David,
I guess that I have heard this argument one to many times. The idea that
because there is a microphone or wire attached to my radio, my radio is the
same as remote is just a silly extension of the facts. If that were true
then we would never have anything that is wireless or RF. I could buy a
wireless microphone but, oh, there is a wire inside my radio that connects
components! My satellite DirecTV is not RF because there is a wire from the
antenna to the TV. What makes a station remote is the distance from the
person that is operating the station, not whether I have wires (short or
long) in my shack! This is a bogus argument.
If all stations are just different varieties or types of remote stations,
why do we need to call some stations remote! Remote stations are stations or
parts of stations that are built and operated at a location separated (by
some distance) from the operator. The control of these stations can be
wired or wireless themselves. Remember, these folks have a right to do this,
and experiment with this type of station as much as they want under our
laws.
My concern is not whether a person has the right to operate a remote station
in a contest. My concern is that if a person can do this, they can easily
extend that technology to having multiple receiving sites. (I know that this
is already clearly outside the rules.) I don't need a license to locate
remote receiving antennas in other countries. I would certainly have a
distinct advantage if I had receiving antennas in propagation favorable
locations to Europe and Japan. (I can certainly see a big multi adding a few
of these to their arsenal.) Just like the "skimmer", how would you catch
something like that!
I have basically decided in my mind (such that it is) that operating a
remote station in a contest doesn't seem like such a problem. I guess that
if something goes wrong at the remote location then you are off the air. If
you had someone at the remote location to reset the amp, unstick the
rotator, reset the circuit breaker, etc, you would have to identify yourself
as multi!
Bill, W5VX
-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of David Kopacz
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2008 5:14 PM
To: Paul O'Kane; CQ-Contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Re; Skimmer Ultimate Setup
>This may be a reactionary viewpoint but it seems to me
>that when any part of the signal path, between the two,
>(or more) individuals concerned, is anything other than
>RF, something is lost - at least in amateur radio terms.
>73,
>Paul EI5DI
Paul,
Your statement is not only reactionary, but wholly incorrect.
Any amateur radio communications between two or more individuals is
already using a signal path that "other than" RF, unless of course, you
are getting RF into your microphone cable.
Remote operation is simply extending the microphone cable (AF signals)
and control signals (typically low level DC control signals) and
extending them a longer distance than normal. Many amateurs already
control their radios with a computer using low level DC signals
(RS-232), so why do you think extending those control signals a bit
further, such as across the Internet, with AF included in both
directions, is "debasing" amateur radio?
The "radio" communications between two or more individuals is still
accomplished using RF signals between the antennas of each station.
David ~ KY1V
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