[CQ-Contest] Re: The UNLIMITED category.

[Pete Smith]

At 08:27 PM 2/17/00 -0500, K2AV wrote:
>
>On the subject of an UNLIMITED contest category:
>
>From: Paul O'Kane <paul at ei5di.com>
>
>> If you change amateur radio contesting sufficiently, by integrating
>> it with the internet or otherwise removing all limits, it may still
>> be competitive - but it won't be amateur radio.
>>
>> It's a bit like putting engines in sailboats to make them go faster.
>> You'll end up with powerboat racing instead of yacht racing.
>>
>> 73,
>> Paul EI5DI
>
>I do understand your tack. At the time it (change) seems an unwelcome
>intrusion into something good that works: a threat to the status quo.
>But letting in change doesn't mean we have to throw out the baby. I
>don't think the contest guru's will let us. They're largely a very
>conservative group.
>

I don't think Paul is an instinctive defender of the status quo.  He's
really saying that you need to define what's unique about sailboat racing,
and preserve that, while encouraging technology to evolve freely in other
areas.  That's where the analogy to putting a motor in an America's Cup
boat becomes relevant.  

Similarly, you would need to draw a few lines in your Unlimited spec.  I'd
suggest two -- the operator must perform fundamental reception and decoding
of received signals using the unaided human brain (yes, I know, this needs
some further specificity), and the part of the operation involving two
independent stations (the contest QSO) must be done using amateur radio
means that comply with the radio regulations of the location of the
transmitter. 

73, Pete Smith N4ZR
n4zr at contesting.com 

Don't forget to update your entry on the World Contest Station Database, at
http://206.102.70.3/search.htm


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