[CQ-Contest] tech challenge - SAY WHAT?

[Hank Greeb]

I'd vote to let anyone use as much or as little technology as the 
operator would like.  I don't see a reason to NOT allow folks to look at 
DX clusters, etc.  There might have been a reason for the categorization 
when DX clusters and the Internet were in their infancy - when only a 
few folks had such access.  But, now it's so easy to check into a DX 
cluster than 99.44% of hams in developed (and many developing) countries 
have access to them.

Why do we say that to be in a particular category one must operate with 
pre 1980's technology?  Do we tell folks to operate with Regenerative or 
TRF Receivers or spark gap transmitters or they'd be in a different 
category?  Maybe during some parts of the 1920's we might have done so, 
but no longer.  Do we tell folks to operate AM in voice contests, 
because SSB has such an advantage?  Nope, we've found that the 
technology is so ubiquitous that it wouldn't make sense.

Seems like we splitteh hairs on these kinds of categories.

73 de n8xx Hg