Well, I'm not going to comment on this topic again. We obviously have
differing views on what constitutes assistance. I feel that the contest
organizers meant that providing information to a contestant from an outside
source that almost guaranteed a specific contact was assistance and
information that may or may not provide information to make a potential
contact was not. If your buddy drops by during a contest to see how you're
doing and says "Why don't you try 10M?".... is that assistance or just a
suggestion?
Anyway, like I said, this topic has gotten way out of control and I'm not
going to worry about it anymore. From now on, I'm going to be one man in one
chair with one radio and several antennae trying to make a decent score from
my noise-laden postage stamp lot and if contest rules lumps my pittance
score in with sprawling mega-stations, well, so be it. This is supposed to
be fun and that's what it's going to be dammit! :)
If all this stuff is such an issue then it's up to the contest organizers to
address it and clear up any and all ambiguity.
73 -- Paul VO1HE
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of David Pruett
> Sent: November 27, 2006 04:19
> To: vo1he@rac.ca
> Cc: 'CQ-Contest Reflector'
> Subject: [Bulk] Re: [CQ-Contest] ZoneProp REMINDER
>
> Paul, Kelly, et al:
>
> It is one thing to utilize data before the contest, and
> another to use it during the contest.
>
> It is also one thing to take a set of data points, and derive
> your operating conclusions from it. While I think what Syl
> has put together is really cool, and I have a lot of
> technical admiration for what it took to make it work,
> ZoneProp is providing advice as to where IT thinks
> propagation will be. "Providing advice" (particularly during
> the contest in real time) sound like "assistance" to me.
>
> There's a whole lot of difference between whipping out one's
> DXEdge and getting "propagational advice" in real time from
> ZoneProp during a contest.
>
> Dave/K8CC
>
>
> Paul J. Piercey wrote:
> > Yeah, Kelly, I gotta agree. That's like using a greyline map being
> > called assistance. This stuff is getting ridiculous now.
> You and Syl
> > are right about the contest sponsors being the final
> authority on the
> > matter but, as well, they ALL need to be consistent in
> their rulings.
> >
> >
> > 73 -- Paul VO1HE
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
> >> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> Kelly Taylor
> >> Sent: November 25, 2006 02:16
> >> To: Guy Molinari; VE5ZX; CQ-Contest Reflector
> >> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] ZoneProp REMINDER
> >>
> >> Isn't this just an extension of the "If your wife brings you a
> >> sandwich, you better enter as assisted" argument?
> >>
> >> I see nowhere in the rules is there a prohibition on accessing
> >> propagation information. Nor do I, in my 25 years of ham radio,
> >> perceive any suggestion that the ephemeral "spirit" of contesting
> >> forbids it. (The only POSSIBLE exception, and it would be
> a stretch,
> >> IMHO, is the WW DX rules that say use of DX alterting
> assistance of
> >> any kind places the op in the assisted class.
> >> Whether that's to mean propagation intelligence we'll have to wait
> >> and see.)
> >>
> >> I also see nowhere in here any suggestion that ZoneProp provides
> >> specific frequency information nor provides any guarantee
> that if it
> >> says there should be a path to VR6, there will be a VR6 there to
> >> work.
> >>
> >> Indeed, it can't even guarantee that if conditions suggest there
> >> SHOULD be a path that there actually WILL be a path.
> >>
> >> Also, at the levels where this MIGHT make the slightest bit of
> >> difference, I suspect the operators are too busy juggling
> both radios
> >> and already KNOW what's open where anyway.
> >>
> >> Yes, the rules PROHIBIT using non-amateur means of
> communication TO
> >> SOLICIT QSOs. They do not contain a blanket prohibition on use of
> >> non-amateur means for the duration of the contest for any reason.
> >>
> >> Syl, however, is right: the ONLY opinions that matter
> belong to the
> >> various contest sponsors. I await their judgment.
> >>
> >> 73, kelly
> >> ve4xt
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Guy Molinari" <guy_molinari@hotmail.com>
> >> To: "VE5ZX" <ve5zx@hotmail.com>; "CQ-Contest Reflector"
> >> <cq-contest@contesting.com>
> >> Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 2:10 PM
> >> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] ZoneProp REMINDER
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> Nice work Syl, shouldn't here be a prominent message
> >>>
> >> reminding everyone
> >>
> >>> that they are in the assisted category if they use ZoneProp?
> >>>
> >>> 73 - Guy, N7ZG
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> From: ve5zx@hotmail.com> To: cq-contest@contesting.com>
> >>>>
> >> Date: Fri, 24 Nov
> >>
> >>>> 2006 12:11:26 -0600> Subject: [CQ-Contest] ZoneProp
> >>>>
> >> REMINDER> > ZoneProp>
> >>
> >>>> > Zone to Zone Propagation information will be available
> >>>>
> >> for the CQWW cw
> >>
> >>>> from> Radio Sport Canada>
> >>>>
> >> http://www.radiosport.ca/zoneprop/> > ZoneProp
> >>
> >>>> uses an widely accepted propagation engine to determine
> >>>>
> >> the band on>
> >>
> >>>> which a contestant in one CQ DX zone is likely to be able
> >>>>
> >> to contact a>
> >>
> >>>> contestant in another CQ DX zone taking into account the current
> >>>> geomagnetic> activity.> > ZoneProp produces a 40 zone by
> >>>>
> >> 40 zone matrix
> >>
> >>>> that is updated hourly at> approximately 20 minutes past
> >>>>
> >> the hour. The
> >>
> >>>> intersection between a row and> column gives the band on which a
> >>>> contestant in the zone represented by the> row is mostly
> >>>>
> >> likely able to
> >>
> >>>> contact an contestant in the zone represented> by the
> >>>>
> >> column.> > The zone
> >>
> >>>> numbers in the left hand column are clickable. Once> clicked the
> >>>> information for that zone is displayed in isolation above
> >>>>
> >> a map> of C
> >>
> >>> Q DX zones. The pages are refreshed every 10 minutes in
> >>>
> >> order to capture>
> >>
> >>> hourly updates of the matrix> > For technical details see>
> >>> http://www.radiosport.ca/zoneprop/manual.php> > ZoneProp is
> >>>
> >> designed for
> >>
> >>> high speed Internet access using IE 6/7 or a recent>
> >>>
> >> release of FireFox.
> >>
> >>> It has not been tested in other browsers or on slow> speed
> >>>
> >> (e.g. dialup)
> >>
> >>> Internet access.> > Syl> > Sylvan Katz - VE5ZX> Saskatoon, SK> >
> >>> _______________________________________________> CQ-Contest
> >>>
> >> mailing list>
> >>
> >>> CQ-Contest@contesting.com>
> >>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
> >>> _________________________________________________________________
> >>> Express yourself with gadgets on Windows Live Spaces
> >>> http://discoverspaces.live.com?source=hmtag1&loc=us
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> CQ-Contest mailing list
> >>> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> >>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
> >>>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
> >>
> >>
> >
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> >
> >
>
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