Well now we're getting somewhere! I think this "up a hill" scenario is a
great foundation to help reveal the root in the different viewpoints.
But I am having difficulty understanding where to draw the dividing line
between "true amateur QSOs" and "pseudo amateur QSOs".
Correct me if I'm wrong Paul, but in the scenario detailed in the
message below, where the ham operator is using an amateur-band RF link
between his house and the equipment up on the top of the hill, he will
be logging true Amateur to Amateur QSOs.
I also assume that if the equipment "control head" could be disconnected
from the RX/TX module (like the remote in a car with the VHF/UHF radio
installed in the trunk), this would also meet your definition. Do you
have any objection if that interconnecting cable were 1,000 feet long?
It would make it to the top of the hill with 20 feet to spare.
I am under the understanding that we flip over to a "Non Amateur to
Amateur QSO", when I replace the amateur UHF/Microwave link between the
house and shack with a commercial unit. Installing a typical commercial
RF system that performs the link would create this "problem" because it
would be operating outside amateur radio bands. Even though it is
performing an identical function, it's not an "Amateur to Amateur QSO"
in your view?
What if the ham operator registered and licensed this commercial link as
required by the FCC (in the US)? Does that change anything?
We know the house and shack are in line-of-sight of each other so let's
substitute a laser based link system. Will contacts be Amateur based
QSOs or not? Are laser or light-based paths considered commercial or
Amateur links? Even though I'm using a laser, it's getting fuzzy trying
to determine whether I'm actually making legitimate Amateur-to-Amateur
QSOs or not.
If you say the laser is okay, then the next question is regarding
indirect links. For example, maybe the house and shack are not
line-of-sight. However, a quarter mile away we find a 15 story
commercial building with very shiny metal walls. It can be used as a
passive reflector to get around our line-of-sight obstruction. But! You
have now introduced a "non-amateur" device within the data path. Would
using this reflector yield "Non-Amateur" QSOs, even if all the equipment
was amateur band based?
I really am curious where you would draw the line in these scenarios.
73 de Bob - KØRC in MN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 4/15/2013 11:43 AM, Chris Plumblee wrote:
I would posit, regarding ei5di's lengthy treatise on his objection to
remote contest operation, that he is leaving a rather large hole in his
argument.
Suppose I own a home near the bottom of a large hill, as well as a plot of
land sufficient for towers and a station at the top of the hill.
Logistically I'm able to extend mains power to the top of the hill, but not
plumbing and not wired internet access. Suppose further that the distance
to the hilltop would preclude a quick walk home when nature calls.
If I want to take advantage of my good fortune I have a few options.
I could run impractically-large coax from the tower on top of the hill to
my home at the bottom.
I could rent a portable bathroom for use during contest weekends.
Or, I could operate my equipment remotely using an amateur band microwave
link between the shack at the top of the hill and my home at the bottom.
The entire path of a qso between me and ei5di, then, would be amateur-band
rf. I don't think anyone would argue that this scenario is not remote
operation, but there is no Internet relay in the path. It would seem that
my hypothetical would satisfy ei5di's prohibition against calling any qsos
I make with this arrangement "amateur radio qsos." It's also undeniably
remote operation.
If Internet-assisted remote operation is indistinguishable from traditional
non-remote operation or a hypothetical rf-based remote operation, then I
fail to see how you can discriminate among them in practice. At the very
least you must concede that not *all* remote operation is illegitimate.
73, Chris WF3C
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