After 5 years of advocating that any use of CW Skimmer should constitute "assistance", I have changed my mind about where the line should be drawn between Assisted/Unlimited and Unassisted, when it c
N4ZR proposed (for reasons mentioned in his original email): While I agree with the general idea that assistance comes from outside the station, I think you still need the second dimension that, for
<snip> N4ZR may have changed his mind, but CW Skimmer is still a multi-channel CW decoder - and he clearly expects all CW operators to use it to stay competitive. <snip> That may be true, but CW Skim
In this case, my opinion aligns completely with EI5DI. There is a non-trivial fraction of contesters who wish to retain a class of operation where they detect and identify target contacts with their
Is it time? The real question is can any new rules be enforced. ZL2HAM could create a Contest mode but do we know who is using it? We have packet but we don't know who is really using it. Heck in a C
Paul inadvertently makes my point for me. What's a multi-channel CW decoder? I understand that some assistive decoders, intended for the CW-challenged, will already handle 4 channels. How much is too
Paul inadvertently makes my point for me. What's a multi-channel CW decoder? That's not too difficult; it's a more-than-one-channel CW decoder. 73, Paul EI5DI Check out SD, EI5DI's free contest logge
Hi Pete: Not surprisingly, I disagree with you about the difference between the CW Skimmer and the RBN. IMHO, the CW Skimmer technology is the "game changer". The RBN only adds remote receivers to th
There is no legitimate reason to force everyone to compete in a category that many or most currently choose not to enter when given a choice. This past weekend I have no specific, lasting memory of a
Hi Mark - not surprising, and I acknowledge that I did not give due weight to the implications of making CWSkimmer essential. I think you overstate the barriers to entry, though. The most prolific RB
Ultimately, the word "assistance" should have a very specific meaning: being helped by another live human, whether local or distant. Most of our shacks are full of technical devices of all kinds, whi
Well, that's one opinion. All relevant technology assists, one way or another. Many CW operators think it's silly to use a multichannel CW decoder in a CW contest. underground, Those who don't like t
Your definition is certainly one, but I don't think it is the most common. The traditional sense of assistance is anything (people or technology) that helps you find QSOs. It would make things a lot
Ham radio is the technical sport/hobby. Uses gadgets, equipment, radios, computers, antennas..... Why is it so difficult to consider ASSISTANCE by other person, operator, human being??? We should be
Let's imagine two contesters, Joe and Bob, in an SSB contest. Joe enters assisted, from a relatively uncommon zone/DXCC. He spends a lot of time running, but also feeds cluster spots to his bandmap,