The changes in the ARRL DX Contest exchange over the years have been with
the intent of making it more enjoyable and accessible for all, especially for
the DX stations.
Many years ago the exchange sent by both W/VE and DX was RST+ a 3-digit
arbitrary number. The arbitrary number was self-selected, not a serial number,
and thus remained constant during the contest. The exchange was then changed
for both W/VE and DX to RST+ a 3-digit number, where the number was the power
input in watts. One big reason for the change was to enable getting a valid
contest exchange from a not-in-the-contest DX station wandering onto the band
during the contest. It was much easier just to ask for his power than to
explain the business about an arbitrary number.
One memorable incident during this time occurred when an unaware EA6, much
needed by all as a new multiplier, came on 15 meters and created a pileup
answering his initial CQ. The first W he worked asked for his power, and the
EA
held down his key to read the meter and give an accurate reply. Apparently his
power supply couldn’t take the duty factor, and his signal wavered for a
while and then quit entirely. W4KFC, among the hopefuls waiting on frequency,
then went on and said “ I guess that makes his power 000”.
With the widespread use of electronic keyers instead of bugs, it was not
possible to send long dashes for zeros, so many stations began using
alphanumeric representations to indicate their power. KH6IJ used to send
“ooo”, three
dashes at a time.
RST values sent for a while were reasonably representative. For many years “
579” was the standard, but the macho desire to give and receive bigger
numbers has led to the point that “5NN” is now the defacto preamble for what
follows. Most signals now are not S9, and many are not T9 either.
The contest exchange was finally changed to its present format, RST +
state/province for W/VE and RST + power for DX. This definitely makes the
contest
more interesting and enjoyable for the DX stations. For them also, having some
choice of an alphanumeric representation of their power allows some degree
of creativity. A unique power value serves as an identifier, which helps in
the instances when the DX station sends his call rarely but sends his power
with each QSO. The way a station decides to indicate his power on cw can be
similar to his choice of phonetics on ssb: whatever works best and requires
the
fewest repeats. In ’08 and previously, DX stations with very similar calls
purposefully chose different power indicators to help minimize confusion. There
are many different ways to indicate “1KW”. It appears the ARRL log robot will
accept a wide variety of alphanumeric combinations for power, even with
different numbers of digits. Thus far, four digits seems to be sufficient….
Based on DX activity, the rules and the required exchange do not seem to be
seriously limiting participation. Any changes considered should only to be to
make it better for them, not for us.
Chas., W6UM
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