
feel if you worked in an industry that required you to move every few
years and you had to keep starting over because you moved X distance
from the location you were in previously but you were still in the same
DXCC country? Remote ham radio is going to let old timers continue with
ham radio long after they might have been able to otherwise.
Things change and the older people get the less and less they can handle
change so they complain and create problems where none
existed........These people tend to dominate home owners associations
and create more harm than good.
On 7/11/2015 5:06 AM, Tom W8JI wrote:
I don't understand the sudden hysteria, except it may be Internet driven.
Around 52 years ago, my first or second 160 meter California contact
was with remote W6YY. I can't remember if W6VSS Dale or W6YY was
first, but that was when the band was split and the power limit was
maybe 25 watts plate input power.
In the 1970's, when it was actually very difficult to work DXCC, W2EQS
(Charlie) had almost made 100 DXCC on 160. His age and health forced
him to move to Indiana, and he lost all of those credits.
Today (and for a long time now) anyone anywhere in the USA (remotely
or locally) can operate anyone else's station in the USA under their
call, or someone else can come in (remotely or physically) operate
their station using the local call. People around here come in
physically and operate my station, and they have for many years. It
counts for their DXCC.
This leads me to think the sudden recent wave of hysteria about DXCC
is based on people actually wanting one of three things:
1.) In spite of being legal for over 50 years, all remotes to be banned
2.) In spite of being legal for around 35 years that I know of, they
want the rules changed so a station has to sign callsign / district or
say portable and then district when transmitting from any location
other than the station owner and builder location, and so no guest op
can ever use his call. This is the way it was before the FCC changed
that rule, which I think happened in the 1980's.
Since the FCC is unlikely to change rules because of an award that has
not had that much meaning about being tied to any location, station,
or operator since maybe 1980 or so, they want a new DXCC. They want a
new DXCC that requires the contact to be made by the physical owner of
the station at one location.
To me, the real issue is people are unhappy either with the use of a
remote of any type (which has been legal as long as I have been a Ham
and has been used for DXCC and contests since I have been licensed)
or they suddenly want DXCC to be tied to a station at a single
location that the DXCC recipient owns.
I think the mob got all worked up because they didn't think about the
actual rules, they just dislike RHR (and not the dozens of free
uncontrolled remotes all over the place). For years they have been
competing against people who use other people's stations, move around,
or have a remote. Now, out of the clear blue sky, DXCC is suddenly
useless when the actual changes than made it useless were made over 30
years ago.
I think the real solution is a DXCC endorsement or a new DXCC that
requires the holder to swear he did it all transmitting and receiving
from one location all by himself with gear he assembled.
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