That concept (every S&P station spots the RUN station) would quickly
overload the RBN. Currently there are a limited number of Skimmers
feeding into the RBN. The RBN aggregates the spots coming in by
evaluating them by a set of rules. My understanding is a station the
aggregator spots a call sign once every 10 minutes as long as it remains
active and remains on the same frequency.
Imagine the flood of spots that would need to be evaluated if every RUN
station worked generated data to be examined. I don't know the capacity
of the RBN, but it was overwhelmed by CW spots from a small number of
Skimmers a few years ago during a WW contest. It was necessary to update
the hardware to provide timely spots. There were times when spots were
arriving (IIRC) an hour late!
I like the idea of the SSB RUNNING station being allowed to self-spot
once every 10 minutes.
This whole spotting controversy was heavily debated when the CW
capability was first rolled out. Here we go again!
73 de Bob - KØRC in MN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 2/26/2017 1:35 PM, Joe wrote:
Ok, how about this,
No self spotting, BUT... to be able to participate in the contest,
anytime you are in S&P mode, your program automatically sends out a
spot whenever you work someone.
That would be as close to the RBN as possible for now? Everyone gets
spotted that are Running a freq and getting worked at least once.
Joe WB9SBD
Sig
The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com
On 2/26/2017 11:58 AM, Ria Jairam wrote:
To understand why the self-spotting issue was raised, we need to back
up a
bit.
In CW contests, RBN and private skimmers will automatically pick you
up and
spot you on the cluster networks, courtesy of W3LPL and others. This is
essentially the same as self-spotting because nobody has to work you for
you to be spotted, and as soon as you are detected by one of these
robots
(RBN or skimmer) you are automatically put on the cluster.
In SSB contests there is no such facility, so it is generally luck of
the
draw for someone to work you then they will spot you. This is because
there
is no practical skimmer (voice recognition?) for SSB as of yet.
The accusations were that some folks were self-spotting and trying to
hide
it, meaning that they would use a cell phone or another IP or "phone a
friend" all of which are clear rules violations.
In order to take away that incentive for cheating and put everyone on a
level playing field, it was suggested to allow limited self-spotting.
Otherwise, since some folks are going to self-spot anyway, and the
contest
committee may or may not find them, it puts honest competitors at a
disadvantage. And the logic was that since essentially self-spotting
happens in CW contests due to RBN/skimmer, that allowing limited
self-spotting would be harmless.
In other words, take away the advantage that self-spotting cheating
currently gives, by allowing everyone to do it. This would have a
detrimental effect on cheaters because now they cannot really gain any
advantage from self-spotting.
Hope I made sense.
Of course, there are purists who see this changing amateur radio into a
computer game - my friends, that is not my intention. The intention
is to
remove the ability to gain from cheating by making it so that even if
you
self-spot it gives no advantage whatsoever.
With the current system we have the luck of the draw of a random person
spotting you or even organized people in a club asking fellow members to
spot them.
Just my 2c. It's not perfect but it is fair, IMO.
Ria, N2RJ
On Sun, Feb 26, 2017 at 1:43 PM, Barry Merrill <w5gn@mxg.com> wrote:
There's an even bigger difference; actual spots from hams or RBN convey
propagation information, self spots.don't.
Barry, W5GN
-----Original Message-----
From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On
Behalf Of
Jorge Diez - CX6VM
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2017 7:57 AM
To: Charles Harpole <hs0zcw@gmail.com>
Cc: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] cq self spot
There's a big difference
The first one improve your skills, you must learn about propagation,
know
where to point your antennas, etc etc etc
The other one not
So what's next, why we use radios? If we can do all over internet,
no qsb,
no qrn, we do not need to spend time and money building stations and
improving with better antennas, just connect to internet, choose a
nickname
more funny than our callsigns and go...
For DX what´s the next step? JT65 with a software that do the QSOs
alone
for us while we are working?
73,
Jorge
CX6VM/CW5W
Enviado desde mi iPhone
El 26 feb. 2017, a las 08:08, Charles Harpole <hs0zcw@gmail.com>
escribió:
What is the difference between a CQ and a self spot?
Both call attention to you, both announce your desire for contacts,
both are self-promoting.
We in SEAsia seem seldom spotted in contests, maybe due to our low
numbers or remoteness or something. Out of contests, if I did not
spot myself, I could call CQ for a long time because few tune around,
I guess. If I have an hr to enjoy contacts and do not want to waste
the first half hour calling CQ, I send in my own spot.
In contests, why would non-mechanized spots be sent out--that is, why
would a fellow competitor help anyone find the gem he found and thus
helping others score better?
I like the ham spirit, but other than bragging ("Look who I just
worked!"), and ham generosity, why spot at all?
73
Charly, HS0ZCW
PS, do big clubs have private, members only, spotting facilities?
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--
73 de Bob - KØRC in MN
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