CQ-Contest
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [CQ-Contest] Summarizing the Skimmer Accuracy Thread

To: <CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Summarizing the Skimmer Accuracy Thread
From: "Bob Naumann" <W5OV@W5OV.COM>
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:17:48 -0600
List-post: <cq-contest@contesting.com">mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
K3TN said: "The accuracy of the spots coming from the RBN are generally
higher than those coming from human beings."

I don't know if that summary is correct and my gut feel is that it's not.

What's the difference? 

Well, when a person makes a stupid spot error, someone else usually tells
them so and they stop. They don't continually make the same mistake
throughout the contest like the skimmer/RBN does.

During a contest, the RBN continually and repeatedly, ad infinitum, makes
the same errors over and over and over which fills the bandmaps with useless
stuff.

This volume of useless clutter never happened with human-driven spots.

And, as I reported earlier, the habit of the RBN reporting the stations
calling into W3LPL, W1MK, K1LZ and others is most annoying and again, it
rarely happens with human spotters - unless someone is a new spotter and
doesn't know better, but that doesn't last very long because someone tells
that guy to stop it.

In contrast with this skimmer/RBN thing, who do you tell to knock it off?
Is there some way to fix this real time? 

The result is continual culling of the crap from bandmaps everywhere.

I think this idea of having skimmers from all over the world linked like
this is a big mistake. 

A local skimmer + the human packet network might be a better and less
frustrating solution until the problems are worked out.

de W5OV

-----Original Message-----
From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
jpescatore@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 4:42 AM
To: CQ-Contest@CONTESTING.COM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Summarizing the Skimmer Accuracy Thread


Skimmer accuracy had gotten much better, but it is certainly not perfect
yet. The accuracy of the spots coming from the RBN are generally higher than
those coming from human beings.

There are techniques for maximizing the odds of getting spotted by a
skimmer, and for minimizing the skimmer busting your call:

Send CQ TEST and YOURCALL at the same speed
If you send your call twice in a CQ, leave an extra half space between the
1st and 2nd instance of your call
If you have a call that is often busted by humans, (ie, TN copied as G or C)
use extra spacing to lower skimmer busts

There are techniques for minimizing busted skimmer (or human) spots from
showing up on your bandmap/logging software:

Use software like VE7CC;s AR User to limit skimmers to those that are
geographically meaningfully to you, and to spots that are meaningful to the
contest.
Use the settings in N1MM or other contest software (blacklisting/available
mult/Q window filtering, etc) to minimize display of meaningless spots.

When jumping on spots, throw in a little XIT dither of 50 -200 hz to avoid
the zero beat lemmings leaping on spots problem.    
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest

_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>