[CQ-Contest] Meaning of 'Off-Time'

[Bill Coleman]

On 8/11/01 8:07 PM, Dan Levin at djl at andlev.com wrote:

>Then it hit me.  What does 'off-time' mean?

It depends on the contest. The rules for Sweepstakes, for example, state 
that "listening time counts as operating time." 

>What if my competitor's
>definition of 'off-time' is 'no transmitting.'  That means that they could
>spend those 30 minute breaks filling their band-maps with mults.  Then once
>their 30 minutes was done, they could run through those mults on their
>second radio lickety split.

While this isn't technically prohibited by the NAQP rules, it is:

1) Not ethical.
2) Unlikely to succeed. The NAQP is the second most dynamic contest. (The 
first being the NA Sprint) People don't sit for hours and hours on one 
frequency calling CQ. They move between bands, CQ here and there, S & P. 
There's a lot going on.

>So the question is - can you listen on the radio during your off-time?

You can, I suppose.

Should the rules prohibit it? Yes. I think they should.

>At least as interestingly - _do_ people listen during their 'off-time',
>whether it is officially allowed or not?

Me? No. I turn the radio OFF during 'off-time'.

>For me, the issue is black and white.  'Off-time' means time off from the
>contest - as in no contest related activities allowed.  Is that what other
>people think too?

I agree with that interpretation.




Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
            -- Wilbur Wright, 1901


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