During the recent dustup over spotting, I decided to search the DX summit
database
for my call - just to see what might be on there. I am not an active
spotter - one time
I sent in a spot after working some DX, mainly just to see my call pop up on
the screen.
When I searched for NS3T, I found a second spot which was listed as if I
submitted it
during the ARRL DX SSB contest - the contact was with YP3A.
I got curious and decided to check out the spots involving YP3A from that
contest.
It is somewhat revealing.
There were forty unique calls involved with YP3A spots. All showed YP3A as
the DX.
I checked every single call in the same spot database to see if these
stations posted
spots on a regular basis - and half did so - familiar calls like W3LPL,
K1AR, W4MYA.
All seemed fine there. There was one cheerleader (N2GM) who spotted
YP3A a bunch of times - in each case on 15 meters...but that did not
interest me.
Remember, what got me into this was that my call (NS3T) was listed as
posting YP3A.
14 of the 40 spots for YP3A (35%) were by stations that had no spots during
2002, and
some of them had never posted a spot at all.
This is the list:
K4FWC 21246.5 YP3A YO1828 02 Mar 2002
K7LPK 21246.5 YP3A vy gud sig YO1844 02 Mar 2002
NS3T 21246.5 YP3A YO2010 02 Mar
2002
KJ7UO 21246.5 YP3A YO2050 02 Mar
2002
K1QK 21246.5 YP3A YO2052 02 Mar
2002
W1AMJ 21246.5 YP3A YO2100 02 Mar 2002
W4IMF 21246.5 YP3A YO2106 02 Mar 2002
W3ARS 21246.5 YP3A YO2126 02 Mar 2002
W0GHZ 21246.5 YP3A YO2130 02 Mar 2002
N1BFF 21246.5 YP3A YO2136 02 Mar
2002
K2EVY 21246.5 YP3A YO2144 02 Mar 2002
KA9ZLR 21246.5 YP3A YO2238 02 Mar 2002
KG4GNO 21246.5 YP3A YO2256 02 Mar 2002
Like I said - for all of these stations, this was their ONLY spot of the
entire
contest on the DX Summit database and for seven, the ONLY spots involving
their
calls for all of 2001 & 2002.
What's more interesting is that each spot is on the same frequency over a
several hour period. Others did spot YP3A during this time - a couple had a
slightly
different frequency posted.
What does it mean?
Does it mean that someone at YP3A was posting spots, under the guise of
someone else's call in the US? I am hesitant to accuse anyone of
wrongdoing.
Maybe some of these US stations made only one spot in the contest and
it happened to be YP3A.
All I know is, I did not spot YP3A - but someone submitted a spot under
my call....and the evidence shows I might not have been the only one.
Any thoughts from the contest community?
Jamie NS3T
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