[CQ-Contest] Real Time for Radio-Sporting

[Bill Parry]

Jim,

I am so pleased to finally see someone put the proper prospective to this
subject. The idea that there are cheaters lurking behind every corner, or
that it is imperative that we root out "evil doers" by some computer driven
set of rules that may or may not find what we want is not in "my" world. We
have always known that there are bad apples in our hobby.  I still remember
the old pictures of a K6 running 26 KW in one of our favorite contests.

The reason for doing the real time logging or contesting in general is to
improve the contest and increase the fun and enjoyment! I would love to see
where other similar stations are during the course of the contest. I get on
in almost every cw contest and work a bunch of stations, sometimes I use
packet and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I send in my results and sometimes I
don't - but I play by the rules.

I hope that our approach to contesting is one that continues to have words
like "fun, enjoyment, learning" instead of a "Nightmare on Elm Street"
perspective. I have been accused of being "PollyAnna" in my outlook but I
have been contesting for more than 45 years and I still haven't lost my
enthusiasm.

Bill, W5VX

  

>-----Original Message-----
>From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:cq-contest-
>bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim George
>Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 9:13 AM
>To: Eric Hilding; cq-contest at contesting.com
>Subject: [CQ-Contest] Real Time for Radio-Sporting
>
>K6VVA's comments are on the mark.  When I was in Finland and served as a
>Referee for one of the WRTC 2002 teams, it was clear to me that some form
>of real time  scoring is a fantastic tool for increasing interest in
>contesting, and a key next step if radio Sporting is to survive as anything
>more than a super-niche interest.  There are thousands and thousands of
>Computer Gamers out there, many of them teenagers, and that is the single
>fastest growing portion of the computer market now.  There is no doubt that
>the competitive element of ham radio is of interest to many people and more
>young people would be exposed to the thrill of Radio Sporting if we can get
>some form of real time reporting going.  It could revolutionize radio
>sporting and bring in a much larger potential audience and therefore range
>of participants.
>
>Rick is correct that technology must be embraced, not resisted.  It would
>be easy for software to capture certain elements of the data base and
>report these either on the hour or even real time.  Personally I enjoy
>contests where we have some idea of the relative progress competitors are
>making.  These include anything with a serial number (WPX, SS,
>Sprint).  The exchange is more than simply copying the call sign, and when
>mandatory off-times are added for longer contests like SS, it gets very
>interesting to the competitors as strategy becomes important, rather than
>sitting in an unhealthy position for longer than everyone else.
>
>To begin, the data reporting could be sent in automatically every ten
>minutes; it does not have to be (literally) real time, but as access and
>bandwidth increase, that too is a possibility.  Some one could design a new
>contest that's a "Real Time RadioSporting" event, and require that the
>participants use software that sends in reports on a regular basis.  The
>makers of software could add that module.  This would require both software
>and hardware additions but it would open up the hobby to this new
>dimension.  There would need to be a web site associated with that specific
>contest, or as a common "scoreboard" used by all the contests.  Advertisers
>could buy banner ads and also spot ads for the site, just as they buy
>advertising space now for popular events.  I'll bet you that in several
>years that would change the future of contesting.
>
>Jim George N3BB
>
>
>  At 08:10 PM 10/12/2005 -0700, Eric Hilding wrote:
>>I was going to re-thread this as "Where's The Beef?"
>>
>>In case you haven't noticed, all major "sporting" events have real-time
>>coverage.  NASCAR/Daytona car drivers have on-board video cameras and are
>>in two-way radio contact with their pit crews (wouldn't this technically
>be
>>an "Assisted Driving" category? :-)
>>Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Hockey. et.al. ... every knows
>>EXACTLY where his or her competitors stand.
>>
>>SNIP
>
>>Unless more new Contesters enter the hobby, we are headed for
>>extinction.  So why continue to live in the Dark Ages when so much more
>>adventure can be had in the Contesting journey which remains?  Hi-Tech is
>>here to stay...Embrace it...Fondle it...USE it to the MAX to set new
>>Contesting records.
>>
>>Yes, I can see yet another Monitor at Contesting Consoles...one which
>>displays "Real Time" (I should say "REALLY Real Time" compared to the K7C
>>DXA), where major competitor's rates per hour are in constant display
>>second-by-secnod alerting one to missed opportunities on other
>>bands.  Green-Yellow-Red light sequences and alarm bells and blinking
>>indicators to be used to "shift strategy" based upon predefined parameters
>>to gauge what the competition is up to and where they are at any given
>>second.  Options for sorting and prioritizing, etc. offer e-x-c-i-t-i-n-g
>>opportunities.
>>
>>Hey guys...The ARRL SS, NA Sprint & other contests give us all "Real Time"
>>QSO tally data already (minus Mults) in the contest exchanges, so "Where's
>>The Beef?"  Those who want to continue to live in a Contest Cave should
>>petition all Contest Sponsors to DELETE Serial # (QSO Numbers) from
>Contest
>>exchanges so you can have even more cluelessness as to what your
>>competition is doing.  Then you can wait a year (or more) after the event
>>to sort it all out when the results are (hopefully) published.  Oh...maybe
>>ask for sponsors to disallow SO2R while you're at it too.
>>
>>SNIP
>
>>Embrace it...Fondle it...USE it to the MAX to set new Contesting
>>records.  The true "Professionals" are doing this every day in their
>>sporting events.
>>
>>IMHO & 73...
>>
>>Rick, K6VVA
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>CQ-Contest mailing list
>CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest