Thanks Terry. I kind of suspected that.
I don't see any reason to eliminate the assisted category in EME competition
either, even though I have never done it. I recall LISTENING for EME QSO's
once from a hilltop but had no idea what frequencies to listen on. So you'd
need that info and, I'm guessing, some sort of sequencing plan in order to
work someone?
73, Zack W9SZ
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 7:17 PM, <CatWhiskR@aol.com> wrote:
> Guys,
>
> I have been following this thread for the last few weeks and I did want to
> respond to the following question from W9SZ, which I don't think anyone has
> actually answered yet.
>
> Zack Widup wrote:
>
> > Part of the reason given for dumping the Assisted category was the use
> > of the assisting method to actually assist with the QSO. This would be
> > wrong, obviously; once you start to make the QSO you shouldn't use any
> > other means of trying to enhance it.
> >
> > Not being an EME op, I wonder just how prevalent this practice is,
> > though? How many people have done it?
> >
> > 73, Zack W9SZ
>
> I can only speak for my experience on 2 meter EME over a 3 1/2 month
> period in late 2007, which included two contest weekends. Over that period
> of
> time I made 219 EME contacts. 211 were on WSJT and 8 were on CW. Using
> 1100
> watts output and 4 ea. 2M9 antennas. As as a side note, you can see from
> the
> above statistics where all the action is on EME. Using both CW and WSJT, it
> is invaluable to have access to the spotting/chat system (assisted). While
> it is certainly possible to work stations on random, they will be few and
> far between. That is a fact. With a normal receiver, JT65 only looks at a
> very narrow portion of the band, and with birdies and other trash on the
> band, it is difficult to tune around and see folks. There are
> systems/radios
> available that will let you see the whole band at once, and all the
> signals.
> If you have a nice quiet location that will be a big help.
>
> To answer Zack's question, over the period of time I was active, I never
> saw anyone use the spotting/chat/assisted network to help complete a
> contact. The JT65 program either decodes the signal and gives you useful
> contact
> information or it doesn't. If it doesn't, you keeping trying or give up.
> Yes,
> you can fake it, but that is another issue not limited to EME or Assisted
> operating. The spotting network is mostly used to see the frequency someone
> is operating on, and after the contact, saying thank you. Overall I
> consider JT65 to be a very slow and frustrating contest mode. A good CW
> contest
> contact is much faster. But it is a great way to get on EME and make
> contacts. BTW, I would say that a good 20%, maybe more, of my JT65
> contacts could
> have been made on CW as I did actually hear the signals.
>
> I don't feel that there is justification to eliminate the assisted
> category. It will impact contest participation and scores. Not a recipe for
> growth.
>
> Terry/N6CW
>
>
>
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