[CQ-Contest] Remote Site Contesting Rules

[Gerry Hull]

This is a very interesting discussion.

If one follows the 500-meter-circle rule, remote operation has always been
allowed.
Rich, N5ZC, has been doing it for quite a while.

When, say, a W6 builds a super-station in MA or ME and remotes it from
Southern California,
people will complain that it is unfair.   Yes, it's unfair that the W6 can
spend the, let's say, $100K, to
build the remote station and others cannot.  People complain and fight
pushing the state-of-the-art due to
jealousy or to stay competitive with their own status quo.

Let's take a real-world situation:

Jeff, K1ZM, has built a world-class station in PEI; if Jeff decides he does
not want to drive/fly to PEI for a contest,
and he had installed remote-control capabilities at his VY2ZM QTH, would he
be cheating/have an unfair advantage
by controlling the station from NY?  I think not.  VY2ZM would still be a
Canadian entry.

(Knowing Jeff, he'll probably never do remote)

Technology is going to allow us to do things in Amateur Radio that have
never been done before.   Why not remote DXPeditions?   I can imagine a
permanent, remote ham station on CY0 or CY9, sponsored by some ham club,
that has security-controlled remote access over the internet.   What would
be wrong with that?     How about using a Caribbean QTH for a non-major
contest?  How about giving a physically-challenged ham, who cannot travel,
the thrill of operating from a hot DXpedition location?

Some will say that remote access will encourage cheating, by using an
additional receiver on the local end of the control link.   Well, that is
entirely possible.   However, like most rules in ham radio contesting, we
operate by the honor system.   Cheaters are going to cheat no matter the
technology.

73.

-- 
Gerry, W1VE/VE1RM
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