SCARBOROUGH REEF
New Britain, CT, Apr 1--In a surprise decision made earlier today by
the Ministry of Radio, the Peoples Republic of China announced that the
recent BS7SR Scarborough Reef operation was deemed by the government to have
been an "outlaw operation." The announcement went on to state that "The
operation was, therefore, illegal," despite the fact that permission had
been given beforehand.
The reason for retroactive cancellation of the DXpedition's license
was, according to Ministry officials, that "Examination of the photographs
of BS7SR in operation clearly show that all reasonable RF-safety
considerations were ignored, thereby setting a bad example for the people of
China and of the world. The antennas were located much too near the
operators for safety, and we fear for the operators' future health and
children, if any."
Because of this action, the ARRL has announced that DXCC credit for
contacts with BS7SR has been withdrawn.
It is rumored that the ARRL DX Advisory Committee is considering a
proposal for a new rule that will allow DXCC credit for Scarborough Reef if,
and only if, the DXpedition uses large cantilevered scaffolding for the
antennas, in order to separate the operators from the antennas by at least
50 feet horizontally and 50 feet vertically. A DXAC member who asked not to
be identified said, "We feel that ham radio ingenuity and the generous
application of funding will be able to overcome this antenna difficulty on
some future DXpedition."
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