SRR Contest Date

Fri May 20 17:56:00 EDT 1994

RUSSIAN DX CONTEST DATE CLASHES WITH IOTA CONTEST DATE

It was good of SRR to move the date of their contest once it was realised
it clashed with ARRL Field Day, but the new date they have chosen clashes
with the IOTA contest. The regular date of the IOTA contest was established
last year, by agreement with IARU Region 1, as the last weekend in July.
The rules were published in DX News Sheet on 9 February, in the March
issue of Radio Communication, and on Internet in mid-April. Additionally,
publicity material was sent out worldwide in February. It may be that as
SRR is a new organisation, they were not on the mailing list at that time.

There was a high level of interest in the first IOTA contest last year and
in 1994 CW has been introduced by popular demand. Several entrants said in
their soapbox comments that the contest was likely to become one of the
major events of the year. Many groups mounted expeditions to islands, some
of which were activated for the first time. It is my experience that when
two different contests are held at the same time, both of them suffer. The
entry is divided and you find DX stations who are entering one event refuse
to work entrants in the other, leading to frustration, jamming etc. Casual
operators get confused and give up, and contesting gets a bad name.

We are contacting Andy UA3DPX to see what can be done, otherwise expect the
last weekend of July to be a real mess.

Dave G4BUO

RSGB HF Contests Committee

wbs at cix.compulink.co.uk

>From tardis at atd.mke.ab.com (Bob Citkowski)  Fri May 20 08:28:52 1994
From: tardis at atd.mke.ab.com (Bob Citkowski) (Bob Citkowski)
Date: Fri, 20 May 1994 13:28:52 +0600
Subject: SS Results
Message-ID: <9405201828.AA04499 at hammer.mke.ab.com>

hi,
i called the arrl up yesterday inquiring about when/if the pins were/are being sent out and was told that it would be soon.  seems their supplier is holding things up, also happened a couple of years ago.  it'll be soon folks!

bob -- n9jak

>From Jay Townsend" <jayt at comtch.iea.com  Fri May 20 19:42:18 1994
From: Jay Townsend" <jayt at comtch.iea.com (Jay Townsend)
Date: Fri, 20 May 1994 11:42:18 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: ADRS WPX RTTY
Message-ID: <m0q4ZWU-0001IwC at comtch.iea.com>

Announcing the first ADRS (American Digital Radio Society)
WPX RTTY contest to be held on February 4th and 5th of 1995.

This contest will be held hereafter on the first complete weekend of
February.

For a complete set of rules by e-mail send a request to:
jayt at comtch.iea.com

By mail the rules are available from:

Ron Stailey
504 Dove Haven Dr.
Round Rock, TX 78664-5926

This contest has over 30 plaques in all catagories. The rules are
similar to CQ WPX.  For more info contact one of us.

73,
-- 
Jay Townsend, Ws7i  < jayt at comtch.iea.com >

>From Charlie Ocker <Ocker at KD5PJ.dseg.ti.com>  Fri May 20 20:30:30 1994
From: Charlie Ocker <Ocker at KD5PJ.dseg.ti.com> (Charlie Ocker)
Date: Fri, 20 May 94  14:30:30 CDT
Subject: SS Results
Message-ID: <2978451030-11372371 at KD5PJ>

I am also awaiting my CW SS pin and mug.

Charlie, KD5PJ          ocker at kd5pj.dseg.ti.com

>From lvn at fox.gsfc.nasa.gov (Larry Novak)  Fri May 20 21:03:40 1994
From: lvn at fox.gsfc.nasa.gov (Larry Novak) (Larry Novak)
Date: Fri, 20 May 94 16:03:40 EDT
Subject: WPX/CW 1993 Certificates ???
Message-ID: <9405202003.AA03704 at fox.gsfc.nasa.gov>

Did anyone get their certificate from last year's WPX/CW contest? 

- Thanks, Larry
  K3TLX, lnovak at cen.com

>From Ronald D. Rossi" <rrossi at VNET.IBM.COM  Fri May 20 21:54:40 1994
From: Ronald D. Rossi" <rrossi at VNET.IBM.COM (Ronald D. Rossi)
Date: Fri, 20 May 94 16:54:40 EDT
Subject: Michigan QSO Party

I think the Michigan QSO Party is this week end, but I'm not sure.  I
am not currently an ARRL member and don't have any information (no QST).
Are there certain segments of the bands that that the Michiganians
will be.  I guess I could just listen and find out.

Ron Rossi

/====================================================================/
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>From mbarts at vt.edu (Michael Barts)  Sat May 21 03:13:48 1994
From: mbarts at vt.edu (Michael Barts) (Michael Barts)
Date: Fri, 20 May 1994 22:13:48 -0400
Subject: SS pins and mugs

Got one mug today (ordered four for the multi-op group). No pins yet.

Mike KB4NT

Michael Barts  KB4NT
Research Engineer
Litton Systems Poly-Scientific
Blacksburg, VA                      The weather is here,
mbarts at vt.edu                       I wish you were beautiful. - JB

>From Bruce Herrick <bdh at mixcom.mixcom.com>  Sat May 21 04:36:34 1994
From: Bruce Herrick <bdh at mixcom.mixcom.com> (Bruce Herrick)
Date: Fri, 20 May 94 22:36:34 CDT
Subject: SS Results
Message-ID: <199405210336.WAA25934 at mixcom.mixcom.com>

Well, my face is red.  My apologies to Billy Lunt and the net.  When I
posted my friend's tale of woe re: his missing report, I didn't check his
story against QST.  I should have.  I just looked now, and his score is
indeed listed.  With the screwy divisional and class breakdowns, it is
somewhat difficult to find one's score, but it's there...

The problem of missing logs is indeed real, as my mail today has indicated. 
I lost a single band ARRL DX CW effort a few years ago that would have won
me one of my rare certificates.  But in this case, false alarm.  Sorry,
Billy.

73, Bruce WW1M
-- 
Bruce D. Herrick               bdh at mixcom.com      Home:   414.462.1270
Pryon Corporation                                  Office: 414.253.5678
N93 W14575 Whittaker Way                           Fax:    414.253.2772
Menomonee Falls, WI  53051                         PacketCluster: WW1M > NB9C

>From Randy A Thompson <K5ZD at world.std.com>  Sat May 21 15:50:56 1994
From: Randy A Thompson <K5ZD at world.std.com> (Randy A Thompson)
Date: Sat, 21 May 1994 10:50:56 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Rules Standards Committee
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9405211002.A14922-0100000 at world.std.com>

I am happy to see the amount of interest and agreement in the concept of 
a committee to create a standard set of contest rules definitions.  I 
would be happy to work with a group of volunteers on starting this process.

If you are interested in participating, please send me an e-mail 
message.  I would like to have about 10-15 people who are active and 
distributed around the country (world).  Any larger and it starts to bog 
down.  But, we'll see what the response is.

The goal of this group would be to produce a set of definitions that 
could be refered to by contest sponsors.  Of course, contest sponsors 
would be under no obligation to use them (and I expect it will take some 
time to catch on).

The IARU Region 1 contest committee has probably done the most work in 
this regard.  Does anyone know how I can contact them for more information?

73 - Randy, K5ZD

K5ZD at world.std.com

>From rklein at lobo.rmh.pr1.k12.co.us (Ronald D. Klein)  Sat May 21 16:31:52 1994
From: rklein at lobo.rmh.pr1.k12.co.us (Ronald D. Klein) (Ronald D. Klein)
Date: Sat, 21 May 94 9:31:52 MDT
Subject: Contest Rules and Standards discussion
Message-ID: <9405211531.AA32397 at lobo.rmh.pr1.k12.co.us>

And to the subject line I should have added "ad nauseum".

Perhaps my length of time in the hobby and age are showing, but I must say 
that it seems to me there is a very disappointing trend to take the hobby and 
the contesting activity associated with it far too seriously. 

I suggest it is time for some of us to sit back and realize that amateur radio 
is a public service activity that most of us consider (or at least used to) a 
hobby which is there for our pleasure while providing that public service 
capability. When we start talking about contest "standards" I think we are 
going far too far. Bureaucracy is beginning to become the goal. When that 
happens, it is time to ask whether this part of this fine hobby is headed for 
a terminal state.

Why don't we resume focusing on continuing to improve our stations and 
techniques and - if we happen to be so inclined - what it takes to be a top 
competitor and leave the increased bureaucracy out of the equation? I believe 
this kind of bureaucratic focus will only create decline in the contest sport. 
I, for one, would have been extremely turned off and probably never begun 
participation if I had looked at the contesting activity and discovered this 
much discussion about bureaucratic activty that I believe contributes 
absolutely nothing to the challenge and pleasure of contesting. I believe 
there are numerous potential contesters out there who would react the same way 
and never become participants!

It is time to reflect on what this activity is really about - and it AIN'T 
about spending time on BUREAUCRACY.

Ron - W0OSK