Bob and all,
Sorry if my message came off as a negative reply-- that is one of the
problems with this media in that we have to keep the text terse to cut down
bandwidth and then it sometimes sounds harsh.
> You're right that there "are literally HUNDREDS of things that are not
> mentioned specifically in the rules".
> However, in this case I'm attempting to reduce the number of those things
> to be considered when determining if you should categorize yourself as
> being assisted or not.
I agree 110% with your effort, as a personal statement you make here, but
many of the posts were not of this positive, educational tone and more from a
"policeman" point of view. I have been a ham for some 30 years (am I getting
so old?!) but this now past CQWW-SSB contest is the first that I had ever
entered, mostly because I had never owned a radio that was of a level that I
thought was good enough to even participate (bad reason!). So, reading the
rules was a little unclear to me as well.
However, my 'life-view' is to try to live ethically (according to my
beliefs) because it seems correct to me and makes me feel "better". At the
same time I try to worry or be bothered what I believe are a large portion of
the general population who try to get around every rule that they can, almost
as a sort of personal protest for some. That is what I was trying to convey--a
lot of people are going to participate in some way that I personally might
consider unethical (i.e., no one came to check to see if I actually was using
no more than 100w but I was extremely careful to make sure my rig was set to
put our EXACTLY 100w and not a bit more!) but I didn't let it affect my
enjoyment a bit and didn't feel the urge to police the rest even though I know
someone probably was cheating. I only made 30 contacts in 2 days with a
buddiepole on the balcony but I had a ball!!
Discussing the matter from YOUR viewpoint (NOT the policeman viewpoint) is
extremely valuable. Because I am now equipment-wise able to begin to really
work DX (even with this buddiepole--I didn't really believe it would work but
it does!) (not an advertizement, just amazement!), I am going to buy a couple
of books on the practice of DXing so I can learn more about the techniques
necessary. Why isn't there a reasonably priced book on how to do contesting?
It would be really valuable for any new initiate to that aspect of our hobby.
I would buy it because every contest has some peculiar details (just like this
one) that a techniques/spirit of the sport book could address.
Thanks Bob for making clear your viewpoint, and sorry for inadvertently
lumping you in with the "policeman".
Now, I'll start a new topic and ask a question from a newbie to contesting!
Scott AA0AA
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