[CQ-Contest] What should I do

[kr2q@optonline.net]

Randy:

The real question here is a matter of ethics.  If you had observed a stabbing or murder and you knew the attacker/killer, would you still pose the question?  I trust that your answer is, "No, I would know just what to do."  

So you have your answer...at least part of it.  The correct thing to do is to report it to the authorities...they will follow up in whatever manner they deem appropriate and you need no longer worry about it; it is in their hands.

The bigger question here is a matter of degree; the infamous Slippery Slope; ie, how much cheating (not a life and death scenario) is worthy of being reported?  If you hear a fellow USA competitor give 
his call outside of the US band (say, DX contest, 40m split SSB), but you only hear it once, is that a reportable incident, especially if s/he does not get the qso as a result of abberrant button-pushing?  You probably would say NO and most would probably agree.  What if the qso DID take place "out of band" thereby resulting in additional points, what then?  And what if the QSO was with a rare Mult?  

It is easy to cloud ethical decision making by considering "degree" (slippery slope).  From a RULES point of view, any violation is a violation.



Should you contact the violator?

This depends upon what you intend to say and what your motivation is.

If you feel that it was a simple error, either due to an "oops" or due to inexperience (novice op), then you should certainly contact them with a "friendly reminder" about the rules.

If you feel that this is a knowledgable competitor and that the rule(s) violated was done so knowingly, then what will you say and what will be your purpose in so notifying them?  If you want to say, "Gotcha" then it probably does not serve any purpose other than to relieve some hostility on your part.  

If you want to say, "Hey, did you know that what you are doing is a violation of the rules?" then addressing the violator is appropriate.

Hope this helps...
de Doug KR2Q

DISCLAIMER:  The opinion(s) cited above are my own and should not be construed to be the opinion of any contest committee with which I may be assocated.


>From the ARRL Sweepstakes rules:

3.2. Multioperator: 
3.2.1. Multi-Single only: 
3.2.1.1. Only 1 transmitted signal is permitted at any time. 


During the SS Phone contest, I called a station and he proceeded to give me
the exchange.  As he was talking, I can hear another voice in the background
also saying an exchange.  I notice that both of them give the same number.
Then just before the op turns it over to me, he stops and corrects the
serial number to one higher.  It's pretty obvious to me that they are
transmitting the exchange on two bands at the same time.

What is the process that one should follow to report something like this?
Do I write the station owner?  Do I write to the contest sponsor?  I don't
have this recorded. Why should the contest sponsor believe me?  What should
the sponsor do with my report?

So many questions.

Randy, K5ZD


PS - For those who ask, I will only say it is a high scoring multi-op in the
Ohio section.  They know who they are.