[CQ-Contest] The Unassisted Myth

[k3bu at optonline.net]

For those who still don't get it:

Ham radio contesting is a technical sport involving technology - equipment, skills to assemble the station (yourself or purchased) AND (one or more) operator skills .

If anyone wants to water this down to "categories" (one keyer, half the headphones, cheap mike, no antenna, etc....) that serves the PC crowd trying to win that obscure category with no one in it. Some accomplishment! Top score listings and boxes lose their purpose and attraction if they have to fill two pages in the results listings. (That's like breaking down Olympic 100m dash to Nike, Adidas, boxers and briefs "categories").

The operator part boils down to SINGLE OP with no nothing "assisting" in operating (feeding the stations call/freq.) and the rest of categories as they are now (A, M/S, M/M, Club).

The idea is to use and push the technology limits (bett'a, mo' equipment) and operator skills (managing the equipment, endurance, proficiency) that is reflected in the final score.

There are those who take it seriously and go "for blood" trying to make it into top ten whatever. In some cases those with big money prevail, in some cases more clever with little money can prevail and that is the name of the game - promoting station building and operating and seeing what combination wins.
It is possible to beat the "money bags" with wits, has been done many times, so crying for "my category" and fracturing the pelethon into bunch of "fit me" is not serving the contesting well. 

It seems that those who are casual contesters, just for fun are the most vocal and trying to "fix" what ain't broken. After you have been contesting for some 40 years and have some wood to show for it, then you would appreciate the process of growing and not bitching about not being No 1 in whatever non-category.

There is plenty to diversify and try to find the niche in trying to make #1 in existing arena. You can pick single band (go 10 now, guaranteed #1 with modest station/effort) or whatever fits you. When I was confined to 46x100 ft city lot in Toronto suburb, managed to stumble on Big Bertha, built my own Razor Beams, with $300 used modified Drakes, home brewed monoband amp, I managed to nail all single band WW and WPX Canadian records and some 20 world records. As far as I know no one has beaten that in any country even with tens of acres of antennas. I taught me to design better stuff than commercially available and to hone my operating skills (and paper duping system). There are many examples like that and plenty of room for improvement especially in using the advancement in technology. I just love the computer logging, vs. spending a day in duping the paper logs after the contest. SDR are here, opening whole new arena, again you need to master and implement the technology and learn how to use it. (Too bad we have "just" two ears, eyes, hands and feet :-) 

The complete operator will follow, learn and implement new technologies and work on his skills improvement. Better station and sharp operator will beat those stuck on packet and generally work the stuff before packeteers get to it and get tangled in never ending pileup. Getting the spots via whatever is not technology, it is help from someone ELSE, another person(s) - capish???

I think more important subjects how to improve our major contests, like fixing the ZERO points for own country, 3 QSO penalty and 9 months results pregnancy should get more "bitching" than this crying for "my category" and if making sandwich (or whatever) is assistance.

73 and MX   Yuri, K3BU

----- Original Message -----
From: Eric Hilding 
Date: Thursday, December 21, 2006 11:43 am
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] The Unassisted Myth
To: cq-contest at contesting.com

> Jose, CT1BOH, wrote:<BR>> 
> > When it comes to the Single Operator category there are four 
> different> realities:
> >
> > SO1R
> > SO1R(A)
> > SO2R
> > SO2R(A)
> 
> BINGO...finally someone has plainly and simply set forth the 
> "realties" of why (in a perfect world) there should be four 
> different scoring handicaps (oooops... "Categories") for SO 
> Contesting.
> Another reality is that SO1R ops (especially in DX Contests) 
> benefit g-r-e-a-t-l-y from all the assisted/packet operators who 
> "steer" more QSOs their way (even though they are not personally 
> categorized as "Assisted" ops). ***THAT*** is Reality #5.
> 
> So perhaps a new category of SO1RS (Single Operator One Radio 
> "Spotted") needs to be evaluated in a different light, because 
> such a situation is really potentially hundreds...thousands of 
> operating "Assistants" on the SO1R op's "Team". If you get 
> spotted, you ***HAVE*** been "Assisted". Plain and simple. 
> Perhaps this is Contesting's "dirty little best kept secret" ???
> 
> 73...
> 
> Rick, K6VVA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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