[CQ-Contest] Packet

[Bruce Sawyer]

G4BUO wrote:

>>Just make it legal to everybody.
>>This was done in Germany with the WAE-Contest very successfully.

>I disagree that it was successful. A lot of us stopped entering
>the WAE contest when DARC took this step. Packet assistance
>is fundamentally different from single operator. You're benefitting
>from hundreds of people tuning the bands and finding stations
>for you to work. This is what makes it essentially different from
>other technological assistance such as auto band switching,
>memory keyers, SO2R, etc.

I agree completely with Dave's comments (though not with his spelling :-) ).
The Russian DX Contest is another event which allows unlimited use of
packet, and after my less-than-happy experience with that event this past
March I think I'll pass in the future on contests (such as RDXC and WAE)
which allow single-ops to use packet.  The problem, as usual, was that I had
lots of calls from people who really could not hear me but knew I was there
because their little computer screen told them so.  This really can become
quite tiring.  RDXC and WAE could be great contests otherwise, were it not
for this particular "feature".

Bruce, N6NT/ZF2NT