[CQ-Contest] Real Time for Radio-Sporting

[Guy Molinari]

That is a really good point Warren.   I'm not a top 10 player and my station 
falls into the little pistol
on a suburban lot variety.

For DX contests, I typically compete with my peers in Washington State or 
the 7th call area.  I
would certainly want to filter geographically and by class.

73's
Guy, N7ZG


>From: "Warren Rothberg" <w4wr at bellsouth.net>
>To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
>Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Real Time for Radio-Sporting
>Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 09:49:34 -0400
>
>I like the idea (conditionally). As a golfer, I look at the leader board
>while I'm out on the course frequently. Frequently, I find myself in a
>favorable position and it spurs me on the bigger (lower) 	and better
>scores.
>
>Of course, I would like the scoreboard to be filtered for my category. I
>frequently operate single-band single-mode, unassisted LP. To know that I'm
>only a few Q's behind the leaders would put some zip into my effort.
>
>Warren, W4WR
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
>[mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Guy Molinari
>Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 12:10 AM
>To: cq-contest at contesting.com
>Cc: n3bb at mindspring.com
>Subject: [CQ-Contest] Real Time for Radio-Sporting
>
>Jim/Rick,
>     I think you both are really hitting on what I'm after.   It's about 
>the
>fun
>and excitement of contesting as a sport.  I think catching the "cheaters" 
>is
>really a secondary aside anyway.   I think realtime scoreboards would
>increase
>the credibility of contesting as a true sport.   After all, there are
>physical
>demands on contesters.  Maybe not as tough as Golf or Auto Racing, but I
>have heard of contesters who stay physically fit so that can stay in the
>chair.
>
>I also think a scoreboard that updates every few seconds would suck in hams
>who are otherwise not hard core contesters.   It might even draw people
>into the hobby as you suggest.   I followed the K7C dxpedition as well and
>agree with Rick.   It brought a new level of excitement and enthusiasm for
>DXpenditions (at least for me).   The execution was a little flawed but 
>that
>easily fixable and serves as a lesson learned for someone attempting to
>create
>this kind of a scoreboard system.
>
>If it helps strenthen the integrity of contesting in the process it would
>seem
>to me to be a good thing.
>
>my .02 cents worth
>
>73's
>Guy, N7ZG
>
>
>
>==============================================
>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
>
>
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