[CQ-Contest] CQWW and Signal Reports

[Tom Horton]

At 09:31 10/28/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Maybe we need a contest protocol that would include audio and/or keying
>quality information.  The score would be affected by the reports they
>receive!
>
>I'd appreciate your thoughts.
>
>73, Geo...

George,
  Amen and amen!
  Every year I am appalled at the HORRIBLE audio from some of the big guys
as well as the little pistols. Amazingly every year it just seems to get worse.
  Conversely, if I hear a GOOD signal, I go out of my way to compliment them.
Often I will tell the bad sounding ones about their poor audio, to which the
normal response is "QRZ contest"!
  If my signal sounds bad, I want to know it. If anyone ever hears my 
signal sounding
like garbage, please tell me. I might not like it, but I will do my best to 
make it right.
  It is very dissapointing to see what signals are on the air these days.
  If I were a rich guy I would spend a year or two traveling in South America
and southern Europe showing ops how to set the mic gain and processor levels.
These places seem to have the absolute highest level of garbled 
audio...reminds me
of the old QST April Fools Article about the "garbler microphone".
  The best audio I herad this past weekend was KP3Z and I told him so.
Sounded professional!
Just my thoughts...seems this come up every year. Maybe that should mean 
something!

73, Tom K5IID

Tom Horton	
K5IID in West "BY GAWD" Virginia
" E " sorter for the W5 Bureau