WM5R Wrote:
"But, I think it would
improve the spirit of the competition if that initial contact were
made by someone answering a genuine CQ on the air."
I think we're making a mountain out of a mole hill here on APRS. As quite a
few guys have already stated, APRS would only be used to show what grid square
a rover is currently in. That's it, nothing else. It would be no different than
knowing where to point your antenna to work a fixed station. It's as simple as
that.
As far as "answering a genuine CQ on the air" is concerned, does that mean
you can't call another station when you hear him finish a QSO with someone
else? ( He's not calling CQ!) Ridiculous, right? Well, that's how silly some of
this discussion is getting.
It's also been mentioned that you can include your grid square when calling
CQ. That's certainly true. But then there would be some who say that that is
giving out your grid square before the actual contact. Let's take that a step
further. What if conditions are up and down on 6 meters? You hear a station
calling CQ and announcing the grid square. You call, the station comes back but
drops out before you actually hear the grid square. ( Or you don't completely
hear it) Does that contact count? It's suppose to be part of the exchange,
right? I'd say it doesn't count. But, how many log it anyway? I know this all
depends on the sequencing between stations, but it could happen. Also, what
about when I'm calling CQ on CW. As a few of us know, that's a great mode when
conditions are down. I don't send my grid square when calling CQ on CW. Lots
of stations don't even listen in the CW portion of the bands. I wonder why? I
guess the point is that we could poke numerous holes in
the already exisiting contest rules. As we all know, those rules are followed
to the letter.
I was hoping that something as simple as APRS position reporting or a single
op rover category could be incorporated into the various VHF/UHF contests. I'm
guessing that that is not going to happen. I won't be wasting anymore time
configuring a rover for 5 "contests" a year. Fortunately, there are other
aspects of ham radio that are even more appealing to me than VHF contesting and
I can operate on those bands and modes 365 days a year.
73 to all,
Dave N8AG
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