[CQ-Contest] Contests

[Kelly Taylor]

Given the recent suggestions about contest length, difficulty of exchanges and ability to copy exchanges outside of the single QSO an operator is involved in, I have one suggestion that will address all three concerns simultaneously:

1. Require contestants to pre-register. They will then get an electronic key that they plug in to their logger to generate random alphanumeric exchange information. It could be ax12qu for one QSO and 1b2y7e for another. Don't pre-register? Can't play. Go away. The log checking program will cross-reference each sent exchange with the key to verify, as well as with the receiving station's logs.

How does this address all three concerns? It will complicate the exchange significantly. You will not be able to copy the exchange the QSO before and anticipate the exchange you will receive. It will close the contest to everybody who hasn't thought to pre-register and drive the less serious ops away in droves. Rookies will similarly be discouraged from polluting our airspace. The remaining ops should then be able to finish the contest in only a few hours.

And then all our concerns will eventually be addressed at once when the regulating authorities realize that nobody is using the frequencies we've been assigned -- even during the once-heavy contest weekends -- and rescind our authorizations.

Simple, eh?

73, kelly
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