[CQ-Contest] Re: 1 and 2

Kele YT3T yt3t at absolutok.net
Tue Jun 11 21:27:47 EDT 2002


Zoli,

The technique you're suggesting can only show if the station worked was
called or calling. Nothing else. It is legal to make a QSO by any way -
running or S&Ping in random order...
How could you possibly know what was going on from this "Log":

1233   HA5PP   59001R  59001M
1233  HA6PP   59002R  57001M
1234  HA7PP  59003M  59014R
1237  HA8PP  59004R  59006M
1238  HA9PP  59005R  59001M
etc
(I used R and M instead of 1 and 2, for better clarity)

Back in 1970ies and 80ies, with 15 minute time limits for Multi/Single
stations, the cheating was done using "rubber clock": A running station
started the designated time block operation 2-3 minutes earlier, and
remained 2-3 minutes longer, thus making each 15 minute segment actually 20
minutes of operation. So, each hour was splitted in 4 time segments, and
actuall operation lasted not 60 but 80 minutes. Multiply it by 48 hours, and
you get 960 minutes of extra time per station, or 16 hours. Both runner and
multiplier station make total of 32 extra hours during 48 hour contest.
Those "experts" risked only 2-3 minutes of simultaneous operation on two
bands, every 15 minutes, but you will agree that it was very difficult to
catch this, even with carefull monitoring. Those were the days of paper
logs, and it was easy to correct times and squeeze these 2-3 minutes within
15 minute limits. Log cross checking by a committee could not easyly detect
this, due to the fact that 2 or 3 minutes difference in reported times could
be addressed to slightly detuned clocks used. And those "masters" knew it.

Computer logging made some trouble to this technique, since the clocks
became much better tuned now :-)

However, new technique emerged: having another S&P station on a runner's
band. As long as you keep one signal at a time, it is perfectly legal to
collect anything you wish on a runner's band, using second radio (and
amplifier and antenna too...). Many big Multi Multis are using twin setup
per band, and you can see it on their web pages. They do not advertise the
way they keep a single signal at a time, though. And there are big Multis
that don't care about this limit...

I do not mean to discourage you in an attempt to protect honest hams from
cheaters, but the situation we have today is very dissapointing:
QRP winners were using few hundred watts; Low power high scorers were using
high power; High power highscorers were using many many kilowatts; Single op
entrants had assistants, or used packet clusters; Multi op teams had more
than a single signal per limit at a time, or spread their contest QTH across
entire nation, or had a remote receiver placed close to a 3 point continent
and relayed the audio via various means, etc;  Not to mention heavy
pre-contest advertising, web announcements, special awards or QSL cards,
T-shirts and mugs for fivebanders, sixbanders...

Maybe, with this new Time Machine invention, bands can be monitored very
succesfully, and cheaters caught easier. But then, the cheaters usually just
get warned, their score omitted from the listings, and it only turns them to
be more cautious next time :-(

GL,
73
Kele YU1AO, YT3T
(WRTC2K ref. to S588S)

www.QSLL.com
for your easy QSLing...



In the big contests (mainly WW) I often hear (A and B
VFO) that multi and/or single (!) station calling CQ
TEST (with a big signal) and same callsign └MULT■ (S&P
with a weak signal) goes back in same band same time.
(I think there are 2 stations (signals) in same band
same time.) That▓s cheating. I have an idea to stop
them (perhaps): if the CQ station gives a nr: 1 after
the zone or nr (59/599 151 or 59/599 0011) and the
BACK station gives a nr: 2 after the zone or nr
(59/599 152 or 59/599 0012) so then the contest
committee can see clearly (?) the cheating: that MULT
and non mult QSOs in pileups (with 2 in 1s) in the
log┘

What's Your opinion?


73
Zoli
HA5PP





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