[CQ-Contest] Contest Spots

[Rich Gelber, K2WR]

Yuri:

Who are you going to get to operate the Cluster nodes if they have to be
shut down during contests?  It takes a lot of time, money, effort,
dedication, and, often, a big tower, to operate a cluster node.  Many of
these are at stations which enter contests in multi-operator or
single-operator-assisted categories.  Why?  Because they built the nodes to
help them get spots sooner, and to enhance the capacity of the network by
adding nodes which accomodate more users without overloading the existing
nodes.

I've said this before and I'll say it again:  The DX Cluster network
primarily exists to provide spots during contests.  I'm not talking about
what most users use it for.  I'm talking about what the node builders built
the nodes for.  If the message from the contest community is that the
cluster system is not wanted during contests, then in a few years there
won't be a system at all, except over the internet.

I think that by having different categories that everyone can choose among
depending on their taste, we have approximated a level playing field as to
spotting assistance.  Yes, that doesn't eliminate "packet pilups" on
non-assisted DX stations, but I can think of a lot of things that are
different from 20-30 years ago, and most of them are for the better.  Packet
may be inconvenient for those who choose not to use it, but I can't think of
a better way to reduce overall activity than by eliminating it altogether.
(Unless we really want to discourage all the casual DX'ers who make a couple
hundred QSO's in each contest just by finding new band-countries on packet.)

Rich K2WR