Hi.
I have lost some faith in contest exchanges. With the "joy" of modern
technology, comes a major reduction in the skill of the operator. In the old
days ( during the war! ) RTTY was a slower process admittedly, but the operator
had to copy every exchange CORRECTLY. Now, for example, the 599 is
completely redundant, meaningless use of 3 characters. Even the zone is the
same, completely redundant, as most loggers put it in the box before it's given
anyway!
OK, so I'm moaning. There is a point however. The operator still has to copy
the CALL SIGN plus the AREA code ( NY, NJ etc., ) and although I did not make
that many Q's, it really was amazing how many stations did not stay around for
confirmation OR, more importantly, a request for a repeat of either the call or
exchange. Now in the quest for more speed, leaving out commas and periods etc.,
we have lost the plot! Those stations I wanted to request a repeat from will
not be in my log. Tough, but they should have spent a few more seconds getting
the QSO completed. There are also times when no call signs are used, leading to
mix-ups with two or more stations on the freq at the same time. This can be
eradicated by a better use of macros of course.
Personally, I would like to see a more erudite and possibly dynamic exchange.
This would enforce a little more accuracy at both ends and lead to a more
convincing contact. It would also help to dispense some of the antagonism and
criticism from the opponents of contests in that we would not have the usual
comment "Oh, contests, yes you are 5 and 9 but I missed your call and my
report".
I do like contests of course, and take part in numerous ones during the year,
so I am not one of the anti brigade. However I would be interesed in other
people's comments
Regards from Roger, G3LDI
Swardeston, Norfolk.
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