Tor, N4OGW wrote:
> It is also worth pointing out (again) that there is a BIG difference
> between allowing only "local" skimmers at one's own station, and
> allowing connection to a worldwide network of other people's skimmers.
> Some people only think of "skimmer" as the worldwide network- but so
> far no contest makes a distinction between the two cases.
Big difference? No, maybe and yes.
No -- in the sense of the primary benefit provided to the operator. The ARRL
has taken the position that local skimmer spots, remote skimmer spots and
packet spots by human operators all provide the same benefit to the
operator: station call signs and the frequencies where the stations are
transmitting. This information greatly reduces or eliminates the need to
tune your radio up and down the band and listen for stations that you need,
which is time consuming and requires extra skill, patience and endurance.
The technique for finding needed stations is the essential difference
between the Single Op and Single Op Unlimited categories (sometimes referred
to as Unassisted and Assisted, but those terms were changed by ARRL because
they confuse the issue.) The operating techniques are so different that it's
really two different games, which is why we have two categories.
Maybe -- in the sense that, technically, local skimmer and remote skimmer
don't always provide the same level of benefit. Sometimes local spots are
more useful because by definition they can be heard on your antennas, which
gives you a good chance of working the station. That may not be the case
with a remote skimmer spot that comes from a station in a different
propagation zone than yours -- you may not be able to hear that one on your
antennas. Conversely, if you happen to have your skimmer attached to a
directional antenna, and it's pointed in the wrong direction, you might not
hear a station that a remote skimmer will pick up. In that case, the remote
skimmer is more useful because it alerts you to a station that you may be
able to hear by turning your antenna. All that said, this difference is
relevant to operating techniques, not contest rules.
Yes -- in the sense that remote skimmer raises an issue that's not a problem
for local skimmer: a remote skimmer is a remote receiver, and remote
receivers are not allowed in ARRL contests and those of many other contest
sponsors (CQ WW's extreme category is the only exception of which I'm
aware.) There is, however, an out: for a long time packet networks have been
explicitly exempt from the remote receiver prohibition, so it's reasonable
to exempt remote skimmer spots coming over packet networks -- and that's
what the rules allow. However, when the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee
considered this issue, we realized that automated skimmers could be setup
remotely and accessed over a dedicated connection by one operator or a
limited group of operators. That case is nearly identical in spirit to
accessing a remote receiver's audio over a dedicated connection and should
be prohibited. We ended up resolving this issue by stipulating that spotting
information from any source outside the station via a closed or dedicated
communication link cannot be used. This works because all operators in the
Unlimited and Multi categories can benefit equally from packet and remote
skimmer spots.
73, Dick WC1M
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